Growing opportunites for non-binary child actors, says talent manager

A children’s talent agent believes there’s a huge gap in the market for non-binary child actors.

Mark Jermin is a manager at the helm of theatre schools across the UK, with clients working in commercials, as well as for Disney, Netflix and the BBC.

He thinks casting directors are becoming much more open to diverse choices.

Mr Jermin said: “We have just booked a commercial for a teenage non-binary actor on our books, called Cam.

“The casting director had initially asked for girls – but I said I was sending this non-binary person in and once they met them, that’s the direction they went in.

“As well as that, Bame actors and diversity in general is a really big and important thing – it’s vital to be seen on TV.

“Whether you are gay, non-binary, or anything else, there will be opportunities now, which I’m really thrilled about.

“We’re definitely seeing a really good shift in what they call ‘blind casting’ which can only be a good thing.”

But while doors are being opened in terms of diversity – they’re also closing due to the Covid-19 pandemic putting an end to face-to-face auditions.

Mr Jermin, who represents Amelie Bea Smith and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth who are starring in Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor, is offering advice to all the children on his books, as well as their parents, on how to continue their rise to stardom in a post-pandemic world.

His tips for mums and dads hoping their child can “make it” also include learning to deal with rejection and how to not take over in auditions.

Children and their parents must also master auditions by Zoom, showing their personalities with nothing to work with but a mobile phone camera.

Mr Jermin said: “You need supportive parents. There will be trips to London, changes that happen last minute, tapes that need to be sent in an hour.

“Especially now we’re seeing so much being taped at home, and parents have to be really careful with how kids are presented.

“They need a plain white background, and the parents themselves also need to be able to hold up their part of the conversation in any scene they’re acting out.”

Mr Jermin’s young talents have been plucked from obscurity and gone on to appear in Disney projects, Netflix series and regularly on the BBC.

An early success story that set Mark Jermin Management on the path to success were the two girls cast in the famous “Daddy or Chips” advert for McCain – real-life sisters who were given their on-screen dinner by their actual mum.

The starmaker has also seen his wards land the lead role in Disney’s upcoming mega-budget Pinocchio remake, as well as Amelie Bea Smith becoming the new voice of Peppa Pig.

But Mr Jermin, who teaches for both stage and screen, warns that kids will need to be prepared to work long hours – depending on their age, with nine-year-olds being allowed to work longer hours than a child of seven or eight.

Another thing he believes has changed in the last decade is the traditional cut-glass English accent no longer being a barrier for children with regional accents.

Mr Jermin said “Regional accents are very ‘in vogue’. It used to be you had to talk with a plum in your mouth, but I don’t think accents or speaking beautifully is that important now – and if it is, that can be trained.

Parents may also worry about their child going “off the rails” and missing out on a normal childhood, and while that used to be an issue, it's something Mark is keen to try and revolutionise, as well as how their money is managed.

He said: “When we take a child on, they have to have a bank account in their name – although some younger children don’t even know they earn money.”