Allen Osborne, the founder and CEO of Big Picture Artists, chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about his career in modeling and as a talent manager to vertical actors.
John D. Rockefeller once said: “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” This quote applies to Allen Osborne.
His roster is home to such distinguished actors as Noah Fearnley, Ryan Ray Vincent, Griffin Glazi, Luca Pietro, Zachary Rist, Darrell Jones, Gabriel Jayne, Cristian Lager, and Grant Holleman, among others.
The digital age
On being a talent manager in the digital age, he said, “I’ve always sort of been in the digital age. You know, all the breakdowns have been electronic. At least for the last six years, everything has been done via Zoom. There haven’t really been any in-person callbacks. It has been this way for so long now to the point where it has become an everyday habit.”
Daily motivations
On his daily motivations, he said, “I would have to say the challenge of making someone’s career bigger than it is, while knowing that you can truly make a difference in their life and carrying the responsibility that comes with that.”
“That would definitely be what makes a difference for the talent I represent,” he added.
Career-defining moments
On his career-defining moments, he shard, “I think there were a few. The biggest one was in 2024, when I had a stroke. That really changed things because, at that point, I thought maybe I should move back home and give this up. By ‘home,’ I mean Ohio, where I’m from. I was ready to move back, focus on myself, take care of my health, and recover.”
“Two of the actors I represent, Ryan Ray Vincent and Noah Fearnley, pretty much talked me out of it. They told me, ‘No, you need to keep going. The sun is ahead, the clouds will clear’, and basically, all the things people say when they’re trying to encourage you to not quit,” he elaborated.
“It’s funny because, around that same time, verticals really started taking off. That changed the atmosphere for everyone. Suddenly, actors were quitting their day jobs to do verticals, and there was a lot more cash flow coming into the company than there had been with just SAG projects,” he noted.
“It ended up being one of those situations where all I needed to do was hang on a little bit longer, and I’m very glad I did. I feel very fortunate, and I can only say thank you to Ryan and Noah for talking me out of giving up,” he added.
Representing talent in the vertical drama space
On representing 11 actors in the vertical drama space, he shared, “I pretty much reoriented things as the vertical space started taking off. Instead of only taking on people who were excellent actors, I also began looking for people who had the look the vertical market was looking for.”
“I came from the modeling world, so at that point I thought, I really need to reach out to my contacts and find people who have that vertical look because they can make money too,” he noted.
“That changed a lot for me,” he admitted. “It wasn’t just about actors anymore—it was about models as well who had the look that all the vertical platforms wanted.”
Future plans
On his future plans, he remarked, “The vertical world is changing. I think I have to hold off on making any long-term plans until I see what happens with verticals. A lot of companies are moving toward AI, and some are going with hybrid AI. I don’t think many are going to continue being 100 percent human.”
“That will affect sales, and it will affect the income coming into both the company and the actors. So, I can’t really make plans until I see what the rest of this year brings and what ultimately happens, because we’re definitely dependent on the vertical world at the moment,” he elaborated.
Success of Noah Fearnley
On the success of his flagship client and actor Noah Fearnley, Osborne stated, “That has been really rewarding because you work with someone, and you convince them to give up everything they know to move to a state they’ve never lived in and really put their confidence in you as a manager.”
“The talent is essentially saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, but you seem to, so I’m going to come there, see what happens, and see what you can do’,” he noted.
“I think I proved that during the time I’ve represented him. It wasn’t a quick journey to get where he is today. It has been six years, and it certainly wasn’t an overnight success. It’s funny because I think all of those experiences and steps had to happen in order for him to get where he is now,” he acknowledged.
“When you’re first starting out and doing a bunch of Lifetime movies without having much experience on set, it is great training for the actor. You learn that you still have to develop a character, work with other people, and play off the other actors,” he observed.
“In a way, those projects are like an acting class. Then, you move on to verticals, where you’re working 12-hour days at a very fast pace, sometimes shooting 20 pages of script in a single day,” he elaborated.
“I think that experience really prepares someone for the big time, and I think Noah is very well prepared for that,” he foreshadowed.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “I think the title would be ‘The Beat Goes On,’ and it will continue for quite a while.”
“I just turned 60 this year. That might seem old to some people, but at the same time, I’m not old enough to retire. So I’m left asking myself, ‘Do I just continue doing what I’m doing, or can I finally take a break and ease into semi-retirement?’ I don’t think I can yet. I can’t walk away from something I started until it’s complete. For a lot of these actors, their careers are just beginning. I’m a long way from throwing in the towel,” he elaborated.
“I just need to keep going until I reach a point where I’m physically unable to do this anymore. At that point, I’ll have to focus on taking care of myself and eventually move on. Until then, I don’t see any reason to quit, retire, or give it up,” he concluded.
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