Actors call for change in casting business as dozens allege former talent agency withheld payments

CTV National News: Actors say they’re owed $500K Dozens of actors say they are owed half a million dollars collectively after the talent agency representing them, ceased operations.

After months of working on sets filming TV shows, commercials and voice over work, dozens of Toronto actors say they have been left without pay.

The actors are not putting the blame on production companies, but their talent agency: Compass Artist Management, claiming the money has been withheld.

“It got so much bigger than what I thought it was,” Golden Madison, a Toronto actor who says she is now out nearly $15,000, told CTV National News. “I really wanted to think that it was a mistake.”

Madison joined Compass in June 2022 and had a hugely successful summer, landing some commercials and other TV gigs. The cash flow typically goes from the production company to the agent, who takes a commission and passes the rest on to the actor.

As a non-union actor, Madison explained, the money often didn’t reach her for a few weeks. But at day 77 without payment, she started to get worried.

“I decided to inquire and all hell broke loose,” she said.

In September, Madison reached out to other actors under the same agency and found they had similar stories.

“I realized right then and there that it definitely wasn’t a mistake, whatever is going on is intentional and they are intentionally not paying a group of us.”

In a creditor package sent to clients dated October 19, 2022 and obtained by CTV National News, Compass Artist Management said its “operations have ceased, effective immediately.”

The Toronto Police Services Financial Crimes Unit has received more than 50 complaints about the company. The department that deals with fraud confirmed an investigation is now underway. But there is fear among actors they will never see the money they are owed.

The group believes there is roughly $500,000 that has gone unpaid by the talent agency, leaving dozens of actors suffering a financial loss.

In a statement to CTV News, Compass Artist Management president Danny Friedman outlined the challenges of starting a small business and admitted his company had fallen behind.

“I completely understand why people were unhappy that we were behind… I get it and I apologized profusely at every turn…” Friedman wrote.

A letter within a creditor package sent to clients includes details of how the operation will "wind-down."

An independent insolvency consultant said “it would not be economical to bankrupt the company as costs of administration far exceed any expected realization from the assets.”

Shaun Hepburn and his eleven-year-old son Housten were both represented by Compass. Hepburn admitted there were some red flags but he continued because the company was getting them good gigs that included spots in a TV series, which they had never done before.

“He hasn’t answered the question yet as to why he’s holding the money, where it is,” Hepburn told CTV National News over a video call.

“We’d have to ask for our money,” Hepburn continued. “It never got to a point where we’re not getting paid, until now, where he’s just holding the money and not responding to emails.”

Hepburn and Madison said they have contacted production companies directly, claiming they’ve seen statements of payment to Compass Artist Management for their work and it was never passed along.

The growing frustration and uncertainty is leading to increased calls for more industry oversight. Actors in Ontario are looking to regulations in British Columbia for standards they believe should be across the board. The western province is the only one in Canada to require talent agents to be licensed under the Ministry of Labour.

“I think it’s benefited us,” said Tyman Stewart, president of The Characters Talent Agency and vice-president of Talent Agents & Managers Association of Canada. “I really think it got rid of a lot of people who would try to take advantage of things.”

Stewart was instrumental in helping the province draft the regulations in the mid '90s.

“We’ve had only one other instance since 1995 where someone took advantage of the situation and didn’t pay actors properly,” he told CTV National News.

The licensing requires agents to create a trust for clients and regulates commission caps, there are also rules that ban agencies from charging a fee for someone to join. Speaking about the regulations, Stewart gave an example by saying, “you’re in a situation where you’re going to lose your license and you can’t do business as an agency if you’re trying to charge people to join your agency, or trying to sell them classes.”

ACTRA, the union representing professional performers in Canada, sent a statement to CTV National News about the ongoing allegations surrounding Compass. In it the union said “ACTRA does not endorse or recommend any talent agencies. The contracts between talent agencies and their clients are not collectively bargained.”

To help support those affected, the union held a Zoom information session for union and non-union members.

“We offered services of three lawyers to answer as many questions as possible. The meeting was also attended by the detective from the Toronto Police Service fraud division,” ACTRA said, adding that Compass represented more than 200 ACTRA members.

The union is among those hopeful the Ontario government will move to ensure talent agents are licensed by the province's Ministry of Labour.