United Talent Agency partners Rich Klubeck and Dan Erlij are used to the rough-and-tumble nature of Hollywood. They have to be in order to push for more original voices and stories on-screen.
Erlij, co-head of UTA’s television literary department, represents such risk-taking talent as “Succession” creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong. Klubeck is a partner in the Beverly Hills agency’s motion picture group, with clients including “The White Lotus” creator Mike White.
Clients at UTA, Hollywood’s third-largest talent agency, have received nearly 60 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmys in roughly 30 categories and nearly 30 Academy Award nominations this year. One of its clients, comedian Ali Wong, was the first woman of Asian descent to win an Emmy lead acting award for her role in “Beef.”
But there are challenges ahead. Studios including Paramount Global are laying off hundreds of workers, killing nearly finished projects and becoming more cautious . All the more reason why agents need to have their clients’ backs.
