By Lauryn Kern
Matt Williams is not your typical talent agent.
As the founder of Starving Actor Agency, Williams has built a dynamic business representing SAG-AFTRA and non-union actors from across the United States, all while leading a life as colorful and varied as the roles his clients pursue on the big screen.
His agency has represented actors on Netflix, Paramount, Apple and Hulu across a wide array of TV shows such as Ozark and Dopesick.
The makings of The Starving Actor Agency began when Williams’ son started his own acting career. He took his son from agency to agency to find talent representation that would be a good fit for his son’s career, but all of the agencies felt illegitimate.
“They wanted me to pay for acting lessons and headshots right then and there,” said Williams, who moved to Skye Canyon last fall. “All four agencies wanted me to sign thousands of dollars’ worth of contracts. I knew that wasn’t the way it worked. So I acted as his own agent until he moved to Hollywood.”
Thus marking the beginning of Williams’ talent management career. Recently, he has helped Jessica Staples get a role in the new Yellowstone spinoff Y.Marshals and helped cast Dan Bringhurst in Horizon 3 starring Kevin Costner. His son, Connor, has been cast in American Vandal on Netflix, Regionrat and American Nobody on Amazon and The UnMiracle on Apple TV
The website for his agency is www.starvingactoragency.com.
When he’s not negotiating contracts or scouting the next talent, Williams is making headlines of his own—as a competitive pickleball doubles world champion at the Huntsman Senior World Games, that takes place annually in St. George, Utah. His passion for the fast-growing sport reflects the same energy and determination he brings to his agency: focused, strategic, and unafraid of a challenge.
I’ve been playing pickleball for close to three years,” he said. “I played USTA tennis events and I was really stubborn to make the change. There are a lot of tennis players that refuse to play pickleball. I had some injuries that were holding me back from playing tennis and I just wanted to do something, so I tried it.
“I didn’t love it at first, but when I started playing competitive people, I started to enjoy it.”
Off the court, Williams is an avid collector of Hollywood and sports memorabilia, curating a personal archive that blends nostalgia with deep respect for the industries he loves. His collection encompasses everything from rare film props to signed jerseys, each piece a unique story in its own right.
He has a Jaws-themed guitar signed by Richard Dreyfus and a Kevin Bacon-signed Footloose guitar, along with many signed television and move scripts.
“I really love the hunt and then the negotiations of it all,” he said. “I’ve sold two of my favorite scripts. I had a Jaws script signed by Steven Spielberg and what I believe to be the only Partridge Family script signed by the entire case. I sold both to start and fund (participating in) Texas Hold’m tourneys.”
Williams and his wife, Patti, moved from Eagle, Idaho, last year to be closer to their children.
“After shoveling snow in Eagle, Idaho, we decided to give Vegas a try,” he said. “We checked out Henderson and it was just too crowded. Our awesome realtor brought us here (to Skye Canyon) and we knew this was the place for us.”
Williams likes how everything is within walking distance from the Smith’s Marketplace and the Skye Center.
“I really like that we can work out on Friday and then go to happy hour and chill and listen to music,” he said.
Whether he’s helping actors land their dream roles, smashing shots on the pickleball court, or championing a fine collection of rare memorabilia, Matt Williams continues to prove that a life of passion, purpose, and play is not only possible, it’s worth pursuing.