SENIOR PARTNER - JACOB GALLAGHER
The owner of the company, Jacob Gallagher has been a talent manager for the last 15 years. Having always been an independent-minded individual, he never assisted nor worked for anyone else in representation, but rather dove right into growing a roster of talent when he was 24. He started by repping a handful of developmental actors, as he worked side jobs to support his dream. Jacob’s efforts gathered steam over the years to become the successful company of which he is the CEO today. He originally started Drexel Talent, part of Drexel Box Productions, then moved to Insomnia Media Group to co-head their talent management arm, and then started the company which is now HG5 with another fellow, Erik Heintz. About ten years ago, Greg Strangis and
Jacob started Calliope West Artist Management together, and Greg retired about four years back. Many of Jacob's clients have been with him through the whole journey (Regi Davis, Kevin Brief, Reggie De Leon etc). Calliope West has a nascent production arm, as Gallagher is a successful producer. He was a Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Sloan Commissioning Grant Finalist, and the recipient of the Montana Film Commission Big Sky Grant for Feature Film. Jacob has produced content for Fremantle Media, Current TV, Sun Microsystems and more, called “a kick to the gut” by SPIN Magazine and “breathtaking” by the Huffington Post. Films produced by Gallagher have included high profile talent, and have won Directors’ Choice Award, Best Actress in a Sci Fi, Best Actress in a Drama, and Best Narrative Film awards, with films screening at HBO’s NY Latino Film Festival, HBO Women in Film Festival, the 22nd San Francisco Black Film Festival, and so many more. Jacob is a retired, former actor, who worked under his creative moniker of Jayk Gallagher. He booked some great work in his twenties, such as The Social Network, Veep, CSI: NY, and more, but his passion for
management led him to leave acting years back to triple down on his focus and commitment to Calliope West. Jacob’s experience as an actor greatly influences his work with his clients, allowing him to more deeply understand their concerns and struggles, as well as the preparation and work required for success in the career. Along with his life-long excitement for representing artists, Gallagher has led a creative life, finding past success as a grunge musician, music promoter, radio host, playwright, rapper and rap battler, stand-up comedian, and more. But as he aged he decided to simplify and unify his efforts so that all his energies focus on only one thing: Helping people he cares about achieve their dreams. Jacob is deeply grateful to devote his life to growing Calliope West Artist Management, providing personal service to his clients with kindness, moral transparency, and a spirit of collaboration. TALENT MANAGER - TONY MARTINEZ
TONY MARTINEZ started his career at Paradigm,
then spent 10 years as an agent at GVA and 7 at
KMR before joining Calliope West as a talent
manager. He has represented series regulars on
shows like For the People, Man in the High Castle,
MacGyver, Desperate Housewives, 30 Rock, CSI,
Heroes, Criminal Minds, Lost, and many more. Tony is a graduate of the film department at The
School of Visual Arts in New York. During his
twenties, he produced music videos for high profile
groups like The Black Crowes, Run-DMC, The
Beastie Boys, and many others. After moving west, Tony was accepted into the agent training program at Paradigm Agency. Since then, he
has worked at several respected companies,
including GVA, Lovestone, and Kazarian/Measures/
Ruskin & Associates. Tony is also a Courtesy
Instructor at Florida International University and the
author of “An Agent Tells All”, a well-reviewed and
top selling book about the business of acting. He feels the key to a successful career as an actor is
simple: “Work hard on your craft, empower yourself
with knowledge, and don’t get in your own way.”
Tony was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan,
and schooled in The Bronx; he’s of 100% Cuban
descent, and speaks fluent Spanish.
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COMPANY BLURB (06/2022):
Our talent management company has clients with WME, A3, UTA, ICM, APA, BRS Gage, Innovative, KMR, AKA, AEFH, CESD, Talentworks, SMS, Media Artists Group, Sovereign, Metropolitan, Ellis Talent Group, Aperture, LB Talent, etc... we have clients that are multiple series regulars, celebrities, as well as the star of Seinfeld, Family Feud, and Dancing with the Stars-- John O’Hurley. 5 time Series Regular Mauricio Mendoza, star of SHOWTIME’s award-winning drama Resurrection Boulevard, Latin American Celebrity Marlene Favela, Series Regular on General Hospital Avery Pohl, Elizabeth Rice who played Margaret Sterling on Mad Men for 7 seasons, Allan McLeod who played Jimmy on You’re the Worst for 5 seasons, 2 Season Series Regular on Showtime Celeste Pechous, Series Regular on Raising Hope and Major Recurring Guest Star on My Name is Earl Gregg Binkley, 9 Season Recurring Guest Star on The Middle and Damien Chazelle Studio Feature darling Troy Metcalf, Major Recurring Guest Stars and Niecy Nash’s Daughters Dia and Donielle Nash, 72 episode Recurring Guest Star on Superstore Kelly Schumann, Series Regular on 2022 Amazon Pilot Once Upon a Time in Aztlan with George Lopez Arianna Williams, Desperate Housewives Series Regular Rachel Fox, 27 Episode Recurring Guest Star on Mom Reggie De Leon, and so many more TV stars. Beyond those mentioned above, our clients are Recurring Guest Stars in the last year or two on S*x Lives of College Girls, Boo Bitch!, Never Have I Ever, Reboot, Carpe, Black-Ish, Mindhunter, Monster, Family Reunion, American Horror Story, The Lincoln Lawyer, SWAT,
Grey’s Anatomy, Filthy Rich, Saved by the Bell, Warped!, Game Shakers, Dear White People, Adam Ruins Everything, NCIS New Orleans etc. 2020-2022 Studio Feature Leads for our clients include Disney’s Jungle Cruise, Hellraiser, Little, Stuber, Rampage, Richard Jewell, Seberg, Horse Girl, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, The Way Back, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Desperados, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and many more. https://pro.imdb.com/company/co0523975/clients (Our roster is slightly different than what is listed there and on Facebook.) Calliope West has a thriving Below the Line Department with clients that include George Loucas of Baked FX, who has Visual Effects Supervised such films as Beatriz at Dinner, Jumanji: The Next Level, Talladega Nights, and The Clapper, and such Sundance hits as Nine Days, The Infiltrator and many more. He’s worked on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show among countless studio feature credits. Co-Founding Partner Emeritus Greg Strangis was executive producer for Falcon Crest and Eight Is Enough in the 70s, and Jag and Flipper in the 90s. He created the television show War of the Worlds in the 80s. He started managing John O’Hurley in the mid nineties, and started the career of Eva LaRue-- She starred in 153 episodes of CSI Miami, and remains at Greg’s original management company today.
