How do I become a voice actor?

How do I become a voice actor?
Written by Ayu
Saturday, 13 June 2009 23:33 - Last Updated Monday, 22 June 2009 03:08
So you want to be a voice actor. You wouldn't be here otherwise. And no matter what you do or
say, it seems like an impossibility. After all, how do you even get started? It's the same question
that's been asked over and over, so here's the answer, straight from professional voice actors
themselves!
1.) Get as much acting experience as possible (and music doesn't hurt either).
"Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice. The more you play with your voice, the more fun
you can have with your voice, the better you will be...the important part of voice ACTing. If you
can catch the verbal hint when I say voice ACTING… is the ACTING part in voice ACTING. If
you can do voices, wonderful; if you can’t act, you can’t work.
"
-- Scott McNeil
"Any kind of acting, theater experience, improv, and kind of acting in general is good. You
have soooo many things you have to think about in the [recording] booth. Music also helps. A
lot of voice actors have musical backgrounds as well. It helps with the matching of lip flaps [the
character’s mouth movements] when you are comfortable with music patterns.
But acting....please acting..."
-- Monica Rial
"...get involved in school plays and community theater groups. Remember, the most
important part of voice-acting is the acting. "
-- Veronica Taylor
Acting experience is key. No matter where you are, you can find a way to get acting experience.
Look for school plays, church plays, community theater, or anything that will give you some
solid experience. Google is your friend in these endeavors. Why? Well voice acting is part voice
and part...::drumroll:: acting! And the acting is a very big part of it. Any sort of experience in
acting will make you better. While some may argue that stage acting and voice acting are too
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How do I become a voice actor?
Written by Ayu
Saturday, 13 June 2009 23:33 - Last Updated Monday, 22 June 2009 03:08
different, we'll leave that for a different article. If you're interested in getting into dubbing, music
is also very helpful. The musical training helps you with timing. If you ever watch the Princess
Mononoke commentary, you'll hear the director mention that drummer Billy Bob Thornton had a
much easier time with dubbing his character due to his musical background. Dubbing adds
another layer of difficulty since you have to act well and pay attention to timing. Getting into
music will help. But more than anything, practicing acting is the way to go. If you're looking for
even more than just stage work, there are even places on line where you can practice voice
acting (see our handy links section). The other very important thing you will get from this is
networking. Networking is key! The more people you know in the industry, the better off you are.
Your director might be best friends with someone looking for fresh talent, or your costar might
be someone who will go pro in a few months. Wouldn't you want to be friends with them?
2.) Take acting classes, especially improv.
"Unfortunately, there are no voice-over colleges, but I highly recommend all sorts of classes,
especially acting, scene study and improv. "
-- Tara Strong
"Take a class / workshop on acting or improvisation. Nothing beats a solid foundation.
Improvisation is one of the best skills a voice actor can have because you never
know what you may be expected to do. Classes and workshop are totally valuable
because you have a chance to work on your skills while bouncing ideas off of other
people. The critique and feedback are priceless. "
-- Greg Ayres
There's only so much you can do to improve on your own. And yes, I know you're already quite
awesome at voice acting. But don't you want to be even more super awesome? Then take
classes! They'll teach you sneaky little tricks you never knew. If your teacher is good, he or she
will be able to draw new voices out of you (more voices = more work), and improv is especially
useful as most voice acting is done cold (without seeing the script ahead of time). Plus...you get
the all important networking factor! Most voiceover teachers or coaches have plenty of
connections in the professional world. Many are professional voice actors themselves, or even
directors. Taking a class with them is a golden opportunity to get noticed by someone in the pro
world. That being said, do yourself a favor and don't try to show off. While talent is a large part
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How do I become a voice actor?
Written by Ayu
Saturday, 13 June 2009 23:33 - Last Updated Monday, 22 June 2009 03:08
of voice acting, no one's going to take in a newcomer who looks like they're going to be
obnoxious.
3.) Make a demo reel.
"In order to get an agent interested in representing you, you will need a professionally
produced commercial demo. The demo is comprised of roughly 90 seconds of excerpts of
different commercial scripts. The excerpts need to show range (energetic, warm, authoritative,
etc). "
-- Kyle Hebert
The demo reel is your resume/business card/lifeblood/whatever. It is, in short, a sampling of
your best voices that you send out to agencies in the hopes that they'll decide to represent you.
Basically, it's your two minutes to show off what you can do in terms of voices, acting, and
delivery. Back in the day, they were tapes. These days with all sorts of newfangled digital
things, most demo reels are on CD (or sometimes MP3). For more about demo reels, read the
article " The Demo Reel and YOU ."
4.) Go where the work is.
"...you'll eventually have to move to one of the cities where it's really happening, like NYC or
LA. "
-- Yuri Lowenthal
"...you must live in the city where the work is done. That would be Vancouver, LA, Houston,
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How do I become a voice actor?
Written by Ayu
Saturday, 13 June 2009 23:33 - Last Updated Monday, 22 June 2009 03:08
Dallas & NYC. "
-- Vic Mignogna
"You must live in a city where animation voice over work is being produced. This is vital. Too
many people think they can just plug a microphone into their computer and get work as a
voice-over artist from the convenience of their own home. Doesn't work that way. You must live
where you can meet people and make connections. "
-- Crispin Freeman
First off, yes, there are voice actors who do their work online. But they have professional quality
home studios (once again, another article). Plus, they do mostly smaller work. You won't get
picked up big a larger studio (and especially not a dubbing studio) if you can't come in to their
own studio to record. Second, yes there is such a thing as a phone patch where one studio
connects to another one that's far, far away. You're likely not going to get that offer unless
you're already an established talent. So go where the work is. LA and NYC are the big hubs for
voice acting, with LA being decently larger (and it has Bang Zoom! if you care about dubbing). If
you're looking for dubbing, Dallas, TX is home to FUNimation (Houston was ADV's hub, but
ADV doesn't really...dub anymore), but you won't find a whole lot of work outside of that.
Canadians will find the hub of voice acting to be Vancouver. So why do you even have to live in
the area? Why not just fly in to record and then be on your merry way? Voice acting doesn't
work that way. Sometimes emergenies come up, sometimes schedules change, and sometimes
they absolutely need you in to record tomorrow. Directors and studios will look for someone who
can be there tomorrow if they're needed. While it is possible to ferry back and forth between
cities (some actors do it), keep in mind that they are already well-established voice actors and
it's not reasonable or cost-effective for someone trying to break into the business.
Aaaand there you go. Ask any voice actor, director, or anyone in the business and this is the
answer you'll get.
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