Ah, man, I'm afraid you guys are going to find this post a little disappointing and not all that enlightening, at least on the advice for landing gigs front.
So, how did I get started? I've kind of had two starts. I should also say upfront that I don't even have a decent reel that I send out, nor do I have an agent repping me specifically for VO work. Most of my VO career has just been a question of being in the right place at the right time and doing a good job when I've had the opportunity.
As a lot of you can probably relate to, I've always done voices, from the time I was a kid. I remember having my kindergarten teacher ask me to stop breathing like Darth Vader, you've been doing that for a while now, thank you very much. When I moved to Austin, I rather quickly became friends and acquaintances with a number of people in the Austin theater community. Back in the early aughts, one of the Austin actor lifelines was work with ADV Films, an anime house based out of Houston, but who had a dubbing studio here. A number of theater notable worked there, either as writers or recording directors, including Dan Dietz, Kirk Lynn, Lowell Bartholomee, Ron Berry, and Robert Pierson. I had done a couple of episodes of extra voices for Ron, and then I got cast in show Lowell directed, Get Backers, where i had an ongoing role in a 10 dvd series.
Oh wait, let me back that up. I got nabbed to do those roles 'cause people had seen me in Intergalactic Nemesis in 2002, which I got cast in because Jason Neulander and Dan Dietz saw me in a reading of a crazy play by old Heroes of Comedy member Greg Romero where I had to do a lot of voices, including Mickey Rourke.
Anyway, ADV went bankrupt and then splintered into a bunch of companies and a gig which possibly could have employed a bunch of you went away in something like 2004 or 2005. Boo. For reals, it was great way to get experience. That gig way back when led to being in DC Universe online, as the recording engineer over there was a big fan of Lowell's work recording folks at ADV.
After that I didn't do anything really until Asaf got me an audition for Red vs. Blue in like 2006 or 2007. That was my second start as it were. I was really fortunate that the character I play turned out to have a huge ongoing role and something of a fan favorite. See
this recent fan interview for a more detailed view of my work as Agent Washington.
As far as advice goes, the one through line from what I've said so far, I guess, is do things with or in front of people who can later impact getting you hired. Befriend them, not in a calculating way, but just, you know, know people and impress them. Don't burn bridges. Be easy to work with. That's about all I can tell you, 'cause that's the only way I've ever really been hired or recommended for anything. In fact, I'm going in for a new video game audition this week based entirely on a recommendation from someone in the local web series community. Be willing to recommend people behind you. I know I've sent some women over to Rooster Teeth when they were looking for folks, and I think being stand up in that way pays dividends when those people have success.
Once you get auditions or get hired for gigs, here's my biggest advice, beyond being easy to work with. Be ready to take direction, and work quickly. I think I have a good reputation with the people I work for being able to come in and nail stuff pretty quickly. Part of that is the direction thing--be ready to try a given line lots of different ways, don't get locked in to any one read. Ask for context to help you play the scene. Be on top of your instrument--what does the voice sound like when you're expressing emotion X--a lot of times those emotions can play really subtly in your voice, but you have to be able to bring those subtleties up, alone, in a soundproof booth. Don't be afraid to be physical when you're in the booth. I mean, all of the acting has to come through just your voice, but if you need to tense your body or swing your arm or crouch like a boxer to get it play, do it.
Also, get a reel. Like I said, I don't have one, but do as I say, not as I do. I'd probably have an even more robust VO career were I focused on it more.
