“HOW DO I GET INTO VOICE OVERS?”
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Welcome! This site is a comprehensive overview of the art and career of voice acting for both beginners and more advanced performers. It is a distillation of everything I’ve learned from over two decades of earning a living voice acting in movies, video games, commercials, promos and television animation in Los Angeles.
Beginners:
Those new to VO will learn that becoming a voice actor means becoming a specialized kind of actor. I show the many paths available to beginners and amateurs to explore whether voice acting is a good fit.
If you’ve never acted before: CLICK HERE
If the idea of acting or voice acting sounds scary: CLICK HERE.
For a quick overview of where to start your journey: CLICK HERE
For a quick look at what you need to bring to the table: CLICK HERE.
For a brief, but more detailed roadmap of how to become a voice actor CLICK HERE.
All newbies should also read: “VO Myths,” “Learning to Act,” and “FAQs.” These pages are relevant to all beginners, whether you live in Nowheres-ville or a Big City, whether you are clueless or confident, young or old, local or international.
To start improving your VO skills right away, click on over to my “Voice Acting Academy,” for lots of at-home practice material. It’s not a comprehensive course, but a good start.
Those who already have voice acting experience:
Those further along will learn how the VO business works and what to do or avoid in pursuing an acting career. You’ll also find specifics on more advanced topics like how to make a demo, how to audition, what happens in a session and how get an agent. I also discuss handling the ups and downs of an acting career and discuss the importance of keeping your artistic “fuel tank” full.
I try to show you the “long game” as well as the “short game” of being a voice actor.
After giving my site (as well as posted comments) a careful read, if you still have a voice over question, ask it!
If your question is not already addressed and is relevant to others, I’ll try to answer it.
Although no website or book or class can make everyone a professional voice actor, I hope these pages provide you a practical and encouraging “launch pad” for exploring voice acting. I continually add new content as I keep polishing the old, so check back.
Have fun, best of luck and maybe someday I’ll see you in the studio!
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If you enjoy my site, why not make a donation of any amount to the American Humane Association, a wonderful charity that helps protect children, pets and farm animals from abuse and neglect?
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What about someone with absolutely ZERO connections, but (hypothetically) just raw talent? How much of a game of luck is it to get your first couple of roles, how much weight does your ability have versus your connections, and how likely is it to be able to make at least a meager living as voice actor? … Is it feasible for [someone] to just record some demos, make a website and put himself out there enough and actually get noticed? If he were just naturally very good. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Everyone (including myself) starts out with zero connections and raw talent. The more roles you book, the less it has to do with luck. Actually luck isn‘t what you depend on, rather, it‘s being ready to taking advantage of luck- that‘s what you have some control over. It‘s not a game of connections or networking. It‘s a game of ability, well-placed confidence and earning the trust of those that pitch the ball over the plate. That takes time and work. Anything is feasible hypothetically, I suppose. It‘s just that being naturally really talented doesn’t make you unique. There‘s a lot of that, in fact. It‘s baseline in a place like L.A. It‘s how much you are willing to commit to putting that out there and refine it while building a stable life and fueling your talent over the long haul- that‘s the payoff you want to build towards.