TV and Movies

Posted on 12 May 2020

15 Facts About Voice Acting That You'll No Doubt Find Interesting

"It's surprisingly hard and not everyone can do it."

by Isha Bassi

Entertainment Producer

Think back to all the times you fell in love with an animated character. Sure, their personality was great, their storyline superb — but an important factor, which is often easily overlooked, is their voice.

The brains behind providing that much-needed layer of characterisation are voice actors, who use their talents to breathe life into the things we watch and consume.

Great Big Story / Via youtube.com

To find out more about the industry and the life of a voice actor, BuzzFeed chatted to Kari Wahlgren, who has voiced over 700 different characters in her career so far.

1. Voice actors aren't just used for TV shows, movies and video games.

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15 Facts About Voice Acting That You'll No Doubt Find Interesting

Think back to all the times you fell in love with an animated character. Sure, their personality was great, their storyline superb — but an important factor, which is often easily overlooked, is their voice.

The brains behind providing that much-needed layer of characterisation are voice actors, who use their talents to breathe life into the things we watch and consume.

To find out more about the industry and the life of a voice actor, BuzzFeed chatted to Kari Wahlgren, who has voiced over 700 different characters in her career so far.

1. Voice actors aren't just used for TV shows, movies and video games.

2. And to become one, you need strong acting skills and the ability to read well, take direction and — most important of all — laugh at yourself.

3. There is no such thing as a typical day of work.

4. And the job itself can be incredibly demanding.

5. First round auditions for a role are usually done at a voice actor's home or agent's office.

6. And they'll usually receive character descriptions and artwork to help inspire a voice to audition with.

7. The best way to prepare for a recording session is to "warm up" your voice.

8. While filming, the most stressful thing a director can say to a voice actor is to "use your natural voice".

9. Depending on the genre, there are different recording processes.

10. And you may need to change up your vocal tone depending on what you're filming or the sort of character you're auditioning for.

11. You need to treat your voice like an instrument — which means taking care of it and making sacrifices.

12. But that doesn't mean voice actors aren't partial to a prank or two.

13. Inspiration for new and different voices can come from anywhere and everywhere.

14. It may look easy — but there's a lot of skill and talent involved in voice acting.

15. Because it's not just about doing a funny voice, it's about creating a character.

15 Facts About Voice Acting That You'll No Doubt Find Interesting

Think back to all the times you fell in love with an animated character. Sure, their personality was great, their storyline superb — but an important factor, which is often easily overlooked, is their voice.

The brains behind providing that much-needed layer of characterisation are voice actors, who use their talents to breathe life into the things we watch and consume.

To find out more about the industry and the life of a voice actor, BuzzFeed chatted to Kari Wahlgren, who has voiced over 700 different characters in her career so far.

1. Voice actors aren't just used for TV shows, movies and video games.

2. And to become one, you need strong acting skills and the ability to read well, take direction and — most important of all — laugh at yourself.

3. There is no such thing as a typical day of work.

4. And the job itself can be incredibly demanding.

5. First round auditions for a role are usually done at a voice actor's home or agent's office.

6. And they'll usually receive character descriptions and artwork to help inspire a voice to audition with.

7. The best way to prepare for a recording session is to "warm up" your voice.

8. While filming, the most stressful thing a director can say to a voice actor is to "use your natural voice".

9. Depending on the genre, there are different recording processes.

10. And you may need to change up your vocal tone depending on what you're filming or the sort of character you're auditioning for.

11. You need to treat your voice like an instrument — which means taking care of it and making sacrifices.

12. But that doesn't mean voice actors aren't partial to a prank or two.

13. Inspiration for new and different voices can come from anywhere and everywhere.

14. It may look easy — but there's a lot of skill and talent involved in voice acting.

15. Because it's not just about doing a funny voice, it's about creating a character.

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