VAM 096 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 4
Welcome to episode 96 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!
As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:
http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast
This is the fourth part of my interview with the amazing Phil LaMarr.
Phil has played major roles in such animated shows as Futurama, Justice League, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Samurai Jack.
In the last episode, Phil shared with us the experience from his childhood that inspired him to become an actor. That fascination has fueled his pursuit of an acting career ever since.
In this episode Phil talks with me about his experiences working as an African-American actor in Hollywood. There are unique challenges that any minority actor has to face when trying to build a career in the entertainment industry. In order to give this topic the attention it deserves, I’ve decided to dedicate this entire episode to the subject.
No matter what your ethnic background may be, exploring issues of minority casting and producer expectations can be incredibly helpful in charting your own acting career.
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #96 Here (MP3)
11 Responses to “VAM 096 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 4”
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- VAM 097 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 5 | Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over - […] the last episode Phil outlined the unique challenges that any minority actor has to face when trying to build…
This was a great episode. It was very interesting to directly hear what I had only ever inferred regarding the very stressful identity-balancing-act actors of color face.
I had a question about vocal technique I was hoping you could shed some insight on. Since hearing Steve Blum’s performance of his Starscream character I’ve practiced at being able to use that very distinctive vocal quality. I’ve gotten really good at it! I’ve since identified the quality as “vocal fry”, but after looking up things about it, I’ve come across a couple of articles which indicate that some experts believe the use of vocal fry can lead to permanent damage, presumably leading to permanent vocal fry.
I feel it’s important that the examples given were invariably singers: I’m guessing that this would be the case because if not handled carefully the vocal stresses of singing can lead to what are ultimately unsafe and damaging practices, with vocal fry being no exception. Would I be right to assume that as long as I’m doing vocal fry in ways and for periods that aren’t making my throat hurt, it is safe?
So glad you liked the episode!
It is generally true that as long as your throat does not hurt while you are vocalizing, then you are most likely not doing any damage.
Steve Blum’s portrayal of Starscream does require him to add a lot of texture to his vocal tone. It is possible to do that for limited periods of time without hurting oneself.
Usually the problems with vocal fry arise when someone speaks with vocal fry all the time. Some people hide behind a vocal fry tone because they feel defensive. If you were to talk all the time using vocal fry, you could definitely train your voice to always sound raspy. That would not be a good thing. However, if you adopt a character voice that has texture in it for limited amounts of time and then rest and use proper vocal technique the rest of the time, you should be able to avoid doing any permanent damage to your voice.
Hope that helps!
Great episode, as always! I may be White, but I’ve got to identify with minorities on the subject of accents, being a foreigner with an accent myself. I especially agree with your point that the way we speak is a defense mechanism. When you reach a point where you can speak a foreign language with an accent that’s close enough to native, you start to feel like a different person altogether. Not only do your speech patterns change, but the rhythm and the very melody of your voice change as well. Your mentality changes too, because your native language and the language you’re learning evolved from different cultural contexts.
This can be disoncerting and is probably one of the main reasons why it’s so hard for 99.99% of people, including myself, to reach a completely natural tone when they learn a foreign language. It’s not just that you need a good ear. You’ve got to completely let go and embrace that other facet of your personality. You’ve got to accept that it’s still you, only seen – or rather, heard – through a different prism. Though I personally embrace the notion on a conscious level because it’s fun and mind-opening (much like acting, there’s a ‘pretend’ aspect to it), I realize as I write this that there has to be a quasi-unconscious level to this too, because changing the way you speak has profound implications. It implies that you can let one aspect of your personality take a backseat to another, less familiar aspect. Again, much like acting, I imagine.
When you speak with a Chicagoan accent, you’re not just impersonating a Chicago stereotype. You’re asking yourself “What is the Chicagoan part of me like?”
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On an unrelated topic, you’ve said on multiple occasions, including this interview, that you’ve got video to prove how terrible an actor you were at the beginning… Any chance we might see this video, or at least hear a small audio clip? I absolutely believe you, and I understand if you say no, but it would be helpful to see the difference between your acting back then and your acting now for myself. Wannabe voice actors (or actors, for that matter) like me, who sometimes have little to no actual acting experience, might understand your ideas and arguments intellectually, but concrete proof is the best way for us to viscerally realize and internalize the truth of the argument – at least that’s how my mind works.
Keep up the great work!
Thank you Bertrand! You have articulated with amazing insight and accuracy the process of trying to speak with another character’s voice! I’m doubly impressed that you were able to analyze all of that in English seeing as how it is your second language! Wow!
As far as the video of me acting badly in high school, unfortunately I fear it’s on Betamax tapes that may have gone missing in the many moves and changes in my life. But I swear I had them at one point and I can promise you I was horribly overacting! That video is seared into my memory!
Thank you for your kind words. I’m always impressed that you take the time to reply to almost every comment you get, in spite of how busy you must be.
Being able to see the similarities between (voice) acting and learning a language is what helps me hang on to my dream of being a voice actor. If I was able to get where I’m at in English (and still try to improve), then surely I can be a competent voice actor too if I try hard enough.
Too bad about the tapes! If you ever find them, please share them with us if you don’t mind. I’m very curious to hear the difference between Young Crispin and Voice Actor Crispin.
It is definitely interesting to hear Phil’s take on being a voice actor. I love how he pointed out that a voice actor needs to know how others perceive their voice. I’ve been working more and more with becoming comfortable listening to my own voice recordings and actively critiquing my performance. I can’t wait to hear about his process behind John Stewart and hopefully about his work on Justice League with the other cast as well.
Another great podcast as always.
Thanks! I’m glad you’re finding the interview so helpful!
Lovely interview so far! Really loved the way of talking about the touchy subject of race in castings. Seems like, even in voice over, its a touchy subject. Which is sad.
But either way, great interview! Can’t wait for the last part!
~Kalyn
Thanks! Yes, race tends to be a touchy subject in many areas of life. It’s a touchy subject in entertainment especially because media can reach out and influence so many people.
Glad you’re enjoying the interview.
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you for broaching this subject!!! So well explained and helpful to me, as someone who’s faced a little of this but remained unsure of how to parse personality viz presentation.
Phil is brilliant, thank you & thanks to him!!
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re enjoying the interview so much. Phil is quite brilliant. I’m very grateful to him for taking so much time to talk to me.