VAM 090 | The Myth of Talent: Can Anyone Be a Voice Actor?
Welcome to episode 90 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
In this episode I’d like to address a common misconception that I find many people have about the nature of acting.
Sometimes I feel like acting is one of the most misunderstood of the performing arts, mostly because it seems so invisible when someone is doing it well. A truly believable acting performance can seem so transparent and effortless that it feels as though nothing is really going on and the actor is just naturally self-expressing. The illusion of transparency applies doubly to voice acting, where even the actor giving the performance is unseen by the audience.
This invisibility can lead many listeners to infer that either the actor giving the performance is just naturally talented, or that voice acting is something that anyone can do without much effort. To some it seems like the actor is doing something unattainably magical and this means that acting must require some sort of mysterious inborn ability. To others it sounds like the actor is just talking, and since talking to other people is something we all tend to do in our everyday lives, how artistically demanding could voice acting truly be? So which is correct?
Does it take natural talent to become a voice actor, or can anyone just step up to the mic and talk their way to fame and fortune?
Let’s find out!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #90 Here (MP3)
Theoretically yes anyone can voice act but it’s more a matter of can you voice act well. As a matter of fact sometimes when I’m feeling a little down on my abilities I imagine in my head of my performance fueled by study and passion vs a performance of someone who is only in it for a quick check and their name in the credits. My skills may be amateurish but atleast there is room to improve.
There is always room for anyone to improve, even seasoned veterans.
I’m not so interested in theory. I don’t think that theoretically anyone can voice act. I think that practically anyone can voice act, as long as they are fascinated enough to do whatever it takes to improve their skills. If they do not have that fascination, then they will never improve enough to become a capable voice actor. It’s fine if someone is not fascinated with voice acting. Not everyone is. But if someone can’t voice act well it’s not because they lack capability, it’s because they lack fascination and dedication.
If you are fascinated enough with voice acting, you won’t be able to keep yourself from pursuing it.
I came into it with the fascination for acting first, then the “anyone can do it” approach and then quickly realized that I really was terrible at voice acting.
“But its so simple to do!” 16-year-old me says. “But keep going! You’ll get better! Sucking at stuff is the first step at getting really good at stuff!” And now I’m better at it. Still got a bit to go, but got better!
Lovely podcast as always, Crispin. Happy Thanksgiving~!
~ Kalyn
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I too started with the “anyone can do it” mindset and had quite the rude awakening when I realized that I couldn’t.
The simplest things are often the hardest to do. Drawing a perfect circle is simple, but very difficult.
I’m glad you feel like you’ve improved in your voice acting. It is absolutely something you can practice and become better at.
Thank you for addressing these two misconceptions about voice acting. I myself held that belief that it takes a natural talent to be a great actor. With seeing/hearing great voice actors, it almost seemed effortless for them to give incredible performances. Now with listening to the podcast and interviews with those voice actors, it took them years of practice/training to get to where they are now. I know that I myself still have quite a journey ahead to become a professional voice actor, but with training and fascination, I hope to one day be on that level of acting.
Excellent! I’m glad you found the podcast helpful!
I usually go with the mindset of “Anyone can do it…IF you work at it.”
That’s the keyword to me, “WORK.” People rarely want to do the work.
It’s true. People rarely do want to work. I certainly don’t like to work. Work always sounds like drudgery.
But if you’re truly fascinated with a subject, it no longer feels like drudgery, it just feels like a topic that you want to spend your time and attention on.
I am fascinated by storytelling. I spend a lot of time studying it, analyzing it and practicing it. From the outside, some would say I put a lot of “work” into my artistry. From the inside, it just seems like the effort that is necessary to get the results that make me happy. My fascination turns drudgery into exploration.
A great podcast as usual. I find that fascination is one of the great keys to improving any craft.
Initial talent can be a great encouragement for those who have it, but not an all-in-one package. In fact, sometimes when the beginning is easier, it makes people lose interest quickly, and they get lazy. Which I believe you briefly touched on during this episode. Worse yet, for some, it can become a burden to be too naturally gifted.
It’s amazing what happens when fascination takes over. For myself, I’ve been so fascinated, when I’m not in front of the microphone, I’m already preparing myself for the next session!
I have found that intelligent study of acting as a whole, including watching on-camera actors, makes a huge difference. Taking in the whole spectrum of acting creates more inspiration, which leads me to more diversification in what characters I can portray. Doing things like diving into audio commentaries on TV shows and film, or really just getting my hands on anything that gives a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, has greatly helped in preparing me for industry expectations.
As far as the journey of acting goes, I have discovered there’s no shortcut to improvement, some just have head starts. Each actor has their own way of improving their ability, but there always need to be a powerful driving force, which helps build the foundation.
Thank you for encouraging me (and other listeners) to think actively about what it takes to be successful in this industry.
Thanks for your comment!
I’m glad that your fascination has inspired you to study the performances and the interviews of on-camera actors. If one is truly fascinated, one can’t help but delving behind the scenes to try and figure out how artists achieved the results they got. I’m glad you’re finding it so educational!
All the best to you!
Hey Crispin.
I’m glad I found this podcast. In all my pursuits I’ve never really had the support from friends and family because I “lacked natural talent” and, as you said, it can lead to a person thinking they’ll simply never achieve, but this podcast reinforced my stubborn belief that natural talent is no substitute for hard work and dedication.
The “anyone can do it” approach has been a favored one of my for a long time, but I can’t say I’ve ever had the illusion that it wouldn’t take the aforementioned hard work and dedication. If you’re not “naturally talented” it just means it that your pursuit of whatever it is you’re after will be that much more challenging but, as with overcoming any great challenge, the sense of accomplishment is greater when the goal is achieved.
I couldn’t but agree to the point that voice acting takes practice and dedication; when I try and voice match Alucard (ill advised for the untrained to be sure) I really get a scope of how long must have learned to use your instrument to get that voice. The same goes for Itachi and Balmung but the funny thing is that it’s not too far off from your normal speaking voice, at least to my hearing. The same is true for Laura Bailey’s portrayal of Henrietta in Gunslinger Girl vs Alv in Kiddy Grade or Ayaka Yukihiro in Negima.
On the point of fascination; I face challenges that, possibly, not many voice actors face. There’s little to no demand for it in my country and as a result I can’t seem to find affordable acting or singing classes or any form of local theater, but despite these challenges, it’s my fascination that keeps me going. I bide my time with learning what I can online.
Sorry for the novel; the podcast really got me thinking.
Thanks again for an amazing podcast episode!
I’m more and more convinced that “natural talent” just means that you had an unconscious fascination with something before you were ever asked to do it. Those who pick up a pencil and seem to have a “natural talent” for drawing were almost always unconsciously fascinated with drawing to begin with.
However, if “natural talent” is unconscious fascination, the way to becoming a professional is through conscious fascination. One must become aware of one’s fascinations and then apply oneself in order to become competitive. Unconscious fascination is almost never enough to help one weather the challenges that come from deciding to be a professional artist. If you’re conscious mind isn’t also engaged, you’ll most likely burn out or lose interest.
I’m flattered that you’ve tried to voice match my performance as Alucard. Many people try. Some are even able to match my rhythms, accent and melody choices. However, I have yet to hear anyone be able to match my level of resonance. That’s because you only tend to get that level of resonance when you’ve been classically trained in opera as I have. Also, they may mimic the style of the character, but rarely do they understand the psychological core of Alucard and why he does what he does. That’s what separates those who sound “good” from those who get hired.
I’m sorry that there doesn’t seem to be as much demand for voice actors in your home country. But I have no doubt that if voice acting truly fascinates you, that circumstances will eventually align to afford you opportunities to pursue voice acting in other places in the world.
All the best to you.
Thank you so much for your amazing wisdom about this myth, Cripsin 🙂 I totally agree of everything- it’s really means a lot to me. When I felt down and felt so much pressured for the artistry/competition, I loss my confidence and thought ‘am I talent enough or good enough?’ My self esteem goes up and down level becuase of my social interactions- it’s really hard. I have a question, have you ever listen a group called She & Him (‘she’ is Zooey Deschanel and ‘him’ is M. Ward) ? I really recommend it- awesome music, especially their new album ‘Classics’ 🙂
I’m glad you found the episode helpful. I’m not familiar with She & Him but thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks for this, Crispin! It helps to take a critical look at both ends of myth of talent (absent practice).
I don’t know if I ever figured just anyone could do it, but I can say I jumped into voice acting with the belief that *I* could do it. Going to class helped quite a bit with clearing away the delusions that whatever talent I might have, it was all that I needed. Instead, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and working on the skills to hear a good performance – in myself and in others – showed me that I was not going to be an instant voice over sensation.
But heck, I still believe I can do it – have a career, that is. I enjoy voice acting so much that I keep going back to classes and looking for ways to develop my business. Well, maybe I’m just a sucker for punishment, but I really think I can track improvement over the last couple years. There are bad days loaded with self-doubt, for sure, but a combination of love of the craft (cliched but true) and inveterate stubbornness (which for marketing purposes we’ll call persistence) keep me going.
Sweet.
Most people jump into any artistic pursuit believing that they can do it. That’s perfectly normal and to be expected. It’s when they face the challenges of actually creating art the communicates to an audience that the rubber really hits the road. Some people will realize that the subject isn’t fascinating enough to them and they’ll chose another pursuit. Others will decide that the challenges just whet their appetite to learn more. Everyone gets to make their own decisions. The secret is just to be honest with yourself about what does and does not fascinate you.
Doubting oneself is also perfectly normal. It usually occurs because we compare ourselves to those we think are more successful. While it is important to learn from those who are more successful or accomplished, comparing ourselves to them on a personal basis is usually detrimental. It tends to make one depressed which saps one’s energy and enthusiasm. It’s far better to remind yourself how far you’ve come on your own path rather than compare yourself to someone else’s. It sounds like you’re doing a good job of making sure you congratulate yourself on your own progress and reminding yourself how much you’ve grown. Good for you.
It seems that you always find perfect topics to talk about in your podcasts. They are informative, inspiring, and very helpful. I sincerely thank you for them and your amazing work as a voice actor.
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the podcast so much!
Indeed, what most casting directors will give as direction to a voice actor during an audition is “do less”. There is a tendency to think we have to do a lot with our voices to be convincing. But the truth of believability comes from being in the moment and being authentic. As with anything that looks seamless, there’s usually an artistry to it that’s been years in the making. Thanks for busting the myth!
You’re welcome Debbie! It is true, doing less is usually far preferable to overacting. And you’re absolutely right that there is an artistry to being authentic in the midst of the completely artificial circumstances of acting. It’s easy to be authentic at home, in your pajamas. It’s quite another thing to be authentic in front of producers with a deadline in an isolation booth with thousands of dollars of equipment in your face and the expectations of a creative team waiting to see what you’re going to do next.
I guess you could call acting authenticity under pressure. It certainly takes practice!
Found this podcast while doing research, and found the content really inspiring. I’ve taken a liking to acting after performing for High school plays and wanted to try and move on to voice acting which has been my dream. Unfortunately, my handicap is my nervousness when speaking in front of others or recording unless I know them well. On top of that, speaking has been very difficult for me in life particularly with “s” sounds. The podcast is very inspiring, thanks Crispin Freeman