VAM 095 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 3
Welcome to episode 95 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 third 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 and I discussed how his passion for improvisational acting helped shape the trajectory of his early acting career. We also discussed how the difficulties he faced during that time helped him face and eventually let go of the judgements that were holding back his progress towards becoming a professional actor.
In this episode I ask Phil what inspired him to become an actor in the first place. This is a very important question to ask, especially of one’s self. Often people have a vague notion that they’d like to try acting because it looks like fun, or maybe they’re interested in getting attention or in becoming famous. However, pursuing acting as a career can be a very challenging road to travel, and during times of adversity, one’s conviction can really be tested. I have found that when the going gets tough, when the hardships increase, when it’s not clear what can help you continue on in the face of difficulties or discouragement, it is very important to have solid reasons for what you are doing so you can remind yourself why acting is so important to you.
In this section of our interview, Phil is generous enough to share with us the single, fascinating experience he had which drove him to pursue an acting career. I think you’ll find that hearing what inspired Phil to pursue acting will help you discover your own inspiration as well.
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #95 Here (MP3)
10 Responses to “VAM 095 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 3”
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- VAM 096 | Interview with Phil LaMarr, Part 4 | Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over - […] the last episode, Phil shared with us the experience from his childhood that inspired him to become an actor.…
The first question you asked “Why am I an actor?” was kind of unbalancing, because you never really think about such questions. I started thinking about it during your introduction and the first thing that popped into my head was startling how a. how simple it was and b. how easy it was to think of. Guess I knew all along, just never been asked the right question.
Lovely podcast as always!
~Kalyn
You’re welcome! Glad the question helped you reflect on things!
I was thinking that Phil’s story about why he wanted to be in the Phantom Tollbooth play, that he knew exactly how to play this one part, echoes comments you’ve made about when you go out for a casting call, your job is to let the director know that you’re the one that can solve their problem. It was interesting to hear a direct example of that from him. Also, this has been a great interview series. Thank you for sharing it with us.
You’re very welcome. Glad you caught the application of the principal of solving the casting director’s problem!
I actually started wanting to be an actor when I was in junior high. I had signed up for art so I could learn to draw manga style comics. Since Toonami was red hot at the time so did everyone else. I was moved to theater art because too many kids signed up for art. On my first day at theater arts class the teacher paired everyone up for practice some generic dialogue. It was something like, “Where were you?” “Out.” “Why?” Nothing specific. After getting over the initial giggles (I was paired with an eighth grade girl) I read the script and nailed it. Everyone in my class was shocked that I could act. The teacher was so excited that she had a student who could act that she gave me a bunch of forms for after school acting programs. I didn’t take any because I was too shy. I was happy that I found something I was kind of good at. I didn’t sign up for acting until high school though. I still had anime on the brain and thought that drawing them would bring me closer to it.
I would say what kept me acting, but it would sound like therapy at this point.
I got over stage fright in high school. I would tell you how except I wouldn’t recommend my method. I don’t want to look more like a jerk than I already do.
Thanks to you and Phil for your time and wisdom.
You’re very welcome. Many of my experiences in acting would probably sound like therapy as well. That’s a common occurrence. Glad you’re enjoying the interview.
Currently relistening to this part of the interview, and I have a question for anyone who’s a native speaker, just to make sure I’m not misundertanding anything: at around 20:00, Phil tells this story about a young Black man who talked to him about how to become a successful VA like him. And Phil tells him he needs to be able to turn his Black English off. Specifically, he says he needs to learn not to say “casted”.
Now, just to be sure I understand the point, Phil is not talking about his accent when he says the word, but rather, the fact that “casted” is grammatically incorrect in proper/standard American English – that would be “cast” if I’m correct -, right? Because it doesn’t seem to me like there is any specific accent in his voice when he says the word, but if so, maybe I need to train my ear more.
Thank you to whoever’s willing to clarify that for me.
What Phil is referring to is a manner of speech that is sometimes called ebonics in America. It’s a way of speaking that has developed among African-Americans, and usually African-Americans of lower socio-economic status. It involves both word replacements as well as certain vowel and consonant changes that differ from what’s known as the standard American dialect. One such word replacement is “axe” instead of “ask”.
Phil is doing both, the word replacement and the accent, but his accent is very subtle. If you’re interested, you may want to listen to more black actors perform with this mode of speech. However, for your own career, it’s not something you’ll need to develop or perform since as a white person, you will probably never be asked to act with any kind of African-American accent. While Hollywood can still be quite racist in some ways, there has been improvement when it comes to making sure black actors play black characters. That’s actually something Phil and I talked about at length in the interview.
Hopefully that helps clarify some.
I’ve been devouring your podcast over the past couple weeks trying to catch up. These interviews and your advice and perspective have been wonderful to take in. Thank you so much!
Up until this point, I’ve been trying to grapple with the me-in-the-art vs. the-art-in-me thing and trying to figure out why I’m compelled to pursue this art form professionally. It’s certainly not for admiration and praise, but it’s been difficult imagining the art in me since I definitely have a long way to go to be a competitively competent actor. Then you talked about the thrill of being behind the scenes at the opera, it was one of those bell ringing moments. I’ve had experiences in work environments before where it donned on me that I was privy to the secret world of the kitchen that restaurant goers rarely get to see, and that is what’s been drawing me more than anything else to voice acting. I want to collaborate on projects that will bring joy to others the way that others before me have done in the fields that I’ve drawn joy from!
It’s a long way to go, but realizing this is like a beacon seen through clouds of a doubt, and I’ll try to keep it in mind as I chisel away at the rough stone surrounding the art. Thanks again for all you’re doing here!
Great interview! I used to watch Phil on MadTV, and later became aware of his acting in things like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and other titles.
I identify with people wanting to lose or change their regionalisms, and as someone from Minnesota, I’m glad that I’ve learned how to take most of the Minnesota out of my accent, and also how to lay it on thick when I want to.
Speaking of MadTV, Mo Collins is a GREAT example of that. She could play so many different characters, but I especially loved when she’d play characters like Lorraine or Stuart’s mom, and she was able to play up that Minnesota accent.