VAM 101 | Interview with Richard Horvitz, Part 1
Welcome to episode 101 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
Prepare yourself, because you’re in for a real treat!
Welcome to the first part of my interview with my personal voice acting mentor, the amazing Richard Horvitz!
Richard has voiced some of the most iconic characters in animation including Daggett in the Angry Beavers, Zim from Invader Zim and Billy in the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
Not only is Richard an accomplished voice actor, but he’s also an amazing teacher. When I first arrived in Los Angeles back in 2001, I was in desperate need of a competent voice acting coach to get me up to speed in this competitive market. Even though I had extensive theatrical acting experience and had gotten my voice acting start in New York City, moving to LA meant taking my skills to a higher level. I was overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the world of Hollywood voice acting, and I wasn’t sure how best to gain momentum or achieve success.
Fortunately, I was introduced to Richard, and I immediately recognized how insightful his coaching was. I studied with Richard regularly in the early part of my Los Angeles career and I’m deeply indebted to him for his generosity, his candor and his encouragement. Richard’s coaching was my secret weapon for gaining a solid foothold as a voice actor in LA, and I’m so happy to be able to share his wisdom with you!
Before we get started, I should let you know that Richard’s enthusiasm is infectious and because of that we ended up talking for far longer than I usually do with my interview subjects. That means you’ll be getting some extra long episodes in this series of interview sections. I can’t think of a better way to introduce my new monthly podcast release schedule than to provide my listeners with some bonus content, so I hope you enjoy the extra time as much as I did!
If you are interested in taking class or being coached by Richard, please check out the classes section of Richard’s website!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #101 Here (MP3)
24 Responses to “VAM 101 | Interview with Richard Horvitz, Part 1”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- VAM 102 | Interview with Richard Horvitz, Part 2 | Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over - […] the first part of our interview, Richard talked extensively about the importance of playing pretend when it comes to…
Fascinating. It’s like I was listening in one of Richard Horvitz classes.
One thing I’ve learned in acting is that while circumstances change, feelings do not.
I can’t wait for the next episode. Thanks to you and Richard for your time and wisdom.
So glad you’re enjoying the interview.
Strangely reminiscent, of your online workshop in some ways Crispin.
This interview will be interesting. Thank you both.
You’re very welcome. Glad you’re enjoying it.
Hi Crispin! I am a new listener but a veteran voice actor (from Canada). This is a really great interview!
I fully subscribe to the ‘play pretend’ philosophy of Richard’s. This has always been my feeling towards acting in general. It isn’t always easy to shed one’s self awareness.
I have worked professionally for some time now though not as much as I would like. I am really enjoying the insignt and interviews given in your podcasts.
Cheers!
Thanks for listening Jessica! I’m glad you’re enjoying the interview with Richard! Hope things in Canada are going well for you!
Very insightful to listen to. I loved the breakdown with substituting emotions and the importance of play. Looking forward to the rest of the interview.
Thank you. Glad you’re enjoying it.
The things Richard is saying are really giving me a new look at voice acting……but I can’t help but love that he said “he’s frequently kind and he’s suddenly cruel”. Yeah I’m a Billy Joel fan
Yup. Richard is chock-full of wonderful quotes like that.
I thought it was super helpful to hear Richard Horvitz talk about “being” the character, like when you were a kid. Like he said, we didn’t ask our siblings whether our voice sounded convincing. And how you don’t want to pay to go see an actor crying about their dog passing away when they are supposed to be crying about their love leaving them. Resuscitating old memories while acting always befuddled me. It felt like it was too much for me to think about at once and made me feel like I couldn’t really “be there” as the character.
Golden nuggets of wisdom in this epic-length podcast! It goes along very well with what I recently learned in your online workshop!
Thank you, as always. I can’t wait to hear more!
Your student, Sarah
I agree that sense-memory techniques can be confusing. They can distract you from what’s going on in the actual scene you’re working on.
So glad you’re enjoying the interview!
I just want to give Richard a hug because I completely understand what he is talking about with “I am”. I try, in my mind, to drop myself into the character’s world, 3D and completely real, and act as I am really there, with these given circumstances, and this sort of thing is happening to me. Reactionary human being and all.
I am thoroughly enjoying this interview, and I can’t wait to hear what he talks about next~!!
~ Kalyn
Excellent! I’m glad you’re enjoying it so much!
This interview has just provided me with the answer to an acting puzzle I’ve been trying to crack for about a quarter of a century.
THANK YOU.
You’re very welcome. Glad we could crack your acting puzzle for you. What was your puzzle if you don’t mind my asking?
It has to do with finding a happy medium between different techniques – not going as far as method acting, but doing something more than mimicry. It also has to do with Lawrence Olivier.
My parents were big fans of Olivier and I heard a lot about him growing up. In later years, it started to bother me that I’d heard seemingly conflicting things about his style of acting. On the one hand, there were stories about him sitting in front of the mirror before each performance and carefully building his character while he put on his makeup. But then there were stories like the one about him chiding Dustin Hoffman for trying to follow his “method” approach too fanatically. And there were interviews in which, when asked about the transformation he’d undergo when playing characters, he’d simply say something like, “Well, basically I just pretend I’m someone else.” I couldn’t figure out why it seemed like he had a deep process on the one hand, but like he eschewed such things on the other.
I was never a fan of method acting, and while I was decent enough at simulating characters, I had a decent amount of trouble getting concepts like being “in the moment” and reacting to what other actors were doing. Eventually I got better at those things, but I still never quite managed to figure out the best way to portray a character in way that would both be entertaining and seem realistic.
In your interview, when Richard started talking about the concept of “I am Superman” or “I am enough” I realized THAT was what I’d been missing. I realized that what Olivier was doing was pretending HE was someone else. He started with himself and built on top of that (like putting on layers of makeup). And quite suddenly those seemingly disparate and incompatible things I’d heard about him for years all clicked neatly together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle finally being fitted into place.
It’s not that you are pretending to be Superman – it’s that you’re pretending YOU are Superman. As a result, your behavior looks natural because it’s your own behavior. But at the same time, you’re still doing what you need to do in order to play a character. You’re not “becoming” the character – there’s no need to do that, because the character is already a version of you.
So that was basically the conundrum I’d been dealing with for a very long time. I think it’s definitely going to affect how I approach roles from now on. 🙂
Excellent! What a wonderfully detailed and thorough response! I hope others find your comment as insightful as I do! I’m glad I was able to help you come to that realization. Very cool stuff.
Holy~! This is really good stuff! I was so excited to see this interview come up so I can’t wait to hear more. I’ve been wanting to take a class from Richard Horvitz and now I want to x100! What terrific insights, thank you both for sharing!
Flor
Excellent! So glad you’re enjoying it!
Excellent Episode Crispin. I really appreciate yours and Richard’s insights.
You’re very welcome. Thanks for listening.
I haven’t listened to a podcast in a while and I feel a bit bad about that. Lately, I’ve been in the dumps for not using my free time towards VA… but sometimes you need a break? It can be a bit demotivating auditioning so much and not getting parts, but I’ll have to rewire my brain and not give up!
Listening to Richard talk and joke around brightened my mood and gave me the boost I need to look forward, to be completely honest. I agree with everyone else about the points he has made. I’ve been back and forth with is not critiquing my work as I go and just DOING IT. Another interesting point was how much depth one can go with even the commercial lines. I would have honestly never thought acting principles could be applied. It’s great to hear from people who know what they’re talking about for sure! I hope my acting course in the Fall will be as enlightening as your podcasts!
Cheers and thanks always,
Lillian
Hi there Lillian. No need to feel bad about not listening to the podcast. It’s not going anywhere. You’re welcome to listen whenever you have time.
I’m glad you’re finding Richard’s insight so inspiring. I hope your acting course goes well! Best of luck to you!