VAM 178 | Interview with Feodor Chin, Part 1
Welcome to episode 178 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
Welcome to the first part of my interview with voice actor, film actor, writer, comedian, and all around wonderful guy, Feodor Chin. You may be familiar with Feo’s voice over work as Mudmug in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Harunobu Adachi in Ghosts of Tsushima, Lee Sin in League of Legends, and one of my personal favorites, Zenyatta in Overwatch. In animation he’s worked on Cartoon Network’s Regular Show and on-camera he’s worked on TV shows such as Nash Bridges, The Mindy Project, and Jane the Virigin. As of this episode he’s also narrated or contributed narration to over 100 different audiobooks! Feo has worked as a performer in so many different mediums and he brings a great perspective to the challenges of sustaining a career as a working actor.
In this episode, I begin by asking Feo how he got his start as an actor. When he was in high school, Feo saw Dustin Hoffman’s performance as the character Willie Lowman in the movie adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman. Feo was so fascinated by Hoffman’s ability to transform into a different character that he wanted to explore that sort of transformational acting himself. So he decided to pursue acting in any way he could. He started taking drama classes and auditioning for the plays at his school. He also joined his school’s forensics and debate team in order to gain more experience with public speaking.
When it was time for him to apply to college, Feo had to balance his personal desire to pursue acting with his family’s expectations. Feo grew up in San Francisco and his family wanted him to attend college somewhere in his home state of California. They also hoped that Feo would major in a subject that would serve as a good foundation for a financially stable career such as being a doctor or a lawyer. In an attempt to satisfy both his parent’s desires and his own, Feo applied and was accepted to UCLA, initially as a design major. Not long after his matriculation at UCLA, the school dissolved the design department so Feo switched his major to communications. Attending college in Los Angeles allowed him to explore acting possibilities there as well as to build up a network of friends that would be helpful to his career in the future. By majoring in communications instead of acting, he mollified his parents’ concerns, while at the same time giving himself the opportunity to take as many acting classes as possible.
After graduating college, Feo moved home to San Francisco to explore acting opportunities in the bay area. He spent many years there taking the time to build up his skills and his resume until he felt that he could compete in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. I advised my listeners to do the same way back in episode 18 of the podcast where I suggest that it’s wise to exhaust all of the acting opportunities in your local area first before moving to a bigger marketplace! Feo moved to LA in August of 2001 and has been a working actor ever since.
What I love about Feo’s journey is how practically minded it is. Feo was willing to put in the time and effort to do unglamorous things like looking for auditions in trade newspapers, printing and mailing out headshots and resumes, and diligently following up with casting directors to keep them aware of his talents and his marketability. He understood that succeeding as an actor didn’t mean suddenly getting discovered by some casting director or producer. Instead he did his homework consistently until he was able to create an acting career for himself. It’s wonderful to hear from an accomplished journeyman actor like him and I hope you find his insights as practical and useful as I have!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #178 Here (MP3)
Hi there. I have only recently started (and have been bingeing) listening to the podcast, and I am always fascinated by the different perspectives each actor brings to the table in your interviews. I get to learn names I previously hadn’t known and become more familiar with their work. It’s so interesting to hear about how many vastly different types of projects Feo has worked on over the years. I have such admiration and respect for how much time and effort he has put into his craft, to get his name out there, to know his worth and push for what he wanted. These conversations always highlight just how different everyone’s journey is getting into the industry, and where and how they find their place in it, as well as how family values/culture, upbringing, and societal expectations can all be so influential on the flow of their career paths, both positively and negatively. Thank you for bringing in so many unique actors that bring such a variety of perspectives in their field, as well as their other passions. It helps immensely.
I know you probably don’t take guest requests, but another voice actor I would absolutely love to hear on the show would be Damien Haas. He is such a talented, hard-working guy in so many facets, and I would really love to hear more about his career in voice over. I think our fellow VAM listeners would get a lot out of hearing his journey in the industry so far, from his work on Disney to YouTube to voice acting to streaming on Twitch, where he has fostered such a sweet, supportive, and generous community. He is an extremely kind, caring, passionate individual, and is always sharing wonderful insights and advice with his community that I feel would also be great to share on the podcast, so I hope to hear a conversation between the two of you in the future.