Apple commercial with Steve Jobs doing the voice over

The answer: ONE incredibly talented voice actor!

His name is Rob Paulsen

No, I'm not talking about a quote from a popular 1999 movie. (Actually, the quote was "His name was Robert Paulsen" but without Googling it can you name the movie?)

I'm talking about one of the most gifted voice actors in the business: Rob Paulsen — a man who has a list of voice acting credits that make the phrase "a mile long" seem tiny. (You can check them out at Rob Paulsen on IMDb.)

A major influence

I grew up listening to the man perform in many cartoons. And yet from TV show to TV show I never suspected it was the same guy doing the voices. All I knew is that whichever character he happened to be performing, I gravitated toward it.

Some videos:

Here's just a tiny sampling of some of his work along with a 3-part series on voice acting!

Yakko Warner:
The funny "cat" with the brown pants.
(Rob also plays the bald psychiatrist with glasses, Dr. Scratch-n-Sniff!)

Not only can he act, but can also sing.
Seriously, singing in character ain't easy!

Pinky - the crazy British-accented mouse
(The Brain is played by the very talented Maurice LaMarche who also has an amazing voice acting resume!)

The Mask - The Animated Series
Here's Rob singing the main theme. (He also plays the main character, Stanley Ipkiss, as well.)

Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(The turtle with the red mask.)

Snow Job from GI Joe

On Voice Acting...

(There are many, many more if you head on over to YouTube)

The Podcast

Rob also has a fantastic podcast that you should most definitely check out! You can find it here: Rob Paulsen Live

How about you?

Who are your favorite voice actors? If you don't know their names, then head on over to IMDb and do a search for the show's title. There you'll find a complete listing of who was in the show, what characters they played, and usually a link to the actor's IMDb page.

It's a powerful performance of some very moving words. (Special thanks to Paul Strikwerda for posting this on his blog where I found it. Paul, you're awesome!)

I recommend checking out more of Shane Koyczan on YouTube.

Well, actually two good reasons.

A new job

The first is that around the middle of August I landed a new voice acting job, and it's the kind of job that voice actors salivate over: a full-year-contracted-guaranteed-pay kind of job! So I was busy going over the contract and getting acquainted with my new job. I'll write more about it in a later post.

A disease

The second reason is that I "contracted" pneumonia — ouch! Luckily though, it hasn't affected my voice, just my lung capacity. I know I know, I shouldn't push myself. But don't worry, I'm still resting and taking it easy... in-between VO jobs.

Long HAIR?

Call me late to the party, but just recently I saw Disney's Tangled and WOW was that a great movie! And so, for your viewing pleasure, here are two "behind the scenes" videos of the movie.

Video One:
Tangled's two stars, Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, getting directed and singing the movie's love theme.

Video Two:
Interviews with the stars and crew:
(Listen to what Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi say: the two actors were NEVER in the same room together when performing their lines. It was all made seamless by through the directing!)

In addition to Jonathan's list of what clients say to justify paying a lower fee, here are a few more I've heard (with my comments in parentheses.)

"Any voice actor who knows his craft can get this done in no time."
(True, a trained voice actor can get a quality recording out faster because we have the training and experience. But should we accept a lower payment just because we are good at our craft? NO! That training and experience demand a higher fee, not lower.)

"We can only pay a small fee for this project, but we have more work that we can send your way in the future."
(Really? More work? Great! Before you get too excited, keep in mind that this is a COMMON ploy in many freelancing fields. I hear it quite a bit in the website design biz I dabble in. Remember to charge for ONE job at a time. "Future" work is just that, in the future. It should have no influence on the present.)

"It's only a few lines."
(Yes, it might only be a little ten-second blurb, but it takes a voice actor longer than 10 seconds to record it, clean up the audio, and correspond with the client. In addition, we get paid for having and maintaining a home studio, having professional equipment, and some ROI (return on investment) for the money we put into our training and education — just like any other profession.)

Check out the program's website at:
This American Life

The 2-hour 45-minute audio seminar isn't free, however. But hey, the only way to become successful is by investing in your eduction right now, right? And in my opinion, investing in anything Nancy Wolfson teaches is a good deal.

Check it out:
How to do voice acting without getting caught!

What I like about HISHE isn't only that the videos are a hoot, but it's proof of what people can do when they have an idea and run with it. Too many beginners to voice acting whine and whine and whine "No one will hire me! No agents will represent me! Wah!" To them my answer is always "Get off your butt and create your own career!"

Ok, enough preaching. Video time:

Check out more at the HISHE website or YouTube channel.