Q: Voice acting is probably one of the coolest careers to exist. How did you enter this world? When did you decide you wanted this to be your career path? 

I was interested in acting from a young age, but growing up in an extremely rural area, there weren’t many opportunities to explore the craft locally. My town had no community theater, and while I was able to do drama club once I got to high school it wasn’t quite enough to scratch the itch for me. I was particularly into video games and animation as a teen, and at some point I realized that the people who played characters in those mediums were performing those characters just through their voices, and got curious about how I could do things like that too. I Googled around and learned that there was a whole community of people doing voiceover online, so I jumped right in using my dad’s iPad to record and started voicing in fun little indie and fan projects.

Throughout high school and college I continued to improve my recording setup and skills, and got to the point where I was doing paid work for indie games and animations. At that point I knew I wanted to pursue it professionally, and since I was moving to L.A. anyway to work in animation production, I decided to do what I could to pursue voiceover as well. Being able to do it professionally was a big dream, so I was very excited when it actually started to happen!

Q: How did your time at Harvard shape your journey? Or maybe it didn’t really factor in at all?

To be honest, most of my voiceover experience ended up being something I developed separately from my activities at Harvard. The biggest direct impact Harvard had for me was allowing me to have access to a better recording studio than my dorm room; I remember taking long treks to the Quad with my laptop and recording microphone so I could use the room to sit and record lines for my indie project auditions. Voiceover is such a niche thing that there wasn’t a more structured way to get into it through college activities like there was for theater or improv. If they ever create a seminar or club for it there I would be so excited to see more students get into it! I’ll help!

But what was invaluable in a less direct way was how being at Harvard introduced me to so many people from all over the world who I never would have met had I stuck closer to my hometown. For any actor, having a variety of lived experiences is the best way to grow, and I am so grateful that I was able to have the world opened for me in that way during those years so I could meet so many wonderful people and draw on those experiences and interactions when thinking about characters I play.

Q: How different is the voice acting/animation world from the live action acting world, with regards to sourcing jobs and auditioning? What’s the audition process like? Or do you get booked directly off your demo reels?

I don’t have much experience in the live action world, so I can only speak for my experiences with voiceover. I am represented by an agency, so the most straightforward way I’m hired is by my agents sending me auditions that I then submit through them, and if I’m lucky then I end up booking something. I know sometimes casting directors may request just demo reels instead of auditions for particular projects also.

But because there are so many projects and characters, and production timelines can be tight, sometimes it can be a lot more informal. For example, sometimes a project might only send out auditions for the biggest roles, so then the casting director might select actors for the extended cast based on the submissions they received for those main characters without doing more auditions. I’ve often been brought on for projects to do smaller roles here and there by casting directors who know my voice and ability without having to audition for them.

Every audition or part is a demonstration of work that might stick in someone’s mind, which over time can snowball into more work as people remember you and what you’re capable of. So there’s a lot of that intangible element that’s hard to chalk up to much else besides luck and timing. 

Q: What is your process like for finding a character’s voice? How much control do you have over what they sound like, versus the director’s/writer’s vision for the role? 

For me, the key is always to think first about what the character is thinking or feeling and seeing if I can express that honestly, and whatever vocal tone that takes is secondary. When you’re auditioning, the role is yours for that moment, so you can play them any way you like as long as you feel like you can believe what you’re saying. Most of my roles are acted with my natural voice or slightly pitched up, so I don’t often end up doing really wacky or weird-sounding characters, but it’s a real treat when I do!

I try not to get too hung up on vocal tone or quality, but sometimes that’s a bit easier said than done. In some mediums there are definitely certain vocal tropes that can be helpful to keep in mind; for example, a lot of my work is in localized media such as anime, which historically has trended toward voices with a certain sound for certain roles, and it’s beneficial to have a voice that can play into those typecasts. But some of my favorite performances have come from talent who didn’t have the more conventional sound at all, and those characters became infinitely more memorable as a result. 

During a session, the voice director will let you know if they want the character played any differently from how you auditioned. I trust my directors to know the project better than I do, so I do my best to follow their vision, but when I have questions or concerns about how to play something I ask. It’s ultimately a collaborative process and the best work comes from the ideas that both actor and director bring to the table.

Q: What’s your favorite character you’ve ever voiced, or the job you’re most proud of?

It’s tough to pick a favorite, but if I absolutely HAVE to…I’d say voicing Inori from the anime Medalist. Medalist is about a young girl named Inori who wants to pursue figure skating, but she’s almost too old to be able to get into doing it professionally, and she has little support or belief in her from the people around her until her coach Tsukasa agrees to work with her. So many of Inori’s struggles and insecurities are things I relate to, as will anyone who has thought about pursuing their dream or passion, so while I am not a figure skater specifically it feels very personal. Voicing a character who has gone on such a spectacular journey of growth is pretty rare when a lot of roles are short or one-off parts, so being Inori’s voice through her very relatable journey and seeing how she changes has been so rewarding. 

Q: Do you ever find yourself re-using voices? Are you ever totally stumped as to what a character should sound like? What do you do then? 

Because many of my characters are close to my natural tone, I have sometimes wondered if they might end up sounding similar over time. But that’s why I always try to first focus on the acting, even more than being able to do “different voices” for characters. Even for characters who sit in a similar place vocally, they will have different mindsets and experiences and ways of expressing themselves that sound distinct, and being true to that in the moment in their respective stories is more important than giving them a distinct sound if that isn’t what I feel is right for their character. Notably, some of the voice actors whose work I look up to have voices that I recognize pretty easily in any role they play, but if it works for the character then it doesn’t matter too much if they sound similar vocally to other roles.

If I ever really get stuck during an audition, I just take a break! I’ll go on a walk or call my friends or read a book…basically whatever I need to reset before coming back. Usually after getting out of my head for a bit I can come at it with a fresh perspective and it’ll click then.

Q: Have you ever unexpectedly heard yourself somewhere, like a commercial on TV? What’s that feeling like? 

Yes! I got jumpscared hearing myself in a couple of game trailers in Youtube ads. Another time I walked out of my room when my roommate was playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and she showed me where she found a couple of my characters (just some additional voices who could be heard throughout the world) that she had run into. It’s a little strange when I’m not expecting it, but at this point I’m so used to hearing myself recorded that maybe I’m desensitized. Separately from my own work, I’ve also heard a few of my voice actor friends on radio ads and in videos and such when I wasn’t expecting it, which is always a fun surprise too.

Q: Do you have to watch a lot of animation and stay current on the hot shows? Is there a piece of media you would recommend everyone should see?

I think it’s really important to at least somewhat keep up on what’s coming out and hear how different media sound to inform acting choices for those kinds of projects. Children’s animated series tend to have snappier pacing since each episode might only be about 20 minutes, whereas a serious militaristic video game might be more grounded and focused on battle chatter than character banter. Understanding the genre and medium you’re in is hugely important for informing character choices. In addition to that, I think voice actors really shouldn’t limit themselves just to media that just have voiceover – some of the finest acting performances of all time have been on film or stage, so I find myself checking out a lot of older films and trying to see new ones to see what I can take from those as well.

All that said, if I were to make one recommendation of a recent piece of media to look into, it would be Witch Hat Atelier. The manga is just brilliant, but the anime has been airing recently and is overall a great adaptation of the source material, so whichever you prefer as long as you check out some version of it. It is a love letter to art with some great characters, worldbuilding and just wonderful magical atmosphere – I fully expect it to become a classic. 

Q: Is there a piece of advice you got early on in your career that has stayed with you until now? What would you recommend young, aspiring voice actors do right away to boost their start in the industry?

If you love it, do it. Put yourself out there and submit for anything and everything you’re interested in. It takes time to build a career, but with every audition or role booked you build more of a resume and reputation with folks who will appreciate what you can do. You won’t book most of what you read for, so just try to enjoy the audition process because that’s most of the job. And most importantly: you have a unique voice and perspective that is valuable. Bring that to your characters and it will feel genuine.

If you’re interested in trying out voiceover, get a strong foundation with acting – that can be via workshops, local theater, anything – and see if you enjoy it. Then check out places like https://voiceactingclub.com/ and https://iwanttobeavoiceactor.com/ which are sites full of resources created by working professional voice actors to help people get started. There’s no quick start or easy method, but if you start laying the foundation now you’ll be in a great position to be ready for when you book that first job.

Even on the hardest days, I am still so glad I started doing voiceover, and I have not once regretted pursuing my passion. I am extremely fortunate to get to do what I do, and hopefully I’ll be doing it for a long time yet!