In a live-action production, voice actors may be called upon to read the parts of computer programs (Douglas Rain; Majel Barrett), radio dispatchers (Shaaron Claridge), or characters we never actually see on a show who give instructions by telephone (John Forsythe in Charlie's Angels) or mailed recording (Bob Johnson in Mission: Impossible).
It is not unusual to find amongst the ranks of voice actors people who also act in live-action film or television, or on the stage. For those actors, voice acting has the advantage of offering acting work without having to bother with makeup, costuming, lighting, and so on.
A common practice in animation voice casting not widely known to the general public is to have young boy-character roles read by women. On The Simpsons, for example, Nancy Cartwright plays not only Bart Simpson, but also Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and other juvenile males. This casting practice goes all the way back to Gracie Lantz as Woody Woodpecker, and continues with Elizabeth "E.G." Daily as Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and All Grown Up! today. June Foray, even as a senior citizen, can still faithfully voice Rocket J. Squirrel. Casting adult women for these parts can be especially useful if an ad campaign or a developed series is expected to run for several years, for while the vocal characteristics of an adolescent male actor would change over time, the voice of an adult female will not.
For much of the history of North American animation, voice actors had a predominantly low profile as performers, with Mel Blanc the major exception. However, this situation changed dramatically with the film Aladdin which was marketed with a noted emphasis on Robin Williams' role. The success of this film eventually spurred the idea of highlighting the voice actors as stars of a film becoming the norm in movie marketing. By contrast, Anime voice actors as a box office draw was developed far earlier in Japan.
Paul Frees (voiced several Disney attractions and Rankin-Bass films)
Linda Gary (considered one of the premier animation voice-over artists of the 1970s through the 1990s, voiced many Hanna-Barbara, Filmation, and Disney cartoon series until her death in 1996)
Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger in television commercials for Frosted Flakes cereal; singing voice in many works, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and The Jungle Book)
As we mentioned earlier, a voiceactor is the producer of the creative vocal work that is recorded and used for a variety of applications including commercials for radio, television, telephone, podcasts, audio books, video games and more.
Voice over is a field of study as well as a profession and instruction is available through individual coaching sessions, voice over workshops, books, podcasts, CDs and webinars, many of which are accessible regardless of location and are reasonably affordable when investing in your voice over business.
Voices.com is the voice over marketplace, a great voice acting resource for voiceactors and voice talent from around the world.
Robert Fredrick Paulsen, III (born March 11, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan) (sometimes credited as Rob Paulson or Vocal Magic) is an American voiceactor best known as the voice behind Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner from Animaniacs and Pinky from Pinky and the Brain.
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