Very Voice Actors – Grey DeLisle

Grey seems to attract many meaner, more evil, sassier types of characters. But what’s interesting about Grey is that in real life she couldn’t be more opposite. Full of smiles and laughter, she does her best to make sure people have a fun time around her. She constantly acknowledges that she has a strong desire to win people over.

So where does this darker side that manifests itself so often in Grey’s work come from?

Well, while she’s certainly a charming and pleasant person to be around, she channels much of her humor and conversation through a filter of hilarious sarcasm, sharp truths, and strong self-deprecation. Through interviews, behind-the-scenes looks, and her heavy social media presence, one could easily see where she draws this biting personality and blows it up to fit the characters she plays.

Whether voicing the abusive baby-sitter Vicky in The Fairly Oddparents, the devilish Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the feisty Kimiko of Xiaolin Showdown, goth girl Sam from Danny Phantom, or the chillingly evil Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender, Grey seems to find common ground with these darker characters by amplifying her own pleasantly twisted senses of humor and life views.

A good amount of her personality could be attributed to her grandmother (89), whom she was largely raised by. Grey apparently takes her grandmother with her on various recording sessions and has seen her repeatedly, (and unintentionally), insult various actors and celebrities. Once when she ran into John Ritter after he’d gained some weight and grown a beard, Grey’s grandmother told him he was barely recognizable and “looked like he was running from the law…but he at least still had a cute face”.

Each of Grey’s characters listed previously, however, are certainly vastly different from one another, even if they do fall under the “darker” description. But like most great voice artists, Grey offers a wide variety of talents as she brings to the table cartoon icons like the kind hearted Frankie from Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, the polite Daphne from many iterations of Scooby Doo, energetic characters like Flicker the Flashlight in Handy Manny and Wubbzy from Wow! Wow! Wubbzy, the sweet protagonist girl Emily in Clifford the Big Red Dog, and the regal Padme Amidala from the ’03 Clone Wars series.

These chipper and polite characters actually showcase Grey’s other prominent side of her personality. They branch from her demeanor in which she executes her sense of humor. While telling a dirty joke or whipping out a dry biting statement, she’ll do it with a smile and a laugh to follow.

I bring these two different, (more like opposite), sides of Grey up for a reason. A great lesson can be taken out of this for all voice actors. That lesson is this:

Characters branch from a part of who you are.

It may be a small part or a hugely encompassing side to your identity, but your characters are grounded in some element of your being.

In this way acting is less like trying on different masks and more like taking those masks off to show the world parts of your true self in the manifestation of a character. That is why it is so important for an actor to be active. Watching movies, adapting hobbies, going through the ups and downs life offers…these are all ways to give us more to draw from. The more involved we are in life, the more we have to amplify or reveal in our characters just as Grey has done with her wide expanse of credits.

But widening our identity is only part of the process. We need to develop the ability to draw that applicable part of us out and throw it into a character. That’s where training comes in.

Grey worked her whole life to have this ability. She started acting as a baby in stage productions. Throughout school she became known for her impersonations and eventually garnered the nickname “Dorothy” for her spot on Wizard of Oz impressions. She attended a fine arts high school and went on to obtain a theatre degree in college. She had started stand up in her early teens and incorporated her voices into her routines.

These years of training prepared her to express/exaggerate the elements that made her who she is.

I believe we all have a million characters hidden inside of us. We just need the training (and talent, don’t get me wrong) to be able to bring those characters out.

So which side does Grey sway towards more heavily? It’s probably her friendly bubbly attitude because she states that Azula was the most difficult and challenging character she’s ever played. But you couldn’t tell by her flawless performance that it was in the least bit challenging. Why? The training. The practice. She had Azula in her. The lifelong hard work helped bring her out.

What crazy unique characters are inside you? And how hard are you willing to work to bring them out?

Very Voice Actors – Tom Kane

Tom Kane is all over the board. He’s one of the big ones. And the strange thing is, his name is scarcely brought up.

Providing iconic characters for Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network, Pixar, Lucas Films, and so much more, Tom certainly deserves all the respect and mention that today’s modern voice actors receive.

You may have heard his deep and rich tones announcing for the Academy Awards, narrating Pixar sizzles (like Ratatouille and Wall-E), or providing the voice for a variety of movie trailers.

Or…

You could recognize him as one of these:

   

  

 

Tom started voice over work when he was just 15 years old. Growing up in Kansas he thought “It’d be fun to hear my voice on television” and started working towards that goal saying “I didn’t know anybody got paid for it.” He was raised with the voices of many of television’s most iconic shows like Hogan’s Heroes and Star Trek and says he received the inspiration for his characters and accents through those shows.

Tom realized that most of the local commercials’ voice overs were terrible and that he could do a much better job. He began calling nearby radio stations and advertisers and essentially telling them their commercials were no good. A myriad of hang-ups later he finally set the hook when he contacted the PSA’s for the American Cancer Society. “It sounded like they stuck the microphone in front of the receptionist”, he recalls, “which it turns out is what they did”. An hour later a call came in from the largest ad agency in Kansas City at the time saying they would love to have a professional voice over guy. Being just 15, Tom was driven to the headquarters by his dad who was actually mistaken as the voice guy and quickly pointed out it was his young “pimply faced” son that had the deep pipes they wanted.

As Tom was escorted into the rented out, expensive recording booth he could see the recording engineer, the one who agreed to Tom doing the voice over, being chewed out behind the class for bringing in a kid. With some audacity Tom asked into the microphone if they’d like him to read the script with an accent. There was a pause and the producer asked “…What?” Tom repeated his question adding further that he thought the script might sound better being read with the Pepperidge Farm type voice. Skeptically the producer replied, “Oh you do a 75 year old man from New England, do you?” One solid read later they sat quietly behind the glass and slowly responded with “That’s 29 on the nose…Ya, that’s good.” Tom only recorded three takes by the end of the session and the directors/producers were satisfied. 3 days later the same ad agency calls up requesting Tom for another 5 commercials.

Tom continued on with college and ended up graduating. Throughout High School he had done 100 or so commercials and had actually written several of them as well.

His accent work has only increased over the years. About 20-25 percent of his gigs, he says, come from doing some sort of British accent. He’s the voice of Disney Asia and has done Promos for India’s Cartoon Network.

Tom highlights his proudest moments as being the voice of Yoda, (being a huge Star Wars nerd), and meeting/working with such legends as Tom Hanks.

A down-to-earth, humble, and all around talented guy, Tom Kane deserves all the attention more talked of voice talents draw.

A mission statement to all: Let’s talk more about Tom Kane!

NEXT WEEK’S FEATURED VOICE ACTOR: Kids look out, it’s Miss Finster! The great April Winchell!