ChristopherSmithVO

There are a number of things. First and foremost is to warm up before gigs. Even ones that aren't vocally stressful. Second is hydrate. Drink at least one bottle of water for each hour you're in the booth. Third is rest/recovery afterwards. Lozenges and syrups only work slightly. After all, your vocal chords are in your trachea where you don't want liquid getting. When I have a character that I know is going to be difficult, I try to schedule him for last thing on friday. So I have the weekend to recover.

So many of my peers started in movies, TV and stage. I wanted to be the voice of cartoons since I was about 6. Even though I didn't really know how it all worked. I moved to LA straight out of high school and started pursuing VO. I studied with Daws Butler (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry hound). I began in radio production in the early 80s and have been lucky to work consistently since then. Best! Job! Ever!

I'm a fan of dubs since they keep me working, but I totally get why some folks would prefer the subs. There are definite limitations to the dub performance since we're working within someone else's acting. We don't have the luxury of our own timing or performance. That being said, there are those who aren't able to appreciate the visuals because they're busy reading subtitles. Over the years dubs have gotten much more sophisticated and subtle. No longer the Speed Racer days. It all comes down to preference and I respect both.

Kitttaaaaaaan! Loved playing that guy! I was so emotionally invested. By the time we got to the end I'm all "Noooooooooooooo!" So GL is one of my faves. I grew up as a huge fan of reruns of golden age anime like Speed Racer, Astroboy, and Kimba the White Lion. Kimba was the show that made me want to be a VA. As far as games, I love playing them and hearing my fellow VAs. ESO, Skyrim, Borderlands. I have to say I've spent more hours playing CoD5 Nazi Zombies than any other. Great way to blow off steam at the end of a long day.

It took a long time to reach the level where I work everyday. I had to have a lot of side jobs for a long time. I was an agent, casting director, set decorator, subtitler... etc, etc, etc. As long as I could work in entertainment I enjoyed whatever job I had at the time. But I always kept VO in the forefront. Been a full timer since about 2000. It's also the best time to be in VO. There are so many projects happening all the time. And it's not the same 6-1/2 people doing everything.