There will be a lot of choices you’ll have to make on your Voiceover journey. Some of those choices will work well for you, others not so much. That’s part of being in this business. What’s important is that you make a choice, and that you stand confident and committed to that choice.
Karen Fukuhara joined us in Class, and we discussed the importance of making strong choices and committing to them, no matter what.
Got an audition but no background info on the character?
Got the part and your session is tomorrow, but you haven’t received a script?
What happens if the choice you made is rejected? Below is an excerpt from the Class, which you can find in your archives if you’re a student. If you’re not a Student but you want to watch the full class and any of our other classes, click here to check out the discounts available on membership.
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Karen Fukuhara: There are so many choices available to you, especially when you’re given a character without the full script. Sometimes you don’t get any notes at all. In Suicide Squad for instance, I was given a poem. I had to find a way to commit to that poem without any context of who the character was.
If you’re given a character without much information, it’s important to show that you have made a decision and a choice. You have to trust that if it’s incorrect, the casting director or the director in the room will redirect you. And you have to be ready to BE redirected, without seeing that as a sign of rejection.
If it’s an audition, same thing; make a decision and commit to it. Even if it means you don’t get the part, make a strong choice and trust in it.
To me that’s what makes this craft really wonderful and exciting. You can come with your own twist! No one else will voice a character the same way as you. The way you deliver that performance – and the intent you have behind it (the choice that you’ve made), makes it uniquely yours. That makes all the difference.
WORKING WITH A SCRIPT
I’m very technical with scripts. If I get the script beforehand I read it as many times as I possibly can. I also highlight every time my character’s name comes up. I highlight the stage direction, and I also highlight any time another character mentions my name. I get technical with every piece.
It’s also important to research and ask yourself questions like:
- Where does the character live?
- What occupation are they in?
- What kind of personality does this call for?
Once I’ve done the research as well, I drill the lines like a lunatic. I record everything on my phone, then whenever I’m in traffic, I’m listening to it.
I also find that writing things down helps me understand as well. Sometimes speaking it with a friend helps me understand more deeply too. I can explore various avenues, and ask why a character said a certain thing. Like, is it an inside joke? What’s behind these words? That sort of thing.
Basically I start from a place of research, and then I layer it up until I have a human!
Steve Blum: Yes, those directorial notes and the stage direction is really important. As voice actors we can tend to gloss over that when it comes to auditions.
A lot of voice actors just scan through a script, find their lines and then ignore the rest of that direction. That information can really help you to develop the character, and get a deeper understanding of what the writers are going for.
I know it can be annoying to do that extra work, especially if it’s an audition. Maybe you have multiple auditions to get through, and you get three pages of description before you get your first line. PLEASE READ IT. It was written for a reason.
Karen Fukuhara: YES! If it’s written it was written for a reason. You might read a script and think “Why is this scene in here?” or “Why am I auditioning with this? There’s always a reason. No Writer is like “Oh I’m just gonna put this in here for fun.”
It’s important to try and understand why. Why that scene, why now?
Steve Blum: Of course there are those times – especially with commercials – when the writers are being self-important. They want you to read all of their words, and to pronounce the words exactly the way they intend. Even then, out of professional courtesy and to be a professional, do your due diligence and read it anyway.
Reading the description and direction will also inform you of the mindset of the person you’re working for, even if it doesn’t necessarily inform the character. Sometimes it’ll be enough to know “Okay, this is going to be a wild one!” When that happens to me I get my improv skills up, so I’m ready.
WHAT IF YOUR CHOICE IS REJECTED?
Karen: Rejection is one of the most difficult things for a creative person! Sometimes you do your best but other people just don’t understand or see the value in what you’ve created.
A good friend of mine who’s an older actress helped me understand this recently. I talked to her about not getting some of the roles that I really wanted, and she said “This game of Hollywood is about longevity, remember that and it will help you keep a healthy mindset in your career”.
Rejection can happen at any point your career, not just at the start. Eventually you get that job and find yourself doing what you love. There you are, doing work that you’re passionate about and somehow getting paid to do it. It’ll be awesome, then at some point, you will face rejection. It happens. To all of us.
At the start of my career I didn’t find rejection that difficult. I was like “Oh well, of course I’m not going to get that, like it’s fine.” But I think it actually gets harder as you get older and work more.
As we age we also find ourselves looking at our peers outside of this industry. They seem to have forward momentum in their lives. They’re starting families, they’re moving forward in their careers. We compare ourselves to them – it’s natural but it’s not healthy.
We all have to remember that a healthy mindset in this business comes from a commitment to longevity.
Steve: The Long Game.
Karen: The Long Game. And having someone you can talk to about all this is important. Some of my friends are in the industry, and it’s always nice to talk to them because they get it. I’ll say “I almost got this part, and then I didn’t”. They just get it right away.
Sometimes you want to vent to people that are doing the same thing as you, other times you just want to talk about other stuff, or to hear other people’s good news that has nothing to do with this work. It’s good to have friends outside this industry too.
HOW IMPORTANT IS CONFIDENCE?
Karen Fukuhara: Huge! You have to come to terms with setbacks in this business, and find the confidence to move forward. When I was at the beginning of my career, after Suicide Squad, I had to go back to waitressing.
I knew that just because I got lucky once, it didn’t mean I could sustain an acting career. It’s humbling to go back to a day job, classes, and auditioning.
I had to convince people at my job that I deserved to take time off to go to auditions. I ended up quitting a job because my manager wanted me to “give my word” that I would always be there, on schedule, and I couldn’t do that.
Steve Blum: I had three jobs that were super flexible but paid crap, just so I could actually have that same flexibility. But confidence was my biggest hurdle from early on.
I was super insecure most of my young life. I didn’t move past that until I was about 40 years old and doing a ton of personal growth work. I remember one seminar when everyone was asked to look at the person next to them and describe what they thought that person was thinking.
Everyone, no matter how well-dressed, or confident they seemed, was telling themselves the same things! “Oh, that person thinks I’m kind of an idiot” etc etc. We make up all this crap in our own heads, and then we go around comparing ourselves to others, based on that.
The only person that can help you with your confidence is you, and it’s why I dedicated an entire class on building confidence, because doing that changed my life. My life as a person and as an actor.
When you can walk through the world knowing that you’re enough, exactly as you are right now, you open yourself to possibilities that you are otherwise shut off from. You might not be where you want to be yet, but you are exactly where you’re supposed to be.
If confidence is your issue, just know you are not alone. Everyone has to deal with that at some point. Especially when you get hit with rejection. That’s when you do what we talked about here, you have a conversation, with your dog or cat, or you call a friend who can say “You know what, you’re going to be okay”.
You have to be able to tell yourself that too. And when you get to the point where you can soothe yourself, then you’re going to be able to walk through that fire and get to the other side of it. And when you do, you’re going to be so much stronger too.
Karen Fukuhara: Yes. It’s all about mindset. My biggest hurdle when I started out was doubt in my ability to do this job.
Overcoming those hurdles, and knowing that you’ll face setbacks and rejection sometimes, is super important to your longevity in this business. We all go through it. Just keep making strong choices, and keep moving forward.