About Actors and Acting

white-male-1871405_640

I stepped out the back door this morning into what felt like “balmy weather” after the past few days of “witch’s tit” cold.  When I looked at the thermometer, it read thirty degrees–still a couple degrees below freezing, but very survivable in jeans and a sweatshirt while caring for the critters.

 

There’s a 60% chance we’ll get up to an inch of snow this afternoon and evening, followed by warmer temps (in the 40s) and rain in the morning. That’ll feel like Miami Beach, after the weather we’ve been having. I may even go for a walk. I need to do that whenever possible. Indoor winter living sure isn’t conducive to optimal health.  I’m reading, writing, eating (too much), and watching episodes of cable TV to pass the time, when I’m not writing for clients. (I’ve served two clients this week, both as an editor/enhancer of their existing copy. Took about an hour total.)

 

Oh! I’ve also cleaned my house from one end to the other, including straightening the contents in my kitchen cabinets.  (That last task is almost a first.) Yeah, so I’m kind of out of ideas for what else to do. I’m glad the weather is moderating so I can go outdoors more.

 

In Other News…

 

I got through the balance of the first season of GLEE last night. There were 21 episodes. Not sure I’ll watch all six seasons, but I do enjoy most of the musical numbers, and the cast is excellent. I can understand why it was a hit. It’s kind of a season-long musical with lots of interesting character interactions and challenges for students, teachers and coaches.

 

I’d like to see some of these GLEE actors in other roles, now, so I get a sense of their range as career professionals.  Range is what defines a great actor to me.

 

John Wayne was always John Wayne, Robert Redford always Robert Redford, Nicholas Cage always Nicholas Cage. They are/were good actors but their range appears limited.

 

Full-range actors (DeForest Kelley, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, among many other character actors) can go from saint to scoundrel and be equally believable across the spectrum of human behavior.

 

In my opinion, it’s range that determines a great actor.  Playing oneself (essentially) is a lot easier than playing against type; an actor just shows up prepared and says the lines and makes the motions required and they’re done.

 

As much as I enjoy the films of limited-range actors and the vehicles (movies, TV shows) that carry them, I don’t consider them particularly adept as actors. I consider them fortunate that their “type” is/was contagious enough that they developed a fan following that sustained their careers for decades.  It’s the actors who are true chameleons who fascinate me…

 

Which reminds me of a Hollywood story of my own that I have never told before. I just hope I don’t get anyone in trouble for it…

 

While I was a floating secretary in Hollywood, I was serving in the offices of a comedy TV series (which will go unnamed, to protect the individuals involved).  I was working one day when the casting director poked her head into the door, crooked her “come hither” finger at me, and said, “Psst!  Kris, follow me!”

 

That was odd…

 

I followed her into her office. She said, “I need you to do a voice over for me.”

 

“A voice over? Why?”

 

“We’re all set to go and the lady who’s supposed to be here just called in sick. Everyone else is here and ready to roll.”

 

I suddenly got very nervous!

 

“But…why me?” I asked.

 

She said, “Because every time I walk by your office, there ‘s a different voice coming out of it–and it’s always you!”

 

(Yeah, it’s true. I’m pretty much noted as being  “verbally animated” when I talk.)

 

She added, “I know you can do this.”

 

“Is it legal?” I inquired.

 

“Technically, no, but it’ll cost us $1600 an hour to wait for a replacement; the actors who are here have to be paid for every minute they’re working, whether they’re standing by or not. And it’s really okay. We’ll just Taft-Hartley you in if push comes to shove.”

 

“OK…”

 

So I was whisked away to a sound room where four technicians sat at a huge control panel and three other actors stood inside a sound booth waiting to do their thing.

 

I was told my line. It was something along the lines of  “Congratulations, ________”  I wasn’t given any character instruction, just the one, very short line.

 

We recorded it.

 

Then someone familiar with the script said, “Kris, you need to read the line differently. You don’t really mean what you’re saying, but it has to sort of seem that you do. You despise the woman you’re congratulating. You’re pained to have to do it. You don’t think she deserves it. You just feel forced by the circumstances to congratulate her because of the situation you’re in.”

 

“Oh! OK! I get it now!

 

“OK. Let’s do it again.”

 

Given the additional information, I nailed it.

 

“Great! All done!”

 

Later, when the casting director saw me again, she said, “Kris, you’re a natural! You took direction beautifully. You should be doing commercial and character voice overs as a career. SAG-AFTRA voice actors get $400/hour with a guaranteed four hours of work every time they work, even if the gig is only an hour long.”

 

My eyes flew open. The price was certainly right, seeing as how I was making about $26K a year as a 40-hour per week secretary!

 

“Really?”

 

She nodded smiling.

 

“Wow! Thanks!”

 

But I had no clue as to how to start the ball rolling. (I guess I could have asked her. DUH!)

 

So I took several voice over courses (commercial and animation) in Hollywood and (later) in Seattle from the same voice over coach/actor, Nigel Neale. (Nigel moved to Seattle because his daughter had leukemia and was being treated at Fred Hutchinson. Last I heard, the treatment worked.)

 

He told me I had a “terrific teenage boy’s voice”.

 

He reminded me, “June Havoc and Mrs. Walter Lantz were the voices of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Woody Woodpecker, you know.”

 

When Nigel put a photo of Ariel (The Little Mermaid) on the screen, he asked me to read for her.

 

I responded, “I’ve never heard her voice.”

 

He said, “Doesn’t matter. How do you think she would sound, based on how she looks?”

 

I did what seemed right. I adopted a breathy G-rated voice and went for it.

 

He said, “You nailed it. You sounded just like her!”

 

Then he asked me to be Patton (yes, General Patton) so I channeled my best George C. Scott, followed by a depressed, at-wit’s-end drug addict.

 

I have to admit: the results were impressive. I even impressed myself–and I’m not own worst critic!

 

Nigel offered to do my professional voice over tape “whenever you decide which voices to use and are ready.”

 

I dragged my feet.  By the time I decided I was ready, I could no longer locate him.

 

I tried googling him. Nothing. I even looked for obituaries; surely if he had passed away, it would have been noted. Nothing.

 

There were several Nigel Neales, but none of them were him.  (I just looked again. Same result.)

 

I still hope to reconnect with him someday.  I’d love to do voice over work and there are a lot of Seattle gaming companies where professional voice over skills are needed. I still have my teenage boy’s voice. I just need the demo tape. Maybe I can produce one myself using the equipment and software I have here.  Yes, that might work…

 

I’ll look into that again.  I want to stay local–I do NOT want to return to Hollywood (except for occasional gigs)–but I would love to use my voice in this way… and them my retirement years won’t be fraught with financial challenges…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please follow and like us:
Posted in

Kris Smith

2 Comments

  1. Rebecca on January 7, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    Very cool! I always found voice actors fascinating. Good luck if you start looking into it!

    Speaking of actors, last night I finally got to The Voyage Home in my watch of all things Star Trek for the first time. I loved everything about this movie but I especially loved De’s performance of the transition from arguing with Spock to eagerly trying to get closer to him after carrying his soul.

    • Kristine M Smith on January 7, 2017 at 7:41 pm

      The Voyage Home may be my all-time favorite Trek movie. But perhaps De’s best scene in all Trek is the euthanasia scene with his father. Although it’s in my least-favorite Trek movie, it’s a riveting few moments…

Leave a Comment





As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

This weekly blog is reader supported.

If you enjoy my posts, and want to show your appreciation, please do so via PayPal. (My email address for Paypal is kristinemsmith@msn.com. Remember the m between my first and last names so your gift doesn’t misfire. If you go this route, please be sure to include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you.

Which I am going to say right now. Thank you!