Are Voice Overs Really Always a 'Faceless' Industry?

One of the main reasons I did not do as well as other actors, and voice talent when I was younger was simply because I am too analytical. Performing has always been a 'roll with the moment' type business, and I guess I just had problems with 'letting go'. I mention this because I used to analyze reasons I did not book voice over work. I always took full responsibility, but I always wondered after booking voice over work...Are voice overs really a 'faceless industry'?

I spent some time directing in college, as an agent's assistant, and as an actor, I always knew if there was already one blond guy called back for an audition, there was no way we would both be used. I also know that 'director's vision' starts from somewhere. Recently, I had written on Voice123 blog about Javier Fernandez-Pena, and how he was hired off of Voice123 for the movie Toy Story 3. Now, of course, the VOICE has to be there, and Javier is amazing! Yet, what stopped the casting director, among hundreds of web pages to stop and listen on his page? Based on my experiences within Voice123, and seeing who gets hired, and the stories of who does not get hired, I had an idea and see if you can pick up on it from this picture of Buzz Lightyear, next to Javier's headshot from Voice123.

Do you see at all what I see? I was caught by the eyebrows, first. The fact that he has an amazing voice that fits makes it the perfect combination of: 'talent/look/ability/flexibility' given he was hired online. What I learned about 'director's vision', when it comes to casting, is that you can never sit around and waste time worrying about why you were not hired. You can only do your best to sell what you do best, and hope it fits; or during the audition, do your best to fit the vision. If you don't, forget about it because if you ever find out, it will just confuse you even further. I know from experience. I think being naturally curious into what "people like vs. what they do not", has actually hurt my chances of being a voice talent/actor, simply because there has to be an element of 'Who cares?', while auditioning. This is also creative industry with no absolutes, and somehow discovering the reason may at times cheapen why a person believes they got the job. Saying, 'I got this job because I am good!' means much more than 'I got this job because I sound like the director's son.'.

While at Voice123, I have seen voice talent lose work for not being African American, but they had the sound down perfectly. I have seen men impersonate women, women impersonate children, but the second the client found out the 'person' was not 'really that gender or age', the client went in a different direction, and oddly, almost felt betrayed by the voice talent. Go figure. Maybe headshots mean something when working online? Or maybe...I am just thinking about it too much again. Because I dont know for sure, and never will, I should stop. I do know that headshots online sometimes give you a boost because they actually see the person they will work with; very important for an anonymous online society.

However, without voice over talent, a picture is just a picture. In this case, who cares! The movie is GREAT! It took in $109 Million USD in its opening weekend in the US, and although not given top billing (which seemed like a mistake to me), Javier is simply unforgettable; thus proving 'there are no small roles...only small performances'. Special appearance? Indeed.

photo sources: Thomas Hawk and Javier Fernandez-Pena