John Wolfe finished he Such A Voice Training Program and had his demos produced in January of 2018 – since then, he has been hard at work in the world of voice-overs and has even booked a gig in a feature film. Let’s hear what he has to say about his experience and how SAV helped him along the way!
How did you first decide that you wanted to get into voice-over? How did you first get involved with Such A Voice?
I am a big movie buff and have always been aware of animated voice-overs and enjoy identifying the voices of famous people. I also enjoy mimicking the voices and special effects noises they make and have been told I am quite good at it. But then, I became aware of the existence of voice-overs in so many other situations: audiobooks, radio commercials, instructional videos and the like, and it caught my attention. I thought, “I can do that!” My mom found Such A Voice after researching the various options and checking out reviews.
What was your favorite part of the coaching/production process with Such A Voice? What was the most beneficial?
My favorite part was working with Angela Castonguay to prepare for and record my demos. She offered constructive criticism throughout the process and helped me to record the best demos possible.
I hear you’re currently working on a role for a feature film; can you tell us about that project and how you got involved with it?
Yes, I am the voice of “Frenchie” the french bulldog in the movie Charlie’s Christmas Wish which is due out in theatres nationwide Veteran’s Day weekend. The movie is about how a community came together to build “tiny houses” for homeless veterans. My mother’s cousin is a college friend of the writer/director and she made the connection. Frenchie is actually my older brother’s dog, so that made it even more fun. Frenchie is going to be made into a plush toy that talks so I will be the voice there as well. It was fun learning to do a voice-over with a french accent!
What are your goals for VO after that? What sorts of projects would you like to work on in an ideal world?
Ideally, I would continue to do animated voice-overs in short films or commercials, but I am open to other options – like plush toy voices! I would also like to do public service announcements for nonprofits like the Special Olympics. The only projects I don’t think I would like to do are training videos and audiobooks – unless it was an animated voice.
As someone with special needs, I was wondering if you could talk a bit about some of the challenges you face in voice-over, how you deal with those challenges, and how the training/production process with Such A Voice was receptive to those challenges?
My biggest challenge is that my disabilities make it very difficult for me to work online to find job opportunities and to record my own auditions.
I am hoping to find an agent after Charlie’s Christmas Wish comes out and the success of the film and of Frenchie is revealed. I really need to have someone to help me navigate the audition process.
My biggest advantage with being developmentally delayed is that I have few to no inhibitions and I am equally comfortable acting as a youngster or an adult. Or a dog for that matter!
Such A Voice was great – I don’t think the training/production process was any different for me than it would be for anyone else.
Do you have anyone that really pushed you to succeed in VO? Anyone you want to thank?
My mother is the one that thought of VO as a field to pursue and she certainly helped me find my first paid job. I can’t thank her enough.
Some people swear by drinking tea or eating cantaloupe; is there anything special you do to make sure your voice is in its best condition?
I eat apple slices and drink lots of water. When I am recording, my mom hangs a sign in front of me that reads: smile, breathe, slow down, have fun.
I also heard that you are a big Stan Lee fan, which is awesome. What are some of your favorite Stan Lee-created characters? Are there any you’d like to voice some day?
My favorite by far is Spiderman. I would be honored to voice any Marvel character.
If you could give any piece of advice to our students going through the program now, what would it be?
I would say have fun, listen to your coaches, and don’t get discouraged.
Any closing thoughts or things you would like to plug?
Go see Charlie’s Christmas Wish – opening November 8, 2019! Also, honor and take care of our veterans every chance you get!
Eager to get your start in voice-over? Check out our introductory webinar to learn more about how to get started!
