John DiMaggio and The Art Of Voice Acting
Voice actors are not given enough credit. This is the kind of revelation I should have reached sooner, given my passion for all things animated and colourful, but I have to admit that I have taken voice actors for granted for so many years.
This realization was further brought to light by the ongoing news about #Bendergate. The controversy surrounding the Hulu reboot Futurama without John DiMaggio, the great alcoholic and narcissistic bending actor Bender, was a significant distraction. Although DiMaggio has agreed to play the role again, Hulu’s outrage mainly was directed at producers who tried to recast it for another actor, possibly under the impression that someone could imitate the role.
Whatever details were discussed between studio and performer, it is clear that the streaming giant miscalculated how much fans value those characters and the voices. Many couldn’t imagine Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn and Tony Stark as Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark. It seems that not many people are happy with their animated icons wearing a new set of vocal cords. It caused a lot of backlash from people who felt that the beloved amphibian didn’t sound right when Disney dropped Steve Whitmire, the long-time voice for Kermit the Frog.
This encouraging revelation should not be surprising. Voice actors have been around as long as cartoons. They are an underappreciated sub-group of artists who often go unrecognized for their talents and skills. Voice actors are among the most talented in the industry and rely on only their vocal talent to bring their characters to life. We need to realize that the contribution of voice actors to the media we love is just as remarkable as it is unique and challenging.
The process behind the camera is very different from what it was before. While things may vary from project to project, much of the career of voice actors is spent in booths reading lines to the air in various tones and styles for each take. Tom Hanks is keen to stress that the transition from regular acting roles to animated ones (specifically Toy Story ) can be difficult and often takes hours of line readings to get the right take. Anyone who enjoyed the Matt Berry sitcom Toast Of London knows what it was like to be a voice actor in the face of overbearing sound producers.
Voice artists can create characters using only their voice, sometimes with minimal external resources. This is a great skill. Although performers might be given sketches or projections of footage, there are rarely other actors to bounce off. Cartoons can’t convey the infinitely varied details of human faces, so it is even more critical for cartoonists to have a good voice behind them. This is something DiMaggio, one of the most skilled exponents of this genre, has mastered. His work as Bender, bringing to life one of the cartoon’s most notable characters, not only his work as Adventure Time’s Jake, King Zog from Disenchantment, and Gears of War’s Marcus Fenix, are just a few examples of his talents.
This is a skill that shines when it’s done well and makes a huge difference when it’s not. The rise in quality in voice acting coincides with animated films in general. This trend was accelerated by The Simpsons’ success in the 90s. However, pioneers Mel Blanc and Jeff Bergman proved that one performer could create a staggering number of characters using just their voice. Combining the vocal skills of an impressionist with the emotional skills of trained actors results in a great ear for vocal performance. It is similar to the ability of great jazz musicians to create melodies simply by hearing them.
Voice actors can create characters with a variety and depth and subtlety and depth that few other actors can match. Hank Azaria, the SSimpsons’voice actor, has lent his talents to stalwarts like Cletus and Professor Frink, Snake and Superintendent Chalmers. Meanwhile, Family GGuy’sSeth MacFarlane is a skilled voice actor and pushes his vocal capabilities to the limit to voice Peter, Brian, and Stewie Griffin.
Mark Hamill is the undisputed king of the medium. His unusual career path has seen him go from the starring role in the most famous film franchise to being arguably the most versatile voice actor and respected of his generation. Hamill can do everything, with roles that range from Skeletor in Masters of the Universe and Chucky in the CChild’sPlay remake. HHamill’sexceptional skills are evident in his portrayal of The Joker, which is still considered the most accurate and complete version of the character. This surpasses the likes of Jack Nicholson and Joaquin Phoenix, as well as Heath Ledger.
IIt’snot just TV and movies that require the skillset. While playing Mortal Kombat 11, the immensely enjoyable and entertaining gore-athon, I noticed that Ed BBoon’slegendary fighting simulator has seen a significant improvement in its voice acting. Mortal Kombat 9 (also known as Mortal Kombat 9) was released in 2011. While the game has an impressive fighting engine, you can hear the gears rattle off-screen. MK9 is self-consciously sexy, but she also has the most challenging dialogue this side of a Johnny Cage movie.
Video games were once known for their poor voice acting. This was since they ddidn’thave the same revenues as other entertainment and so struggled to attract professional actors, let alone big names, to their shores. Games were known for their poor vocal performances and amateurish storytelling until recently.
Resident Evil was the worst example of poorly-delivered hammy dialogue. Its cast members read lines with the conviction and verve of an amateur drama society, having just been told that their theatre would be bulldozed to make room for Safeways. Mortal Kombat relied only on their staff to bring life to their creations. Co-creator Ed Boon was famously providing the iconic “et Over Here” line for the face of the franchise Scorpion in its infancy.
The difference is starker if you fast forward ten years. Every player in MMK11’sdazzling array of pre-match dialogues is presented with conviction and verve by all of them, from Andrew BBowen’sbrilliant reinvention of Johnny Cage to Matthew Yang KKing’scharismatic Liu Kang. SSub-Zero’srole by Steve Blum is satisfactory performance. The veteran actor sounds almost like hhe’sspeaking through a few inches of shattered glass.
This trend has permeated all media. The gaming world has witnessed a rapid change in the quality and consistency of its vocal performances, from Roger CClark’sevocative portrayal of Western antihero Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2, to Troy Baker’s nuanced portrayal of Joel Miller, a survivor. He was severely injured in The Last of Us.
It is not surprising that many of today’s best voice actors work through gaming. It’s a great place to showcase a performer’s work, not only because it is where most of the money is made but also because of its versatility. Artists can expect their work to be heard hundreds of thousands of times for thousands of hours of gameplay as titles become more complex and detailed. It’s no surprise that video games have become a popular medium for entertainment, thanks to the rapid rise in gaming storytelling quality from studios like Rockstar and Naughty dog.
Gaming and animated TV are attracting some of the most prominent mainstream actors to their shows, including Gary Oldman in Call of Duty and Alfred Molina in Rick and Morty and Sunoppoites. Although Hollywood’s big-hitters may be more aware of the creative possibilities of lending their voices and opinions to media than live-action, it is worth remembering the incredible skill and dedication displayed by those who made these media famous.
Actors’ talents are often underrated. Their suitability and success are often determined by their appearance, beauty, or other trivial attributes. However, the voice actor is an artist. A performer uses only the human voice to create characters, just as a musician uses the keys on a piano. Hulu thought John DiMaggio could be easily replaced, but they underestimated how important an outstanding vocal performance can make a difference in creating the characters that we love.
