Interview with Laura Bailey – voice actress

As part of our lead up feature for Armageddon 2009 at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland, I recently interviewed voice actress Laura Bailey who is one of those exceptional people that oozes talent but does it in a way that is usually hidden from the general public. You may have heard her voice in games such as World of Warcraft, Soul Calibur IV and a host of different anime series’ as well.

We managed to score a whole lot of interesting information from Laura who shared some of the highlights of her career as well as some of the difficulties of being more than just the ‘voice’ behind the animation.

Laura’s also going to be appearing in two really big games coming out this year which she was kind enough to reveal in her interview, so read on…

GC: How did you get started as a voice actor?

LB: I never pursued “voice acting” alone. I was studying theatre in college and performing in a play at a local theatre company. One of the guys in the show with me, Kent Williams, was an actor over at Funimation. That was back when they were still working on Dragonball Z and were a relatively new company. Well, they had a bunch of female roles coming up and didn’t really know a lot of actors or how to get the word out about auditions. So Kent asked if I’d like to go in to audition and I said “YES! Of course!” And the rest just kind of took off from there. Nowadays, it’s next to impossible to get an audition there. It’s crazy how much the industry has grown.

GC: Have you ever played any of the games that you’ve done voice acting for?

LB: I played a bit of BloodRayne. (Though I wasn’t very good at it.) I played Streetfighter 4 a bunch – Chun Li is totally the most fun to play with. And I really want to start playing WoW, but I’m scared that if I do, I’ll never leave my apartment again.  I’m usually more into RPGs, which is exciting because I’ve got a couple really cool ones coming out next year that I’m looking forward to.

GC: So far you’ve had an extremely varied career as a voice actor. Do you have any particular game characters or anime characters that you’ve enjoyed bringing to life?

LB: It’s kinda vague, but Raspberyl in Disgaea 3 was so much fun to record. She’s such a cute little brat, and the director and producers let me have a lot of freedom with my reads. Also, voicing Angela Miller in Resident Evil: Degeneration was really cool. I didn’t know going into the session what all I was doing, so when I got there and saw what it was, I freaked a little. Being part of the Resident Evil franchise felt kinda epic, since I grew up scaring myself with the games. Plus she was uber hot, which is always fun.

GC: How difficult is it to visualise how a character would sound in your head? Do you have to change the sound of your voice for all of your characters?

LB: It depends on the character. Some characters are in my natural range, while others are more of a stretch. Coming up with a sound for them isn’t usually too difficult. What’s great is a lot of times, clients will put a vocal reference on the breakdown. Like, “think Uma Thurman” or “similar to Jessica Alba.” Almost every breakdown with a hot British chick says “think Kate Beckinsale.” J Apparently, her voice is the epitome of English sex appeal. The harder ones are characters like Shin Chan. I saw him and had absolutely no clue what to do with him. Luckily, the Japanese producers decided they wanted a vocal match for his original voice; which made the process a lot easier.

GC: Voice acting can have a big impact on how gamers will feel about a game if the voices don’t seem to fit the character. Have you ever had any difficult or challenging experiences as a voice actor that you can recall?

LB: I had an interesting experience with Streetfighter 4. Chun Li is a chick who totally kicks butt, but then she also jumps up and down and giggles all girly-style. The voices in the game were actually chosen by the Japanese creators, but I still got a mixed reaction on the forums. A lot of kids thought she should have sounded a bit tougher, but I just did the voice they told me to. Plus it was funny because some kids said they preferred the Japanese voice because Chun Li wouldn’t speak English … but … she’s Chinese. So she wouldn’t be speaking Japanese either.  J I think people scrutinized the voice more because she’s such an iconic character. There’s a lot of pressure, ya’know? It can be scary.

GC: What’s your favourite video game to play or favourite Anime?

LB: I loved Final Fantasy X. I played Fable 2 and Mass Effect so much, I actually fried the fans on my TV. Haha! And I’m really loving working Soul Eater. It’s one of those shows that you become so involved in, that you forget to say your lines because you’re too busy watching what’s going on. It’s sooo good.

GC: How do you look after your voice when you’re working?

LB: It can be difficult to keep your voice strong and healthy, especially if you’re working on a fighting game or an action show. I drink a ton of water when I record. And I usually drink some honey tea too, if it’s a little boy voice or something. Those raspy voices are the ones that hurt the worst. I remember back when I started voice acting, I didn’t know how to take care of my throat. I lost my voice for a week after the callbacks for Kid Trunks. Those power-up yells really do a number. And even now, though I do a crazy ton of warm-ups before a session, it still hurts to voice Trunks.

GC: As a voice actor you’ve probably met some pretty famous people. Have you met anyone that has inspired you in your work?

LB: I had the honor of meeting Charlie Adler a couple months ago. Look him up on IMDB, the guy’s done so much. I still feel, even though I’ve been doing voices for awhile now, that I’m pretty new to the industry. So when I get to meet people that have been working steadily since I was like, THREE, I know there’s definitely something to be learned from them.

GC: If someone was interested in voice acting as a career, how would you suggest they get started?

LB: I would tell them to study acting and theatre first. Most people I know that are successful in this field actually took the time to learn about it. The fact of the matter is, there are a ton of people out there that can do cool voices, but most can’t act their way out of a hat. I know, I was a director for years and auditioned a lot of them. The people that stand out are the ones that can be in the moment and take direction and sound good all at the same time.

GC: And lastly, what’s the next project on the horizon for you?

LB: Well, to finish up recording on Soul Eater for one thing. I’m heading into Texas when I get back to the states to knock out a few more episodes. That show is going to be released in early 2010. And I’ve got a bunch of games coming up out throughout the end of this year and into the next. Not sure which ones I’m allowed to mention though. It’s all very secretive in the video game world. Half the time I’m not even sure about the title of a game until it comes out. But I think I’m allowed to say, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles both of which come out this November in the US.  Just keep your eyes peeled next year, because I’ve had the pleasure to work on some pretty major titles. And you can always check my website, www.lizardbee.com. I try to keep it updated with the newest releases.