“The…thing with voice acting is that funny voices are great, but…If you strip away all that stuff and the acting isn’t there, the credibility isn’t there, you’re not a good voice actor.”
OR: Besides voice acting and directing, you also have your own band. You’ve released seven albums, starting with Blue, Dressed in Black in 2000 and you released your latest EP Character in 2015. What has your band been up to recently, and is there another album or single on the horizon?
ES: We’re about to do a new album now. I just finished writing the last couple of songs for this project. The title is – I’m still playing around with a couple of things, but I don’t wanna say one because I might change my mind. This one in particular – one of our longtime band members has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, so what we’re trying to do with this one is to give him something positive to work on, but also the proceeds from the album will go towards taking of him with some medical costs.
So that’s using the power of music for good besides just enjoyment. We play a lot in Nashville, we play a lot at conventions, too. Conventions that can afford to bring the whole band out – we love to do that. Anime fans have been some of the best supporters of our music, which is really cool. We don’t play anime rock, we play all-original rock ‘n’ roll. And yet anime fans are very loyal to any of the actors that they follow. And so the nice thing is that they’ve also helped to support the music. Our Kickstarters for music videos are primarily funded by anime fans, and I appreciate that a lot.
OR: How has voice acting evolved since you began in the 1980s?
ES: Now, it’s actually what celebrities want to do. When I first started working in voice acting, it was kind of like what people did to fill in the blanks in their careers. If they were between shows and things like that, they might do some commercials, maybe some animation. And now, the celebrities are the ones that are getting most of the work for stuff like that. And sometimes, it’s the right call. And sometimes, it’s not. I’ve seen movies where ‘name actors’ are booked for those roles, and they’re not necessarily the best actor for the job. Whereas, I know people that are not ‘name famous’ that are much better voice actors. But the name on the marquee is what is going to bring in the people and make the money, and I understand that.
But that’s how it’s changed.
Now, celebrities want to do voice overs. They want to do animation. They want to be in the cartoon. They realized that their kids want to see – ‘Look dad’s, in that animated movie.’ But I think that it’s now become a little more well-respected and also bigger celebrities are taking a large amount of the work. Which, you know, it’s going to happen. That’s where the money is. And I get it. I’ve directed famous actors on animation films where they’re very good, but they’re not voice actors. They’re just great actors. And sometimes they need a little help from a seasoned voice actor to help figure out how to do that.
OR: Last question: Do you have any advice for aspiring actors, actresses or directors out there?
ES: Well, as a[n] actor – I would say to find any opportunity that you can act. Whether it’s community theatre, whether it’s improv, whether it’s even getting together with friends and work on scenes. Learn how to take direction so you know how to come in with an idea, and someone says ‘That’s great, but now do it this way’ or ‘Do it that way’ or ‘Be sad’ or ‘Be angry’ – learn how to get in touch with your skills and be a piece of clay that someone can mold. That’s a great exercise.
Improv is a great exercise because so many times, scripts will be presented to people and they’re either working – if it’s supposed to be funny, it’s almost funny but something’s missing – and they might ask you ‘Can you throw something at the end? Can you ab-lib something? Can you try this scene [in] a slightly different way with that guy?’ Acting is like a dance. One person makes a move and the other responds. And it’s give-and-take. And you’re really paying attention to that stuff. So any acting you can be involved in would be helpful.
The other thing with voice acting is that funny voices are great, but the core to being a successful voice actor is to be credible, to be believable. So any script that is handed to me — my goal is to make them my words. I could be talking about how to rebuild an engine. I could talk about how to operate on someone and remove a kidney, whatever it is. If I read it in a credible way, even if I don’t know how to do that stuff in real life, then I am a successful voice actor because you believe me.
And the funny voices or the character voices – the accents you put on top of it- that’s all the whipped cream. If you strip away all that stuff and the acting isn’t there, the credibility isn’t there, you’re not a good voice actor. I try to teach people how to break it down to the nuts-and-bolts of what you’re talking about: ‘Who are you? What are you talking about? Who are you talking to?’ You can do that with every commercial script. You can even do that with roles. People sometimes want to get deep into the backstory, and all of that – there’s so many stories that seem ‘new’ – [but] there is nothing new.
Think about Romeo and Juliet [and] how many times that story has been told. And I’m not talking about literally Romeo and Juliet, but the story of Romeo and Juliet. The stories of star-crossed lovers and stuff. So, it’s not new. It’s just in a new format. So maybe it’s underwater, maybe it’s in space. So you can look at those characters and say ‘Oh! This is rival villain guy’ or ‘These are the two best friends and I’ve seen this type of story before, I know how to approach this.’ Breaking it down to the nuts-and-bolts, the bare bones of what it is. Simplifying this stuff is another way I give another students – I also coach.
Sometimes they want to over-analyze everything and pick it apart. And I’m – you’re only getting in your own way. You’re complicating what’s there. You can really simplify that.
OR: Thank you.
A special thank you to METROCON for arranging the interview. Tickets for METROCON 2017 go on sale January 1, 2017.
What is your favorite role that Eric Stuart has performed? Do you have a favorite album from Eric Stuart Band? Let us know in the comments below!
