The title to this post comes from a statement made to me by my mentor when I was living in Australia. The context for this statement was him speaking on the topic of longevity in the industry, and also of what separates an artist from a common “voice”. Thankfully I met this wonderful man early on in my career; and he has certainly saved me years of struggle trying to find sustainability within this craft. He made it clear to me to not be a “one trick pony”. Now, at first I was in wonderment of what he might mean by this seemingly strange nickname. He went on to describe there’s nothing worse than being “just” a commercial voice. A commercial voice has a place and a purpose; but those few artists who can consistently produce wonderful commercial voice over and then turn around and be a character voice (you’d never recognize in a million years) they are the ones that are the, “Chameleons”. They use their own rare palette of character, richness and unique vocal technique to change the color, mood and styling of whatever project they are working on. Perhaps a similar character actor (who would be known in the on camera world as a “chameleon”) would be the presence of, “Sir Johnny Depp”. Not a one character of his is likened to another; each its own stand alone presentation and performance in his own personal outward and unique flare. This is the art form that a voice actor strives to create behind a microphone; and this is what truly makes a “Chameleon”.
So here are my personal two cents on this subject for those in the industry. Though I am not your typical union voice actor or own some multi million dollar vocal pipes; I can only tell you the way I experience our industry and a little of what I’ve learned thus far. Being a “Chameleon” goes far beyond accent, pitch of a vocal or aging of the voice; it’s in the subtle characteristics you might bring to the character that you’re creating. Meaning when you approach a character or a project, define and envision the past, present and future of your character; their hardships, maybe even the way their put together physically, the silly quirks that make them simply them.
To become them is to show another color on your palette and also to present the world another facet of the artist you truly are. So cheers to your career, your brand and most importantly cheers to the “Chameleon” YOU MIGHT BECOME.
