Mike Lenz Voice - A Journey Into Voice Acting

Hi, I'm Mike Lenz.   I'm a professional voice actor, the author of Paid To Talk - A Journey Into Voice Acting, and the host of a popular podcast, Mike Lenz Voice - A Journey Into Voice Acting.  I’m so excited you're here because that means you have an interest in the voice over industry.  Maybe you’re just beginning and don’t have a clue where to start.  That’s OK, because that's exactly where I was 9 years ago.  In fact 10 years ago my life looked a lot different than it does today. 10 years ago I was running my small brick and mortar business and serving as Mayor of my hometown.  I'd been involved in politics for about 10 years and really thought that politics was my future.  I’ve always been a creative person and I enjoyed the communicating part of serving as Mayor - speaking to groups, and doing radio and television interviews.  But honestly, the pressure was draining every creative bone in my body.  Fortunately for me, I lost my re-election bid, and although I was disappointed at the time, that eve

It’s a balmy morning in Burbank, California, the sort-of/almost entertainment mecca of the world. The curtains are blowing softly in the breeze, and there is a low-hanging layer of smog sitting over the Los Angeles horizon. An army of absurdly large crows argues about breakfast and futures trading. Nearby, on the pack patio of a house in the hills, a three-year old girl is ostensibly doing Zumba, critiquing her mother’s merengue. Joe Zieja is, as usual, in a small room talking to himself. No, he’s not crazy; he’s a voice actor, part of the hidden pocket of showbiz. He spends hours a day reading scripts in his home studio, or traveling to local studios to do the same. Switching from commercial to promo to video game to public service announcement about the dangers of q-tips, Joe enters and exits the personalities of dozens of people hourly, but somehow maintains a two-fingered, tenuous grip on reality. When he’s not standing in a small room talking to himself, he’s sitting in a slightly larger room or coffee

A seasoned pro African-American voice-over specialist with over a decade of experience, providing the 3-dimensional sound that promotes companies, services, and entrepreneurs around the globe. Mara has a naturally intuitive vocal ability that brings words to life with color and direct relatability. Her voice resonates with a warm, smooth, sensual or corporate tone for sophisticated projects, and a bright, vibrant, and upbeat delivery for standard narration. Affiliations include SAG-AFTRA union with accreditation from the World-Voices Organization and the Society of Accredited Voice-Over Artists (SaVoa). Mara's work has been featured by popular global brands including AT&T™, Microsoft, Nintendo®, McDonald's®, Oreck, Public Storage, USPS.com®, Sygic mobile GPS, International Game Technology (IGT) and Walt Disney Company's® T180 Studios. Mara currently divides her time voicing projects from recording studios in the Gulf, East & West coasts, in the Greater New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco Bay area

Steve French is a NYC based voice actor who's voice has been heard on national television commercials, and most recently as the announcer for Match Game hosted by Alec Baldwin on ABC. For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

If you have been anywhere near a television screen at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida since 2005 then you have been captivated by a vivacious and adorable woman telling you about the fabulous rides and attractions you're going to experience during your stay. The hyper-energetic, totally mesmerizing personality, known to her fans as “the human exclamation point” is Stacey J. Aswad. She is the Resort TV host of Walt Disney World's TOP 7 MUST SEES and MUST DO DISNEY TV shows that loop 24/7 and are watched and memorized by millions of people! How It All Started Stacey’s humble beginnings are in Binghamton, New York where she started competitive artistic roller skating at the age of five and went on to become a five-time national champion in the sport. Stacey began studying ballet to help with her roller skating training, which turned into her joining a professional ballet company while still in high school. She went on to earn a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School in New York City and after gr

With smiling Irish eyes and a rich, warm voice to match, Richard Rieman (Ree’man) is an Audible Approved Audiobook narrator*, audiobook producer, professionally trained Voice Actor, and author of “The Author’s Guide to AudioBook Creation.” *Audible Approved producers are the best audiobook producers in the business. Most have narrated and/or produced 25 audiobooks that are available on Audible.com and have a verifiable record of achievement in the audiobook industry. These producers are identifiable on the ACX website by a special icon in their narrator profiles. Richard trained with Emmy-Award winning Voice Actor and VO Coach Melissa Leebaert,  Award-winning Audiobook Narrator Sean Pratt, and took classes and workshops with David Goldberg at Edge Studio and Bill DeWees, one of the most respected VO Coaches. Richard is a four-time winner of Edge Studio’s National Script Recording Contests. For more info on this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

Gary made his acting debut in the musical Godspell as a student.  Since then he has pursued acting both on the ameteur and professional circuits.  Most notably was his role as Tom Collins in Bare Cheek's production of RENT.   Gary worked in Niigata, Japan for 5 years, during which time he took part in the Charity Musical.   Over the course of these 5 years he was an actor, director and audio producer.   It was during this time he discovered his interest in Audiobooks and Voice Over.   Gary has lived in and traveled all over Japan, has lived in Texas, worked in Memphis, and has been all over Europe.   He can perform in a General British, General American and Irish accent to a native level and can speak Japanese fluently.   For more info on this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com.    

Bennett's career began in 1974 when she was recorded as the voice of First National Bank of Atlanta's "Tillie the All-Time Teller."[4] She has recorded messages for the public address system in all Delta Air Lines terminals worldwide, as well as voicing e-learning software and GPS navigation software,[5] and telephone systems.[6] Bennett's voice has also been used in numerous local and national television advertisements for Ford, Coca-Cola, Fisher-Price, McDonald's, The Home Depot, Goodyear, VISA, Macy's, Hot Pockets, Club Med, and Cartoon Network, among others. In June 2005, the software company ScanSoft was looking for someone to be the voice for a database project involving speech construction. ScanSoft inquired with GM Voices and selected Bennett, who happened to be present when the scheduled voice-over artist was absent.[7] She worked in a home recording booth for the entire month of July 2005, more than four hours each day, reading phrases and sentences. The recordings were then concatenated into the va

From Fisher Price toy tape players and micro-cassette recorders in his early years to the latest technology, Christian Rosselli has been speaking and recording his entire life. A theatrically-trained college grad, he initially set his sights on New York City to pursue a career in casting for Film, TV and theater…not acting. A variety of entertainment industry jobs eventually led to his joining the voice over profession. And not just because people told him he had a ‘Great Voice.’ Christian is one of the most sought after male voiceover talents in the greater New York area and the country. His work is versatile and unique, encompassing a wide variety of projects and abilities. His gifted ear, passion for the creative process and skilled craftsmanship enable solid collaboration, bringing each message to a vivid and memorable life. His credits include work with such companies as AT&T, Buffalo Wild Wings, Geico, Lord And Taylor, M&T Bank, Purina, Spotify, USA Today, Reebok, United Healthcare, Boeing and m

Though I love to travel, there’s no place like my home in Missouri. I was born and raised just north of Kansas City, and being a Midwest girl, I believe in hard work and authenticity. I’ve always been fascinated with people and I’m the kind of person who strikes up a friendly conversation with the cashier at the grocery store, or the guy standing next to me in a long line. When I got to college and discovered that you can actually get a degree in communicating effectively with other human beings (who knew?), I couldn’t get signed up fast enough! Heading into my senior year, I had the crazy idea of becoming a TV advertising executive, so I landed an internship at a nearby cable station. One day, a producer asked me to read the script for a commercial and I suddenly discovered my passion for voice over! That was 10 years ago, and now here I am, recording in my home studio or with real people in their Kansas City area studios. When I’m not behind a microphone, I still hone my skills regularly by reading to my fo

Prior to co-founding ACM, Phil has been at the vanguard for the voice-over industry as both a talent manager and agent at International Creative Management. At ICM, he helmed one of the largest voice over departments in the country offering complete services in commercials, promos, trailers, narrations, animation and celebrity endorsements. Most recently, Phil founded Flatirons Creative Management; a specialized voice-over management firm emphasizing innovation, personal attention and collaborative relationships between voice clients and industry creatives. As a talent agent, Phil began his career at Don Buchwald Associates before founding the renowned on-air promotions department at Schiffman, Eckman, Morrison & Marx (SEM&M). He has BFA from Colorado and an MFA from Columbia University. For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.  

Ever since his first play at thirteen (his mother still has the bellhop costume), Jeffrey Kafer has been an avid performer on the stage and in voice-overs. He has narrated over one hundred books spanning all genres and won the 2008 Voicey Award for Best New Voice. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family. For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com

Kiff VandenHeuvel is originally from Grand Rapids, MI and is an alumni of The Second City comedy theatre.  He has performed in many film and TV in projects ranging from NETFLIX’s RICHIE RICH (where he was a series regular), NBC’s PARKS AND RECREATION, TNT’s THE LAST SHIP, and David Spade’s prank show FAMELESS for Tru-tv, HBO’s BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, last years Indie hit NIGHTCRAWLER,  DANNY COLLINS (w/ Al Pacino) and the upcoming blockbuster BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. Kiff is an accomplished improviser and sketch comedy director, and he teaches voiceover, improv and directing at Second City Hollywood. Kiff has appeared in hundreds of TV and radio commercials and is well known in the video game community as the voice of Zachary Hale Comstock in BIOSHOCK:INFINITE and the voice of Walter in THE WALKING DEAD video game series.  One of his unique skills is as a voice-matcher and impressionist. Kiff has appeared in several major motion pictures performing the voices of actors as varied as Vince Vaughn, Syl

Pam Tierney is an accomplished Chicago based actor who hails from Indiana by way of Marquette University in Wisconsin. Extensive training from several studios such as Act One, The Acting Studio and The Green Room as well as completion of the Second City Conservatory brings a thorough knowledge of styles and skills transferable to commercials, film, television and voiceover. An established voiceover with a personal studio, this busy actor can handle a wide variety of characters and situations with ease. For more info about this and other episodes head on over to mikelenzvoice.com For more info about my online course head over to vosuccess.com  

I’ve always been an actor, just ask my parents. Since the time I could walk and talk, I’ve been getting up in front of people and performing; a song, a play, a story, you name it. It just seemed to come naturally to me and I truly enjoyed entertaining people. It was not until I started acting in high school that I realized I had found my calling. For better or worse, a professional actor was what I was meant to be. Accordingly, I went off to college to study the craft of acting and the workings of the theatre. Attending the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico was one of the most influential events in my growth as an artist.The training I received there was excellent and the demands placed on me truly tested my commitment to being an actor. So, upon graduation, I thought I was ready to tackle the enormous job of starting my career. I could not have been more wrong. Though the classes I had taken taught me how to act, move, breathe, sing and dance, and have a working knowledge of the theatre and its history, they

I provide a friendly, trustworthy, or wry voice to any male voice over project, but I can also give you a serious, informative take on the copy. I definitely fill the niche of the 'iPod Generation' voice. Other than my normal voice, I provide a vast array of character voices, and have trained heavily in accents and dialects. I'm a big fan of collaboration, and will take any direction you give me. My ego comes last. Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform • Teenage Boy • Young Adult Male • Middle Age Male • Senior Male Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker: • English - USA and Canada I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes • Commercials • Promos • IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages • Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites • Audiobooks • Videogames • Documentaries • TV shows and movies • Movie and game trailers • Podcasts • Adult content • Songs • Others (on-camera, infomercials, live announcers, spokespersons) Jobs I Am Willing to Take (Union-wise)  

Heather’s voice has a wide range, and can become just the sound you’re looking for! She’s your quintessential hipster mom – sweet & spicy like a chai latte, with all the boldness of a French Roast. From skinny jeans and sippy cups to top quality recordings, this classically-trained opera singer turned professional voice-over artist is equal parts actor and entrepreneur.   Most days, Heather can be found lending her versatile sound to clients around the globe, operating from her broadcast-quality, professional recording studio. With the convenience of a professional recording studio on-site, Heather can send voice-over work within 24 hours to clients anywhere!   Heather specializes in Commercials, Explainer Videos, e-Learning, Narration, Radio Imaging, Network Promos, Animation, Documentaries, IVR and more…  For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com

I’m so excited you're here because that means you have an interest in the voice over industry.  Maybe you’re just beginning and don’t have a clue where to start.  That’s OK, because that's exactly where I was 9 years ago.  In fact 10 years ago my life looked a lot different than it does today.10 years ago I was running my small brick and mortar business and serving as Mayor of my hometown.  I'd been involved in politics for about 10 years and really thought that politics was my future.  I’ve always been a creative person and I enjoyed the communicating part of serving as Mayor - speaking to groups, and doing radio and television interviews.  But honestly, the pressure was draining every creative bone in my body. Fortunately for me, I lost my re-election bid, and although I was disappointed at the time, that event forever changed the course of my life and led me down the path to the world of professional voice acting where I am today - and I’m loving every minute of it!After leaving politics, I had a lot of fr

Hi. I’m Nicole Fazio. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest on the Old Price Dairy Farm in a home my grandfather and dad built. My favorite thing to do as a kid was go up to the mysterious silo outside the milking barn and listen to how my voice sounded when it was amplified. Living in this magical kingdom, I discovered my voice and was hooked. A true voice over darling, I have branded just about everything! After graduating from the prestigious University of Washington’s School of Drama, I was determined to book a national commercial. Who knew cleaning my voice teacher’s house to pay for classical voice lessons as a teen would quickly pay off! Having the good fortune of booking one of my early voice over auditions, I learned the voice over trade on the job while announcing multiple campaigns for the Hyundai Motor Company’s full fleet of cars. With access to tons of copy during frequent sessions, engineers, copyright editors, heads of the dealership, ad agency staff my career was born. In addition to cars, beaut

My name is Rosi Amador, and I am a native Spanish/English voiceover actor with no accent whatsoever in either language. I was raised both in Latin and North America so I’m a native speaker of both languages, bicultural and equally comfortable in both worlds. I can easily add an “Hispanic” accent to my English reads when required. My Spanish is best described as neutral Latin American; however, I can also infuse my Latin American Spanish with a Puerto Rican or an Argentine accent. My voice is best described as friendly, sparkling, expressive, pleasing, warm and enthusiastic. It can sound childlike and fun, or professional, serious and formal, as needed. My clients tell me I’m easy to coach and a pleasure to work with. I believe it’s because I’m very flexible and attuned to their needs. I’ll voice your message just as you’d like! Amador Bilingual Voiceovers’ mission is to be the foremost provider of Spanish and English voiceover services for clients who create content related to Hispanics and the Spanish langua