Quick
Note: This interview focuses on the personal success of Roger Craig Smith, as
well as his thoughts on Hollywood, 21st-century living and the highs
and lows of his life. For those seeking out more voice-over related Q&A’s,
you can check out the sister article to this interview, over The Valkyries website.
When I
first get a message off Roger Craig Smith, I’m completely thrown off. You see,
Roger is a popular voice actor who is known for bringing life to characters
as well-known as Batman, right through to the Mouse in If You Give a Mouse a
Cookie. This is a busy, uniquely talented guy and the idea that he wants to get into the nitty-gritty of voice acting with a UK-based writer is a surprise in itself.
Of course,
if you were to speak to the man in the flesh, you’d quickly find out that this gentleman
has no interest in labels and is simply seeking to make the most of his life. Indeed,
it’s not just voice acting that he focuses on – rather, this is simply how he
makes a living. Him taking time out of his day for me, as it turns out, is just
another way in which he pays forward his energy to others.
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| Photo by Jen Rosenstein |
It doesn’t
take long for my nerves to show but, honestly, Roger is so laid back that these
subside within a few minutes. After all, he can talk about pretty much anything
– and that’s exactly what we do. Starting off gently, we get into how he began
voice acting.
As it turns
out, like most of us, RCS was originally looking to do something completely
different. Beginning with a career in screenwriting, he tells the tale of how
he side-stepped into comedy because he loves to make people laugh. After a good
few years of what he refers to as “mimicry and theatre arts”, it was only after
trying out for the Aspen Comedy Festival that the repeated question as to why
he isn’t voice acting made him consider it as a career.
Even then,
this isn’t something he took lightly. Instead, while pulling some shifts at
Dave & Busters, Roger researched the best ways to get into voice acting and
invested some quality classes, where his voices and acting chops were honed to
a fine point. It was only after this, that he got together with a friend and
asked them to help him get his demo reel together, in exchange for $50, which
was then sent out – in person – to anyone and everyone who would listen.
“You have
to treat it like entrepreneurship. You definitely need a business approach”
he tells me, as he highlights how important it is to give yourself a solid
foundation before heading straight to clients, “that, and the ability to talk
to people on a human level – a skillset that is quickly being lost”. With this,
we start talking about the small steps he took to ensure he edged his way into
the Hollywood industry. Demonstrating perfectly how luck only lands on your lap
when preceded by hard work, Roger tells me about how he worked as a PA in the
industry through making sure that he spoke to everyone he came across about his
ambition.
Like
everyone who wants to achieve as much as possible, dealing with rejection is as
commonplace as getting a gig, and Roger’s response to this is as pragmatic as
you would expect. “It happens all the time”, referencing the Sonic move “you
just have to keep yourself focused on what you want, and be grateful for what
you have”.
“We’re all
just trying to survive – look at this virus. It’s just trying to survive, and
it reminds us of how weak and susceptible we are. There’s no winning, there’s
no losing and no finish line.” He’s not actively being bleak, however, and he
assures me that he’s aware of how others can view his body of work and takes
pride in how these help people to have a touch of escapism. In fact, he makes a
point of reminding me (and himself) that the real world is what is going on
outside of his job.
“Keep
falling forward. You’re gonna slip up and keep falling. You might be crawling.
But, all of a sudden, you’ll look back and say to yourself ‘oh man, I’ve been
crawling at times and sprinting at others but I’m so far away from where I was’
and I’m still doing that”.
Whether
it’s politicians, athletes or actors, it’s generally agreed that these people
are, in Roger’s words, “pedestalised”. All of these public figures are
portrayed in a way that is sensationalised, whether that be the best or worst
of their personalities and it’s quickly brought to my attention that, just
because we might not agree with someone, it doesn’t mean that we should stick
them on a pedestal and use them as an example of who we should – or should not
– be. “You’re just as capable as these people at being imperfect. I hope that
when we eventually work our way to the other side of this social media
experiment, we all realise that everybody has got stuff – the good and the bad.
You have to allow for people to grow and make mistakes – with bad behaviour
being punished as is applicable”.
He bemoans
those moments where he finds himself comparing his life to others, in which he
can often consider his life as ‘less-than’ anybody else. “I’ve had the benefit
of growing up without it, whereas kids today are growing up with everything on
screens. Their whole existence has been staring at screens and it’s sad – and I
hope there’s a pendulum swing back to the other side”.
Naturally, this cynicism does come a place of experience. When Roger was in his late 20’s, he suffered with a severe bout of pneumonia, which left him hospitalised for 6 days. As I’m sure you can imagine, this was not a pleasant experience. And yet, in typical RCS style, he quickly bounces back with “now I know what people mean when they say ‘at least you’ve got your health’!” – a phrase he certainly believes in. And one that we discuss, in-depth, while chatting about the differences between individuals whose viewpoint in life is much more hardy and positive than we’re often able to see, online.
On the
other end of the scale, there are also those whose entitlements can bring down
the overall mood of a studio. “You see it a lot in Hollywood. Now that the gaming
industry is making a LOT more money than it used to, we’re seeing an influx of
influencers and on-screen actors coming into the studio. And a lot of these
people have no respect for the industry as a whole, which you can see in the
way they treat the process”. Referencing a few moments he’s had with past
experiences, he is also careful to offer the viewpoint of Troy Baker (his
co-worker and friend), who has argued that anyone who is capable, and right for
the role, should be able to work in any industry. “I just have a bit of a chip
on my shoulder about it, because I think it can make the whole process harder
when you get the wrong person for the role”.
It seems
only natural at this point that question of what makes a voice actor so good at
their job comes up – is there a secret formula that will lead the everyday
person into the role of voice-over work? “The art and the unique element comes
into it, for you as an individual, when you can take something that has been
done before and twist it, to turn it into something new. It’s always on the fly
and it always comes down to who you’re working with”.
It seems that, if you can speak faster on command, add an accent where required and maybe throw in a couple of idioms and/or speech impediments, you might just be on your way. Whether it’s adding a soft Russian accent to Batman in Superman: Red Son (available digitally, now) or mixing together a range of accents into what he calls “Italiaspanglanish” for Ezio, there’s a huge array of examples of this, within his body of work.
Of course,
this is easier said than done, as many hard-working actors find out along their
journey. “That’s why you’ll never have my career, and I’ll never have yours. That’s
both the beauty and the hard part of doing what we do. There are so many new
people coming into the studios now – but there are still so many recognisable
voices that you can hear, as soon as they hit a certain cadence or delivery”.
This isn’t an industry of impressions, after all, it’s about flavouring your
character with the right tone and inflections. At the same time, all of the
technical stuff can be taught along the way.
He does,
however, state that he’s also a bit of a homebody, as he’s hyper-aware of
keeping his vocal cords relaxed and ready for whatever job is next. “Staying
physically healthy is important and getting lots of rest is the only way to
keep yourself ready for whatever is coming next, so I try and stay healthy”.
Still, he’s keen to point out that he doesn’t do any vocal exercises beyond
knowing what his current range is and staying away from work that could
possibly harm his potential for the next gig.
This is one
of the reasons why Roger stays away from so many conventions. While he always
appreciates his fans, which you can see in how he converses with them on a
regular basis through his Twitter and Instagram accounts, doing weekend-long work can be
damaging. “You’re jet-lagged, you’re talking all day long and hugging people,
shouting over background noise and doing impressions of your work, constantly”.
Even short stints during talks at his local college, where he offers his time
to audio students, can have an impact on the stress caused to the vocal folds,
which has a knock-on effect to his work.
There’s no
doubt that Roger is opinionated in the best possible way, in that he is
continually considering different angles to an argument. As with most
intelligent people, he takes everything in the world with a pinch of salt and
seeks to escape any bitterness caused by that salt, by getting away as much as
possible. At times, this means chasing down as many different pursuits as he’s
able to fit into his busy schedule, such as American Sign Language (ASL). At
others, it can simply mean going down a mountainside as fast as he can, on his
bike.
One such
pursuit that he has become increasingly associated with is his astrophotography,
which you can catch on My Shots in the Dark. Initially starting out with an
interest from a young age, he decided to take things a little more seriously
once he had some money to play around with. “I bought a rudimentary telescope
and – out of sheer luck – focused on what I thought was a star, which was low
on the horizon. It actually turned out to be Saturn, and I could see the rings”
he says, before mimicking the state of wonder he found himself in. “Then I
wanted to find out how to take a picture, so I went online and researched as
much as I could – and it just went on, from there”.
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| A shot of RCS by Babek Tafreshi |
This is a
fantastic summary of a man whose default face reverts to a gentle smile, when
discussing the unique aspects of space and how much has been left undiscovered.
Roger is definitely a guy who can show dedication and perseverance, in order to
get the right shot – something he enjoys sharing with his followers, whether
they appreciate it or not. “It’s the perfect hobby for a guy who works during
the day and wants to enjoy some downtime at night, where I don’t have to be
interrupted”.
Through
this, he has also discovered the International Dark-Sky Association, whose work
revolves around reducing the impact of light pollution, which can affect
wildlife and human health, as well as be a huge source of waste across the
world. Knowing that RCS has been approached as a delegate, I quickly ask what
we can all do to help reduce our own light pollution, to which the answers are
as simple as you might expect:
- Put a cover over any outdoor lighting, so the light is reflected downwards
- Try to minimise your usage of outdoor lighting
- Consider the types of bulbs you’re using (LEDs are fine, just try to avoid blue light emissions)*
Unfortunately,
at this point, I’m aware that we’ve been talking for two hours and, as giving
as he might be, I definitely don’t want to eat into too much of his time. So, I
finish off with a question of what he would send into space. His answer, which
catches me completely off-guard, involves shooting a doll of Ezio out, which
slowly dissolves due to radiation – but not before taking down the
International Space Station. And I really can’t summarise my short time with
Roger Craig Smith any better than that.
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| If you look, really closely, you might just spot Ezio causing the downfall of science |
