Back at Work!

Grand Teton National Park

Sometimes, in a good way, life can get in the way of running a business consistently. Sometimes, it can be tough to continuously promote one’s services, especially if you’re like me and don’t feel like being your own spotlight—but I’m excited to update you on business and yes, my personal life too.

Spotlight on…

The last year has been a whirlwind. Our toddler, Maverick, spent his free time re-organizing cabinets and testing our toilet water. This summer I spent a lot of time with my oldest son, Benjamin, who makes us laugh and reminds us of our rules. He is trying his hand at acting—bravely doing auditions knowing he likely won’t get the part. He just started the First Grade and we’re constantly impressed by him. We took a big trip out West this summer by truck and camper avoiding breakdowns and grizzly bears. It was absolutely amazing. Not for everyone. But we loved it.

The most time consuming part of the last year was an addition to our two bedroom home. I spent days and weeks doing work myself. What I learned was this: I did save a ton of money by being handy, but I was often tired, cranky, and sore. I collected a solid cache of husband points and overall, it was worth it. I didn’t like how much it took me away from my career at times, which was disappointing. In that sense, it was kind of a wash. People say, “Well…why do you do it then Baby Billy. Because I’m selfless.” I hope you got that reference. In all seriousness, I find happiness in knowing it was for the people who matter the most. My family.

And speaking of people who matter—an agent is someone who really matters in the acting business and I’m pleased to announce that I have signed with Marilyn’s Talent Agency! I’m incredibly excited to work with this team based in North Carolina and proud to have them representing me in the Southeast!

With all that said—I’m open for business doing voiceover work, acting, commercial acting, and…drum roll…a TV series! I got a small part in Season 4 of American Detective, but it gave me a huge sense of pride and I can’t wait to share it when it airs on Investigation Discovery.

In voiceover, I’m excited for post production to wrap up on a few projects I’ve had the privilege of working on over the past year and I can’t wait to share those, so stay tuned!

As always, I’m grateful to work with all of YOU. My clients, directors, producers, casting, crew members, fellow actors, and friends. Thank you.

On-Track Safety E-Learning

Robert Blaine is proud to be the voice of safety for BNSF workers performing duties on the company’s over 32,000 miles of track. On-track safety training courses are critical to preventing injury and death, while keeping this massive expanse of rail lines operating.

Visit Ft. Myers!

As a born and raised Floridian, I have so much love for my Sunshine State and I'm deeply proud to have been a part of a production aimed at drawing tourists back to an area hit hard by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. I worked with the talented Paisley Paige Gibson and a wonderful crew showing off the best of Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island.

The shoot was amazing, but also a reality check on what this area is still going through. It's a testament to the resilience of the people who live here and their love for their island home. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I was thrilled to see Florida's natural beauty still intact. The beaches, turquoise water, and wildlife are all still there; with the area's world-class resorts and amenities being restored--if they haven't already been completed and opened for business.

Definitely check this place out if you ever find yourself looking for vacation spots in Florida. They’re also known for good food, golf, and of course, seashells. The kids will love it too!

What a year!

I'm elated for more opportunities to work with even more talented and creative people across the industry in 2023. Sounds cheesy, I know. But I love what I do and I truly love working with you. I wanted to take some time to tell you how much I appreciate all of you and share with you a few highlights for me this past year.

There were so many amazing moments in 2022 and too many to have all of them pictured above. I’ll save the family photos for last. But going from left to right, the photo of the little boy getting “sunscreen” on his face is my son Benjamin. He’s actually getting a small amount of make-up there, but he didn’t like the idea of make up; so we promoted its SPF qualities instead. Hey, you do what you gotta do right? This was his first commercial shoot ever and he handled it like a champ. We were both casted in a nutrition commercial yet to be released. It’s not everyday you get to bring your son to work, let alone a commercial shoot.

More highlights from 2022 included a talented cast and crew producing a digital commercial for Seagate’s Lyve Cloud (top right). In the beach photo, dogs took center stage for a Welactin commercial. I supported them in my role as “Dad.” I have so much respect for the trainers and their ability (and patience) directing these impressive pups. The pic of me in pink is from Texas, one of several stops with the Ambetter team at NASCAR tracks around the country. As their official “emcee,” we promoted their “Mission for Better Health Insurance” to thousands of people in 6 different states! It was a production made possible by an incredibly hard working team I was proud to be a part of. There’s a photo of me in my studio because that’s where I spent most of my time working on voiceover projects to include commercials, branding/explainer videos, a documentary, and railroad safety content for a major national rail company. Oh, and auditions, auditions, and more auditions.

I’ll wrap this up! 2022 started with an amazing family trip to Walt Disney World. Our son is the perfect age for it! It was a very special trip because the grandparents came with us. My mother-in-law, who is overcoming some health challenges affecting her mobility, toughed it out to see the joy on her grandson’s face. It was crazy, hectic, and sometimes stressful; but worth it in the end. Finally, we end 2022 with some exciting news! My wife and I are expecting a baby boy in the Spring of next year! That’s my favorite moment! I’m so thankful to be able to work in this challenging industry, but still make time for family. I wish the same for all of you. From my family to yours, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year!

I have a cold…

As a voice actor, even a minor cold SUCKS. It means I’m basically not really working until my stuffy sounding voice goes away. Unless you’re looking for that sexy stuffy voice vibe. Yeah, there isn’t such at thing. I wish there was because I would have the inside track on catching whatever bug my 4, soon to be 5 year old brings home. It’s something new each month to challenge my immune system, so expect some big competition for that gig when it comes up.

I’m taking this time to reflect a little and share some of my experience with you. I’ve had a lot of amazing success in my first year and a half of being in business for myself; which isn’t like ‘running a business.’ I’m basically trying to run myself and keep from running myself into the ground. I’m an actor, not a CEO or President overseeing people; but even running a solo business means taking on a lot of entrepreneurial skills. (I have mad respect to those of you who have employees.) We see lots of help offerings in this arena. The social media advertising is endless…ie: help videos, secrets to success, best workflow practices, brain hacks, new apps, subscriptions, electronics, and marketing tools/courses/need to knows. It feels like they all want my $3.99 to $9.99 a month or sometimes more.

Truth be told, some of it does help; but you can get lost looking at these things. Tread with caution and use techniques that only really vibe with you. Some, if not many, won’t be for you. But there are three things that I want to share with you for free, that I’ve realized personally over and over again. 

ONE, it pays to never ever give up; which I’ve heard other actors say. But this is 100% true! Let go of any disappointments, attachments, auditions that didn’t pan out, unanswered emails, and be happy for your friends and peers who are finding success. Thank you Bryan Cranston for sharing that advice. When you fill yourself with positivity and grind out the necessary work of polishing your website, tweaking acting profiles, improving resumes, doing auditions, emails, connecting with people on social, and even the occasional phone call or zoom meeting—It. Eventually. Works. Out. 

What doesn’t work, is getting distracted and procrastinating. This is especially bad when you work from home. I’m the best at making myself out to be a Saint in my own head to rationalize my non-work accomplishments such as, picking my kid up super early to spend quality time with him (trust me, this is still more important than work, but there has to be balance), or knowing my wife will be happy with the dishes being done or the house being clean, or finishing that project she wants done. You know what she also likes…when I bring home a paycheck! Lol…all jokes aside. My wife is an amazing woman who likes seeing me happy experiencing success in my career as an actor/VoiceOver artist/live presenter.

TWO, your relationships and connections with people are more important than you think, even if you KNOW they’re important. More people are watching and many care more than you realize or even care to fully grasp. Again, we don’t always show our bad days on social media; but we have them. People are lonely, still isolated in many ways, and crave connection. We can help each other out by talking to one another and sharing our experiences. 

THREE, settle in for the long haul and get used to delayed gratification. It takes SO LONG to showcase your work as an actor. There’s this incredible gratification of being on a set acting alongside talented professionals or in my studio voicing an important project for a client; but then there’s a long wait while these things get into post production, which can take months; sometimes even years. Especially in the feature film world, which I actually look forward to. In the meantime, there’s often confidentiality and/or silence on the release of a creative work you helped with. When I worked in news, I would turn a story or multiple stories in a day and they would air on television within hours or even minutes of completing them. This messed with my psyche going out on my own in a ‘slower paced’ industry, which many would consider to be normal. But, with that said, I absolutely love the thoughtful creativity and the patience to get something absolutely right—and dozens, sometimes hundreds of people collaborating to make that happen.

You don’t have to be an actor to take in some of what I’ve shared and it’s simply there to help. And, if you made it this far down my blog post, thanks for reading. I’m always happy to chat, so feel free to shoot me an email or message. Remember not to give up, keep making connections, and be patient; because the payoff is coming. Whatever that looks like for you. Here’s to your success, health, and happiness and there’s your cheese for the day! Take care!

The Creative VO

There’s SO MUCH that goes into it before hiring a voice actor. Ad Agencies and production companies are pretty savvy on this process, but this is a very simple snapshot. Once you have a plan to reach your audience and you want to connect with Bill the working man, Bob the corporate boss, or your buddy Brad who just graduated from college; the type of voice we give to your project is critical. It’s a lot of responsibility on my part, but I’m up for it! If you want a free test read of a sample script to try out on your client, I’m game for that too!

The Songs of Swill

Making comedic beer commercials is fun project a buddy, his wife, and I took on as a segment of our podcast called “Good Swill Advertising.”

You may have heard of “Good Swill Hunting,” if you’ve been following along on with my social media and website. It’s a fun, cheap beer review podcast my buddy, John Lohr, conceived and we’ve made more than 20 episodes with our two other hosts, a ‘beer insider’ and a ‘beer outsider,’ Bryan and Matt. We’ve now had episodes reach the top 25% and 50% of all podcasts!

Out of those episodes and funny parody beer commercials, we came up with a series of beer commercial jingles or songs. John and his wife helped write them and I sang/produced them. Take a listen!

Why hire a voice actor?

Everyone can tell a story. We tell stories to our family, friends, and strangers. Hell, we tell ourselves stories. It’s fun to hear someone’s story and even our own. The feeling you get when you share your story may be different each time you tell it and depending on who you share it with. And, when you hear someone else’s story; how it’s told is going to effect how you feel about it. And if a story doesn’t have words, sometimes spoken word can breath life into it. Sometimes it can take away. And, there are times when stories don’t need words.  

The words in a script aren’t just words, floating ideas, or passing thoughts. They’re emotions, moods, and sometimes entire characters! When I go into a  project, there’s a process to understand what it is I’m reading and capture whatever it is that’s being conveyed. It’s a craft that requires training, practice, and hard work and I’m always trying to improve upon it. It’s crazy, fun, and I love it! 

That’s why hiring the right voice actor for your project is so critical.  

Let’s go on this journey and tell your story! How’s that for some cheese! Seriously, email me to talk about what you’re working on. These are confidential consultations with an open dialogue about anything you want to share. It’s your project. I look forward to hearing from you!