Ask
veteran actor Beau Billingslea about his best known anime character,
Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, and he'll start by chatting about the
series' other adult lead characters as if they were real. "Faye is my
biggest problem, Spike is my next big problem," he said at a Friday
acting panel at AnimeFEST. But give Billingslea a few more minutes, and
he says "There's a lot of me in Jet - I love Jet. Sometimes he gets
overwhelmed by the young folk, but that's the way that life is...Cowboy
Bebop was a very special experience and I hope to run into a
project like that again." Billingslea had a wealth of stage and live
action roles before he started anime voice acting: his stage roles
include some of the parts originated by the great James Earl Jones, and
his on-camera work includes a recurring role as a Secret Service agent
in The West Wing.
Billingslea's
dubbing work started with live-action films before anime. One of the
secrets of the film industry is that many lines by prominent actors
have to be dubbed by others because the original performances aren't
audible and the original actors aren't available -- or willing -- to
replace the dialogue. Work on chores such as those got attention of
anime dubbing studios, and that led to roles including the complex Jet
Black in Bebop. "I started out doing on camera stuff, which is what I
continue to do, so i was used to seeing my voice come out of my face.
But when I started hearing my voice come out of little funny looking
guys, I said that's a lot better. The most fascinating, off the cuff
people are in voice over -- very humble folks as you can tell. It's a
fascinating business, I never get tired of it, and the fans are
the best."
You've
heard Billingslea in uncredited appearances -- or barely credited work
-- in narration and promos for cable networks such as the History
Channel and the Cartoon Network. Some of that work goes against the
rule that you need to be in a specific studio to handle a job. For
example, the Cartoon Network is headquartered in Atlanta, while
Billingslea works out of Los Angeles, but he still records promo tracks
that are handled in Georgia. That happens through a phone patch where
the producers in Georgia can hear Billingslea's recording work a
continent away. High-speed Internet access is going to make direct
control of these remote recording sessions simpler. For those who want
to become a voice actor, Billingslea recommends they start with acting
experience, and demonstrate that experience through making a fast-paced
promo recording of no longer than 90 seconds. "If you have to make a
demo, sit down, think about your objectives and get an expert's advice
-- and don't do it on your cassette recorder at home."
Ask
veteran actor Beau Billingslea about his best known anime character,
Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, and he'll start by chatting about the
series' other adult lead characters as if they were real. "Faye is my
biggest problem, Spike is my next big problem," he said at a Friday
acting panel at AnimeFEST. But give Billingslea a few more minutes, and
he says "There's a lot of me in Jet - I love Jet. Sometimes he gets
overwhelmed by the young folk, but that's the way that life is...Cowboy
Bebop was a very special experience and I hope to run into a
project like that again." Billingslea had a wealth of stage and live
action roles before he started anime voice acting: his stage roles
include some of the parts originated by the great James Earl Jones, and
his on-camera work includes a recurring role as a Secret Service agent
in The West Wing.
Billingslea's
dubbing work started with live-action films before anime. One of the
secrets of the film industry is that many lines by prominent actors
have to be dubbed by others because the original performances aren't
audible and the original actors aren't available -- or willing -- to
replace the dialogue. Work on chores such as those got attention of
anime dubbing studios, and that led to roles including the complex Jet
Black in Bebop. "I started out doing on camera stuff, which is what I
continue to do, so i was used to seeing my voice come out of my face.
But when I started hearing my voice come out of little funny looking
guys, I said that's a lot better. The most fascinating, off the cuff
people are in voice over -- very humble folks as you can tell. It's a
fascinating business, I never get tired of it, and the fans are
the best."
You've
heard Billingslea in uncredited appearances -- or barely credited work
-- in narration and promos for cable networks such as the History
Channel and the Cartoon Network. Some of that work goes against the
rule that you need to be in a specific studio to handle a job. For
example, the Cartoon Network is headquartered in Atlanta, while
Billingslea works out of Los Angeles, but he still records promo tracks
that are handled in Georgia. That happens through a phone patch where
the producers in Georgia can hear Billingslea's recording work a
continent away. High-speed Internet access is going to make direct
control of these remote recording sessions simpler. For those who want
to become a voice actor, Billingslea recommends they start with acting
experience, and demonstrate that experience through making a fast-paced
promo recording of no longer than 90 seconds. "If you have to make a
demo, sit down, think about your objectives and get an expert's advice
-- and don't do it on your cassette recorder at home."
