Interview:Roger Smith

On the 7th of July 2009 LotsofInterviews.com conducted an interview with the voice actor Roger Smith. We talk about how he became a voice actor, his favourite character to voice, his work as "Forge" in "Wolverine and the X-Men" and his voicing of Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5.

How is it that you got into voice acting?

I got into voice acting after pursuing stand-up comedy for

about 5 years. I did a lot of characters in my act, as well as

mimicking different dialects. An agent suggested that I look into voice acting after evaluating my comedy performance one evening, so I Googled a whole bunch of different web sites and took some classes. My break came when a booth director for an agency was “auditing” one of my VO classes and she took a recording of that evening’s work to her agency. They brought me in for a meeting and a few weeks later, they singed me.

What do people say when you tell them you are a voice actor?

It’s funny, I live in an area where most people don’t work in entertainment. I commute an awful lot to LA, where it seems like everybody and their brother does something in entertainment. So, when people in my area find out I’m a voice actor, I think they usually assume I must also be working at a day job of some sort. It seems like it’s not until you name a project that they’ve heard of that they then can truly believe that you are a voice actor. Then, of course, they ask you to “do a voice,” which is always funny---because it’s like, well, what kind of voice? Then, if you actually entertain their request by doing a voice, they look a little disappointed. “You sound different on TV.” I guess it’d be a lot easier to be like Vince Vaughn’s character in “Swingers” and tell people I’m a producer...

Have you ever been recognized on the street from your work?

Not yet. There aren’t too many photos of me out there and I’ve not been to any conventions. So, I don’t know that I’m a recognizable dude. It’s fine by me---I kinda like the anonymity of VO, but I also enjoy getting to meet fans of projects I’ve been a part of. I’m hoping to attend some conventions in ’09, get a chance to greet fans of some of the projects and maybe after that, I’ll be lucky enough to have my first “recognized on the street” moment. That’ll be very surreal, I’m sure.

What is your favorite character which you have voiced?

I really enjoyed getting to play Runt in the video game “Chicken Little Ace in Action.” He’s such a funny character and a goofy guy, it’s a fun departure from reality. Forge has been a funny guy to voice in the Wolverine and the X-Men” cartoons, because he’s just played as kind of the happy-go-lucky sidekick type. And, of course, it’s great getting to voice Chris Redfield...

Is there any show you would like to work on if you had the chance?

Honestly, there are so many, but I suppose I’d love to be a part of anything that was seen as truly original and sharp. I could name shows like “Squidbillies,” “Family Guy,” “ATHF,” “Animaniacs,” “South Park,” and others, but those shows are what they are because of the folks that made those shows. It’s not as if I feel I’d be able to add anything to those shows that their stellar casts couldn’t already do. My only hope is that someday I could be fortunate enough to add to a character on a show that is as widely respected as those shows.

Were you a fan of the X-Men before you got your role on ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’? Had you read the comics, watched past TV shows/Films?

I’d only seen the recent films. I’m a huge fan of the writing in WatXM, I think it’s incredible. And, having seen the trailer for the upcoming “Wolverine” film, I can’t wait to see that when it hits the screen. As far as comic books are concerned, I’ve never really gotten too into them. I was a film major, so I tend to like things in motion-picture form, as opposed to reading them. I’m just lazy, really---It’s something that plagues our society and I’m happy to contribute.