Do you prefer to not know who the voice actors are?
 

simple question. Would you rather not know who's voicing each character? i know people where if they know who's voicing them the can't see what's on the screen, they just keep visualizing the voice actor every time the character speaks.

When I was a kid I obviously didn't know what most voice actors looks like and there was also no internet in the 80's and early 90's so you couldn't look it up either.

Nowadays why not?

I love to know who does what. I think voice acting is an awesome career/talent, & those people don't get enough credit IMO.

Sometimes i recognize voice actors from various cartoons from the same time period.

No. I prefer to know who they are, especially if I have to go looking for who they are. That way I can marvel at how damn versatile their range is.

I wish we had the information back in the 90s. Voice actors didn't get half the credit they get nowadays, and it's a darn shame!!!

I don't care enough. People get so worked up about voice actors and I just don't get it.

I've never really kept up on that aspect all that much, so I might look someone up, but for the most part I probably won't commit it to memory what else they've done or end up that familiar.

As a little bit of a WoW player and have a Blood Elf as one of my faves I play, I WAS a bit floored to read that his voice actor (for the sound emotes) was also Leo's first. I wasn't even back in the TMNT fanbase yet when I read that. Maybe that bit of info gave me a nudge.

I've tried but I have to say that I can't really hear it though, think it's enough years between and Cam Clarke puts it on rather differently for both.

I'm assuming that's because you see them as no more than "children's" entertainers, in which case is kind of a sad outlook on the profession. Voice over doesn't just apply to cartoons. They're used for video games, movie trailers, radio commercials and a lot more. Hell, when you were making those Green Lantern/JLA and Highlander fan videos on YouTube, you asked Lisardo, me and a bunch of others from the TMNT fandom to do voice-over for those projects. I can't speak for the rest of the Hal & Kyle cast, but for me it was the coolest thing because it's the closest I ever got to being a voice actor.

It's always fun to play "Who's that Voice Actor?" BlindTurtle and I developed quite an ear for it in college.

Yup, any of them. You name it. I mean, they have to do a serviceable job and all... but unless you're endeavoring to be a voice actor yourself (which makes sense) I'm just not understanding the fascination with them. I'm not downplaying the work they do and what they add to the mix.

Sometimes, mostly if I head "that voice" over and over again or if I really like it. That reminds me, I have to search for the voice actor/actress of Catbug.

It doesn't bother me if I know them or not, usually. :tconfuse:

Most of the time I don't pay much attention, unless I recognize the voice. There are a few VA's I do sort of "follow" by seeing what work they have done. Like for instance, the guy who voiced Cobra Bubbles in Lilo and Stitch also does the Arby's "we have the meats" commercials. Weird, but cool!

Waaah? Now I'm going to have to pay attention to that. lol

I swear, it's interesting sometimes the different roles some people have played/done that you don't even expect. Wasn't that long ago I even became aware that the women who does Nick April also voices Disney's (new animated version) Tinker Bell. I have yet to think of it though when I've come across either.

Doesn't really matter to me either way. It's cool sometimes when I recognize a voice from another character though. Like ones that are really noticeable.

I like knowing which VA does what animated show. Some voice actors do show up at various conventions, and this allows me to ask a question or two about what they do. What they enjoyed about voice acting on the show, what got them interested in doing that sort of work, ect.

I think I'd prefer not to know. No disrespect to voice actors, but picturing them doing the voices in a little booth messes with my ability to suspend disbelief somewhat. I'll go one step further and say that knowing their names and following their career is not an issue, but knowing what they look like is, and when I say and issue, it's not a bid problem, just not optimal.

It's a bit like knowing how a magic trick works. Beyond that point you can appreciate it on a technical and theatrical level, but the magic is gone.

OMG. This x 1 million. Could not agree more.

I'unno if I get being "obsessed" with it, but I also don't get completely not caring. I mean, so many people do so many things, how can a person not at least notice? Sometimes it seems like the same 8 people do literally everything. It's like with anything else I watch, you don't even have to be paying attention, then all of a sudden, "Hey, it's that guy. Neat."

To me it's just another form of acting, and like any other actors I have my personal favorites, or ones I think are "better" or more versatile. I don't quite "get" either of the extremes, though, from "fanatical" to "uncaring". On the one side, they're just actors doing a job, but on the other side, I'unno... the "not caring" angle seems sort of demeaning, like it looks down on what they do in some way.

I'm pretty convinced that Rob Paulsen and Tara Strong have shared ownership of a time machine; with everything that they do, there is no way their days contain only 24 hours. There is some serious Santa Claus magic going on there. Kath Soucie probably gets to borrow it every other Tuesday.

it might drive me nuts to try and figure out who the voice actor is if i can recognize the voice and can't quite place it... but knowing who the voice actor is doesn't bother me... as long as they do a good job and are suited to the character, but thats a separate issue...

99 times out of 100, the answer you are looking for is, "Jim Cummings".

The other 1 time, it's "Frank Welker".

This is often the case with me, actually...and for a while I thought I was weird for that. But I usually like to know the voices anyway. I always want to know who's involved with shows/movies that I like.

How about Tom Kenny? :lol: Go look at his IMDb list; you'll be scrolling for days.

I really don't go out of my way to look them up but if I recognize the voice I like to look it up to confirm if said character's VA is the one I think it is.

Not true. 45% it's Cummings, 45% it's Cam Clarke, the OTHER 10%, it's Welker. I've looked. I swear they are all just passing the scripts between them for EVERY VA job out there! (And they all work/have worked under different names, too. Cam has worked under the names Jimmy Flinders (in Robotech and a few others), and Max Christian, to name a couple.

Well, problem with that is, Clarke's pretty recognizable. Every single time I've ever even had to wonder, "Is that Cam Clarke?", it is. And yeah, he gets a ton of work, more than almost anyone, but that wasn't really the discussion.

The discussion was, "Who IS that? I know I know this... it's rightthere on the tip of my brain... I just... can't.... arrrrgh..." And in those cases, it's almost always Cummings or Welker. Clarke works more than everyone but you can almost always tell that it's him. He and Paulsen are both very versatile and yet really obvious. They can do a ton of "different" things a ton of different ways, but you can always, always tell that it's them.

It's not so much that I don't or do want to know the voice actors of something like TMNT or other animated projects, but what I really prefer is that the voice actors aren't famous outside of their circle.

Actually, Clarke's done quite a bit of stuff you'd never recognize him in. Snake from Metal Gear solid, Thor, Daredevil, Weasel, and Heimdall from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and some voices from Bleach, Dragon Age: Origins, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, Star Wars KotR, Assassin's Creed, and even Gargoyles. (Brendon the snobby civilian, anyone? Barely recognizable as him.) He's got a much bigger range than you might think hearing just Leo or Max Sterling. Even did Simba's singing voice in Lion King II, and Kaneda from Akira! (Which I had never realized until I looked him up.)

Wow, you're actually 100% wrong! Not only did I pick him out immediately in every single one of those, but my wife did, too! :lol:

I've been told I have a better "ear" than most, but yeah, those were all easy. People who never saw/played/heard those things may not know they exist or that he did them, but anyone could pick him out if they'd ever heard him before. He is *really* distinctive. Like Tara Strong or Kath Soucie; once you know their voice, you can hear it even if you're not listening for it.

Especially when they're in every single cartoon show you've ever watched and every video game you've ever played in your entire life. :lol:

First time I watched Denver the Last Dinosaur, I immediately recognized the VAs :lol:

I really don't care to know what they look like, when I watch something I don't think about those things I just want to be immersed into the show. It doesn't bother me or ruin the illusion if I know what they look like either since I'm not thinking about that when I watch fiction only the in-universe things that are happening.

Yeah, knowing what they look like doesn't much matter to me either way. Although with chicks it's nice to know. Like, if I'm "attracted" to the voice, and the girl turns out to be cute, that's nice. That's just a bonus, though. I'm rarely inclined to find out what they look like. My wife cares more than I do, she likes to know everything about everyone in her favorite shows. I "get it" but it's not a big deal to me.

You know what's funny? I've seen Akira a dozen times, AT LEAST, and never realized it was him- even though I SWORE I knew that voice! Never mind that I've never played MGS, or half those other games, but the M:UA games, I didn't realize it was him, either, and I had Thor ON MY TEAM!!! Color me embarrassed.... What's really funny is some of the more "serious" ones he's done, he DOES change his voice a bit- MGS, for instance, I never played, but I've seen some cut-scenes, and watched others play, and never caught it. Weird.

There were a few others, too- Brendon from Gargoyles, for one. It's pretty hard to pick that one out, with the odd accent he's using. Marsha or whatever her name is that's always with him is easier- it's obvious she's Marina Sirtis (aka Demona). Just like it took me re-watching a couple of times before I realized that the shaman in the Outback episode was James Avery- and I'd wracked my brain for YEARS trying to place THAT one. Now I just want to face-palm that I didn't catch it right away, since I watched both TMNT AND Gargs back in high school EVERY DAY, along with Fresh Prince.... But I also don't "get into" a lot of the other stuff he's done, so some of it was really surprising. Ghostbusters? Easy. Wing Commander? Not so much.... But then, I was floored when I discovered Joker in B:TAS was Mark "Skywalker" Hamill, too. Still find that funny for various reasons.

The "Best" is in Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, near the very end where Clarke and Rob Paulsen have a back-and-forth.

And I wish you hadn't told me that, about not having played MGS. I'm genuinely sorry that life hasn't been fair to you. We can talk about it, if it makes you feel better, but we don't have to. What happened to you was not okay, but it also wasn't your fault. Probably.

Oh, see- NOW I wish I HAD played THAT one- JUST for THAT alone, LOL!

Nah, it's cool- just not really my "genre" of games. I tend to play a lot of RPG's, mostly, and occasionally an FPS, but mostly ones like Halo, Doom 3, and Splinter Cell(I love Sam Fisher!! Especially in "Agents Sam and Bob", of Rooster Teeth vids. And Red vs. Blue....). And I've "sort of" gotten into Assassin's Creed, but I'm not heavily into stuff like that, usually. Call of Duty, a few times, and Medal of Honor, but only if I'm REALLY bored. If I want to blow off steam, I usually just hack a few orcs, goblins, or trolls in Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowwind, or Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance. And the Burnout games. Specifically, Burnout 3. I LOVE the takedown tracks! My all-time record is 65 in one shot, while my hubby's is 97. Damn. Never beatin' THAT one.... But that's when I'm in a REALLY pissy mood, and have the right music to get in my "groove" on the track. For some reason, the Daredevil soundtrack really works for me.

I don't give a sh*t about your life story, missy; there's Zero excuse for not having played MGS. Did you KNOW, that in countries where they cut your hands off for stealing, it's considered a serious punishment ONLY because it makes it impossible for the person to ever play MGS again? Because you totally need both hands.

The entire series is on PS3 for like, $50 in the "Legacy Collection". It's just not right. I play all that other stuff too, but every time I play that series, I fall in love all over again. Even if the older games' controls are a little clunky.

And since you're apparently gonna be lazy about it, here, I snagged the scene I described. You still need to play the game because I f*cking said so. Anyways, enjoy.


And yeah, it's super-obvious that it's both Cam and Rob in that scene. To the point where some people didn't like their performances, because they found them "distracting". Go figure.

"When death is entreated... the battle is decided." I think I want that on my tombstone.

Yeah, well.... I haven't played a PS game since the PS2. Don't like PS controls, and most of their games just don' interest me. I'm an X-Box gal. Have been since it first came out. That would explain it. I think some of them are on X-Box also, but I just don't usually go in for that genre unless I'm super interested. Hence Halo and Doom. But thanks for the clip!

They are mad easy to play and the characters and storytelling are so over-the-top and endearing that it's incredible. I cannot force you to do as I ask, but I'm strongly considering it. It's one of those cases where I don't believe in giving people a choice, because some things are too important. People need air to breathe, and they don't get to choose that. People also need to have seen "Ghostbusters", owned "Appetite For Destruction" at least once in their lives, and experienced the MGS saga for themselves. These things are too important to leave to choice or random chance.

The fact that there are people out there who DON'T know how you beat Psycho Mantis, or even what a "Psycho Mantis" is, means that our schools are teaching our kids entirely the wrong things.

No sh*t: My cell phone ringtone when my wife calls is a Codec signal. And when my wife texts me, it's the "Alert!" noise and a little exclamation point pops up on the screen. Dead serious.

This is the best post on this forum.

huh, never heard that complaint before. That most of the actors sounds bored and just reading off cue cards most of the time, now that's a valid complaint. Jennifer Hale is a complete snoozefest to listen to, maybe it's the lack of a "English" accent that makes her acting skills go down hard :lol: