Behind the Screen: Glennis McCarthy's Inspiring Journey into Voiceover Acting

Dive into the world of voiceover acting with our exceptional guest, Glennis McCarthy. A seasoned professional in the field, Glennis recounts her journey from a young budding actress in New York to a renowned voiceover artist in Los Angeles. Her candid reflections on self-advocacy, tips on breaking into the industry, and thoughts on maintaining creativity amidst the industry's pressures are sure to inspire. Come along as Glennis generously offers a wealth of knowledge from her 15 years in the industry.

In the second half of our enlightening conversation, we delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of a voiceover career. Glennis shares the significance of a well-made demo, her thoughts on the future of remote work in the animation industry, and provides guidance on how to go about securing an agent. Hear her personal anecdotes and gain a transparent insight into the challenges and rewards that come with a career in voiceover acting. Whether you're an aspiring voiceover artist or simply intrigued by the voices behind the screens, this episode promises a wealth of fascinating insights.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:12

I'm very excited to have my friend. You're my friend, right? Oh yeah, my voiceover, extraordinaire friend Glenis McCarthy. Hi, hi, how are you?

Speaker 2 0:27

doll. Oh, I'm good, bobby, it's so good to see you, it's good.

Speaker 1 0:33

It's good. Well, I'm going to talk to I'm talking to Glenis, because she has had a storied voiceover career and a couple of things. I'm just going to let her talk about it and and then, in case you ever want to find out how to do voiceover or anything like that, you can reach out to her and she'll give you her information. How does that sound, Glenis?

Speaker 2 0:59

That sounds marvelous.

Speaker 1 1:00

Okay, so how did you get into voiceover?

Speaker 2 1:05

You know, I was kind of thrown into it. How's my gain? Do I need to go up in my? Am I loud enough? Yes, okay, I've got this whole setup, this new setup in my, in my voiceover booth. But yeah, I was kind of thrown into it because, new York, I'm this young, 20 something actress. I get an agent and she's like here, go on a voiceover audition, and I'm like what is that? I knew nothing and she sent me out there. It was for, like, jeep radio. I booked it. It was like one line, I love my Jeep and and then she kept sending me out, I kept booking and I hated it. To be honest, I really hated it because I didn't understand it, because I came from a world of theater, a world of on camera. So this, this, just your voice, was really weird at first. And then I loved it and now that I'm, I've been doing it for, you know, 15 years now in LA. I'm trying to break into animation and that's the fun stuff.

Speaker 2 2:08

That's where it's really exciting.

Speaker 1 2:12

Well, that's interesting. So your journey is from New York to LA.

Speaker 2 2:17

Right.

Speaker 1 2:19

And so tell me all the different voices and things. I mean. Let's say this is like a green person coming to you and say, glennis, I can do voices. How do I get into voice overacting?

Speaker 2 2:34

Well, you know, it really helps to have an agent. But before that I what I do is I just do a lot of voices and I listen to cartoons. I watch cartoons with my son and I listen to people. Like I listen to how people speak. Do they speak real slow, do they have a draw or do they speak really fast, and all they really excited and animated, you know, and just like, keep that in your bank, you know, and I have a notebook that I carry with me and, like Auditions, I'll look through it and be like, okay, let's see, I need a second take for this character. So let's see, maybe she's, maybe she's a spoiled brat, you know, or maybe she's, maybe she's militant, you know, like I have a bunch of adjectives or descriptors in there that I can pull from so that if the casting people say, hey, we need a second take. That didn't really answer your question. I have had a lot of coffee.

Speaker 1 3:39

I need to talk, to talk, to talk, to talk to talk.

Speaker 2 3:43

Okay, coffee to walk. So so you know, like the way that I got my agent is, I took a class, my very first agent. I took an on-camera commercial class with Brooke and Mary in New York old school and then I went up to him after and I said, hey, if you know anybody that has a need for my type, any agency, I'm looking for a representation, and that's, I think, the hardest part of the industry is you really have to be your own advocate and that's hard for me. I don't like it. I want to just be creative. I want to just be creative. Wow, yeah, it's hard. I mean, even now, at 15 years in, I just, I don't know, it makes me nervous to be like hi, can you give me a break?

Speaker 1 4:33

You seem so self assured all the time I know you personally thought this.

Speaker 2 4:39

Well, you know, I am self assured and I do and I've worked really hard to love myself and love my talents but it's different.

Speaker 2 4:47

It feels kind of like gross to me to be like you know that part of the industry. I don't want people to be like, oh, she's such a climber or and that's my own stuff, you know, and that's nobody's thinking that that's the industry. You have to make connections, you have to, and that you know now that everything's pretty much everything's remote. That's very difficult. So I would say, if you really want to take voiceover classes there are a bunch of. There's a place called Sound and the Furry and it's my friend Stacia. She's in New York. She does these great workshops. Take her workshops. They are low stakes, super fun. You're going to learn a lot, you're going to get to read on Mike, you're going to meet casting directors and agents and they're not super expensive either. Like she's just a wonderful, wonderful person to know in this industry.

Speaker 2 5:39

And anytime you see a workshop, if you can take it I know it's hard because then you're spending money for, but you have to spend money. You just kind of, do you know, when I was in New York I'd get sent out on auditions and I would go see the casting directors and I meet them and we'd become friends, you know? And now I sit in this little SJ. Can't see it, oh sorry, I can't see it, but Cut it out. Cut it out. But it's small and it's isolated and I don't see people, so it's really hard to make those connections.

Speaker 2 6:21

So you can follow people on Instagram, message them, say, how did you break into this? You know, do you have any advice? Just make those connections. Work on those voices. Listen to commercials there's, you know, there's, some good money to be made in commercials and and really just like, develop your voice. You know, because 20 people, 100 people, 700 people can read the same copy and you need to figure out how to do it differently and your own way. And it really is about creating those characters, bringing them to life. It's about acting. I could go on and on. I love it, no go on and on.

Speaker 1 7:00

I want people to know like, and people like. Sometimes it happens right away you walk into an audition and they have you, we want her, yeah. Other times it's like 25, you know casting calls later. Finally, oh, we want her.

Speaker 2 7:16

Right, right. And with animation it is so much harder to break into. And I'm realizing that now because I'll go into workshops and it'll be, you know, an agent or a casting director and they're like, wow, flawless read to brag for something. They're like flawless read, no notes, perfect. And then I reach out to them Nothing, I hear, nothing. I'm like, but I do have an agent out here. She just did a workshop the other day with another woman and it was a casting director from Nickelodeon. And at this point, you know, I mean I'm becoming it's. I have to like psych myself up and be like it's not about the result, it's about the experience, it's about meeting other people, full and learning. You know, and I'm at, sometimes I get impatient, like I want this to happen now, you know. So I go into this workshop and I read and my agent messages me and says I'm going to get you a general meeting at Nickelodeon Now.

Speaker 1 8:18

This is a huge deal.

Speaker 2 8:21

It hasn't happened yet, but it's a huge, freaking deal.

Speaker 1 8:25

I know Nickelodeon.

Speaker 2 8:26

Yeah, I know we all do, and if you know, and when it happens, it'll be me reading for all of the Nickelodeon casting directors, all of them. So it's a huge deal, but that doesn't happen overnight and it's because I've been working so hard and I've really, you know, because it's not about just doing a voice, it's not about just like, hey, I'm this crazy character. You know, you really have to, you have to be able to bring that character to life. You have to know every single detail. Like I read a little girl named Beatrice. She's 12 years old and she loves animals and so her energy was kind of like, oh my God, I'm gonna freak out, you know, like that's her kind of energy and so I could bring be like, what is that? What is that? Is that a guinea pig? Oh my God, I love guinea pigs. You know that's different than anybody else read it. Other people read it differently and that's okay, but.

Speaker 2 9:32

I felt this girl in my bones.

Speaker 2 9:34

I was like I know, beatrice, I am Beatrice. I pulled from some part of me that is Beatrice. You know, there is that like the actor's oath, what is it? The Ilya Kazan's actor's promise? I think it is. I have it in my booth. What's it called? The actor's vow, and it's, and it's all about like being authentic and putting everything out there, no matter how you feel, say how you feel and that's it's. It's acting, it's voice acting, even if you're in a commercial and you have copy for Jeep radio. If I don't really love a Jeep, I have to think about what I really do love I love. You know, I love roller skating. So I'm like I love Jeep. You know like that is. I don't love Jeep, but I love roller skating. You just have to convey the authenticity. You have to act. Take acting classes, that's another thing.

Speaker 2 10:35

Take acting classes, write your own stuff. If you're a writer or if you want to do improv, find an improv group. Just anything you can do to keep that creative side of your brain sharp so that when you get in that booth you can perform. I know that when I go to Nickelodeon I'm going to be able to perform because I've been working. You know, I've worked and I've practiced and I've honed and all of that stuff.

Speaker 1 11:05

Well, that's, that's wonderful, so, and you also have a family, which is fantastic. We all need a family.

Speaker 2 11:12

Yes, that's the best part, really, Because then, you know, my goal is to be able to do voiceover and spend the rest of the time with my son, you know. But I also I just got hired as a teacher, for a theater teacher, so that's going to be amazing too, being around kids and like that side of me being really filled up. You know this, the energy and the excitement of kids. That's going to be fun.

Voiceover Demos and Finding an Agent

Speaker 1 11:37

Well, that's one seed, like all sorts of things are happening. For what sign are you?

Speaker 2 11:43

I'm an Aries.

Speaker 1 11:44

What are you? I'm a Libra. Libra oh, the best my sons and Aries wins your birthday.

Speaker 2 11:53

April 12th.

Speaker 1 11:54

Okay, so you're a real Aries. He's over the cusp of Pisces. No, but yeah, he's over the cusp. He's my. He's at the end, march 27th.

Speaker 2 12:04

Okay yeah. Yes.

Speaker 1 12:05

I am. What's your hubby? What sign is he?

Speaker 2 12:08

He's a Scorpio. I'm a double Aries and he's a double Scorpio, so it's wow.

Speaker 1 12:12

How about your sunny boy?

Speaker 2 12:14

He's a Scorpio as well.

Speaker 1 12:16

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 2 12:18

Yeah, lots of emotions.

Speaker 1 12:20

Oh, yes, yes Okay.

Speaker 2 12:22

Let's take a break.

Speaker 1 12:23

Yeah. So if someone's coming to you and said, glenis, what do I have to do? Do I get a? Do I have to do a voiceover tape? What is what? How do you do it today? Because I remember my day of voiceovers and in the 80s I did a lot of voiceovers. It doesn't matter what, how was it done today?

Speaker 2 12:43

Yeah, I do have a demo and I got the demo because I was thinking of changing agencies. You really only need a demo when you're going to find a new agent. I mean, sometimes casting people will want it, so it's always good to have. But I'd say, if you have one and it's not more than 10 years old, I would say you're fine. The, you know, when you're looking for somebody to do your demo, listen to their stuff like how does the sound quality sound? How are the characters? Is there a range like my Character demo for animation has a huge range. You know, I start as a fairy godmother, I'm a someone in the military, I'm a little boy, I'm a Jewish grandmother, I'm you know, there's all these different characters just to show them like. You want to hear more, you know. But I would say, definitely do that. It's very expensive though. So you know it does take money, it's a cost now, I'm just curious.

Speaker 2 13:44

I mean, I think Thousand, it depends. Yeah, I mean to do it. Well, it's a thousand and up, yeah, yeah, because you don't want to do it. You don't want to. This is not where you want to skimp, you want somebody to.

Speaker 2 13:59

And you know, like one of the great things about having a history with improv and writing and stuff is that I, I am able to Write my own characters. Now, I did have somebody write them for me because that's just how he worked. I did mine with Richard Horvitz. He's the voice of invaders, them and all sorts of different amazing characters. He's wonderful. If you want to do yours with him, I highly recommend him. He's just so great. And I did it remotely. Yeah, that's the other thing. It's like everything's remote. Now I miss being in a booth, but everything's remote, I know, and anime and we're remote right now, bobby, and I feel like animation is the last Holdout, like a lot of other things have gone in the booth, but animation is the last holdout. But anyway, yeah, do your research, look, look into, listen to their demos and, if you can like, find the people that have worked with them, email them, see what their experience was and then just see how you feel with them, because you really need to feel comfortable with the person that's producing your demo.

Speaker 1 15:01

Okay, that's number one. So they need a good demo.

Speaker 2 15:04

Okay, that and number two, animation. I'd say start with commercial animation.

Speaker 1 15:08

Okay, and what about an agent? After they have the demo, do they shop it around to an agency?

Speaker 2 15:14

Yeah, yeah, I mean you can get a list and actually if you contact me I can give you a list of all right.

Speaker 1 15:19

So that's what I want you to do. How can they, how can aspiring voiceover actors, old and young, reach?

Speaker 2 15:27

out to you. They can go to my website, glennismcarthicom, and you can contact me there. I have a list of voiceover agents that you can look through. You can go to their website. You can see what their submission process is. Some of them need a referral. Some of them you know it's it's hard. I'm not going to say it's not, it's not hard. But you can also talk to people that you know who's your agent. Do you like them? Would you recommend me? It's again that kind of marketing yourself and you know it's the Robin Elbos.

Speaker 1 16:14

Would have you ever thought of teaching voiceover?

Speaker 2 16:17

I have. I mean, I, I it's all about. I guess I just have to accept that it would be over Zoom. I wanted it to be in person, but I think it would have to be in over Zoom. So, yeah, I mean I've thought about that. I I've been working on different areas of of of my career right now but, like, yeah, definitely, I think it would be a lot of fun and, and I think, having a background in improv, I can bring a lot of that experience to people and, you know, help them to. You really have to give different takes on the fly and improvising. People love improvising.

Speaker 1 16:54

I love improvisation.

Speaker 2 16:56

It's so fun and if you can do that, you're you're a diamond to them, because then you can, you just bring their copy to life even further and you and you like you just put the icing on the cake, you know. So, yeah, definitely improv classes. And you know, and stay tuned, if you email me, I'll keep you on my list and let you know if I'm doing any classes.

Speaker 1 17:21

I'll put your email when we do this because it'll take, like you know, after. After I'm done with you, then I'll send it to my Buzz Buzz Sprout people and they turn it into this fabulous thing that I can't even imagine me ever doing.

Speaker 2 17:41

Oh wow, that's so nice.

Speaker 1 17:43

Yeah, I love, yeah, and I. You know everything costs money, whatever is worth anything, especially you're investing. That's what I thought from Gledis, because if you invest in yourself, that's the most. And believe in yourself, right? Yeah, I mean, I'm your little kid, right, glenis?

Speaker 2 18:03

Yeah, definitely, I mean, and you know, sometimes my confidence falters, sometimes you know we went through that no way, and my confidence was like what am I doing with my life?

Speaker 2 18:14

But you know what? I know how to get myself back up there. You know, I know how to read. I even actually in my booth I have a little book of confidence that has just like little sayings and stuff. If I start to get nervous or like second guess myself because I think that's normal. When it's something that you really love and that's really important to you, I think it's normal to have some nerves. But Amy Poehler said it perfectly. She said when we're adults they're nerves, when we are kids it's excitement. So I think of it that way I'm excited because this is important to me, you know.

Speaker 1 18:50

Now it does your. I know your husband is an actor or he's a comedian. He loves wrestling. Because I'm going to do a thing you know I love my father. I share with him many a time about how my father took us to the old Madison Square Garden to see all the old wrestlers. So I know.

Speaker 2 19:07

I'm going to, I'm definitely going to interview him. Oh yeah, definitely he does stand up. He's going on the road again on Wednesday going to Raleigh, North Carolina, to do some stand up. He was just in Madison. So yeah, I mean it's great because we support each other, we understand each other's careers and you know, I'm like, go do your thing and when you get out of here someone, to join is to run the way out.

Speaker 1 19:32

Exactly, I have actually a little boy, your little boy adorable Now he's, he's adorable, he's now.

Speaker 2 19:40

he's on the dance team. So that's I'm now. I'm a dance mom too, so we're going to start going to competitions and stuff. So really a whole new, a whole new cast.

Speaker 1 19:50

Oh, my God.

Speaker 2 19:51

Pull from all these dance moms. Oh, that's wonderful.

Speaker 1 19:55

Can you, if you decide to have a voice over class, would you let me know, because I'd love I would take it with you.

Speaker 2 20:02

Oh, I would love that, Bobby. Yes.

Speaker 1 20:06

I don't talk about because I had a had a very big voice over career in the 80s.

Speaker 2 20:11

That was then I want to, I want to hear all about it. Do you still have stuff you still have like demo, or your the demo?

Speaker 1 20:18

my old demo is on LA casting, but this isn't about me. I'll let you let. Yeah, this is about you. We'll talk about that. Another we will talk about I would take the class with you, if you give a class, you know, just to get those wheels running again. Because what happens here in LA is everybody focuses, they, they portray you, they put you in one box and that's okay, I'm in the. You know, whatever box, I'm the personality box, that's fine. Yeah, I don't mind. Yeah, but you know I used to be in the voiceover box and then they never saw me as anything else.

Speaker 2 20:52

Uh-huh yeah.

Speaker 1 20:53

But that was back then.

Speaker 2 20:55

No, I think it's the same thing. Now, you know, I mean on camera. I'm not pursuing as much because it's not as important to me. But the cool thing about voiceover is that if you really work hard at it and you can do a bunch of and you have a wide range, they're not going to be able to put you in a box because it doesn't matter what you look like, it matters what you sound like.

Speaker 2 21:17

You can do a bunch of different characters and you can do a wide range of ages. Then they're going to be like you know who could do this. Glennis could do this.

Speaker 1 21:27

You know who wants to get your foot in the door.

Speaker 2 21:30

Especially in the animation world, they use the same people over and over. If you'll listen to the cartoons, you'll notice it's the same voices over and over, exactly, yeah, once you get in, which I'm hoping the Nickelodeon thing is my foot in the door.

Speaker 1 21:47

I'm going to pray. I am going to pray, so what's your favorite voice? Is there one voice that I'm going to end this podcast, whatever I call it my morning with this podcast, do you have?

Speaker 2 22:01

A favorite voice. Yeah, I used to do a show in New York called Shooting the Shiz with Molly McPhiz and I was a little girl who was neglected. She would do a talk show in her basement. I know it was a little sad, but she thought she was an adult so she always talked about adult things. Molly McPhiz kind of talked like this and she had sort of a well, I think sometimes when parents are driving they say look at the road, oh, my God, oh, my goodness, and that's wonderful.

Speaker 1 22:38

You know, back in the day when famous people didn't do voiceovers, there was a time in the early 80s, late 70s that they hired people, like at one time they hired me to be Joan Rivers voice or Dr Ruth or all those people back in the day because they didn't do their own voiceover. So that was a lot of fun, yeah.

Speaker 2 23:01

They do that sometimes. Still, I know a girl who did Jennifer Coolidge in the Emoji movie and you can also do if you sound like a character that's already on TV, like on Paw Patrol or something you can do the I think Tom Hanks' brother does all of his like toys and stuff like that and like the commercials. He does the like woody voice.

Speaker 1 23:24

Oh yeah. So now, Blennis McCarthy, we're just about to finish. What do you want everybody to know about you?

Speaker 2 23:34

You don't know me yet, but you will. You're going to. I just want them to know that I am super grateful, and you know. I had a huge voice of a career. I kind of took it for granted and now like. My gratitude is through the roof, and I will never take this for granted again, because I love it more than anything outside of my family more than anything.

Speaker 1 24:00

So yeah, I think that's it, buddy If no one tells you they love you today, then I love you Because you're you. Thank you for coming on Morning Bitches. It'll be up in about 20, 30 minutes. You can listen to it on Spotify and reach out to glennismcothecom or gmailcom if you want to learn about how to do voiceovers. Glennis McCarthy at G.

Speaker 2 24:25

Yeah, you can do. Glennis McCarthycom, yeah, and then you can send them a demo. That's at.

Speaker 1 24:29

BennisBitCarthycom and look at her everything.

Speaker 2 24:32

All right, y'all Love you. Yeah, bobby, love you. Bye, I love you.