Voice acting now seems a more attractive aspect of the business to established screen actors. I heard Sean Astin on the Talking Toons podcast describing how hard he found it to adapt to voice acting and getting work.

Personally if a voice in an animation is good I don't mind who is providing it ... but others may disagree. I remember lots of raised eyebrows when Walt Dohrn was given the role of Rumpelstiltskin for the fourth Shrek movie.

 

I think they do it because celebrities can go on all the talkshows and do promotion. Naturally I'd prefer them to go with what's best for the movie, rather than what's best for selling the movie, but it's not my call.

One thing I've noticed is that you see these behind the scenes videos of screen actors doing voice-over work, and they're pulling expressions and waving their hands all over the place like they haven't a clue what they're doing. You see a pro voice-actor and it's completely different. All their energy goes into the voice, and expressing everything they can through that medium.

And the effect can be surreal, like they're somehow channeling this voice that sounds quite removed from the human who's conveying it.

 

Well like the booming Optimus Prime voice coming from the less than imposing Mr Cullen.

Though can't say I have any problem with the ones they used for TFTM(86) though they pretty much picked people with very bold voices, except Judd Nelson.

 

well johnny depp is going to bring in more dollars then frank welker, on a poster.

and that's all it's usually about.

 

Genie and Donkey were good, though.

 

I think it's only name recognition. Sometimes I'm impressed how good some actors can do voice work (in the end it's both acting, but I think voice acting requires actually a bit more work, because you have to do all the acting with your voice and therefore need practice in it), but mostly I don't even recognize that some big name was voicing someone.

 

As a matter of fact, Welker was the highest-paid actor of all time, till Samuel L Jackson took over with his MCU deal.

I’m not against celebrity actors taking up voice acting, after all Mark Hamill and Clancy Brown forged new careers for themselves as voice actors (Brown went on to become Lex Luthor and Mr Krabs), and there have been some great voices in animated features. I just think it should work the other way too: that where there’s a need/opportunity for a voice in a film, a veteran voice actor can step up to provide that voice instead of a celebrity actor.

Oh yes. But also, voice acting is primarily a behind-the-scenes career. Very few people would pay attention to the people behind the character, unless they were either really famous or had a fanbase.

I must admit, with a bit of shame and guilt, that I’d seen the credits of Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Mel Blanc, Jim Cummings, Don Messick and so forth many many times, but those names never really meant anything to me until around 2007, when the first Transformers film came out, and I found out the original voice of Optimus Prime was returning. So that sparked my interest in who had done the voices of all my favourite cartoon characters.

But as someone earlier said, thanks to the Internet now (IMDb, Wikipedia, YouTube), TV voice actors are now becoming more renowned. So maybe studios will give some attention to that industry and pick some voice actors for film roles.

That’s something actors do to get into character. It’s okay, since they’re screen actors they need a bit of physicality to help them out in defining the voice; and I think some voice actors do it as well.

 

I take it you haven't seen many films with Liam Neeson.

 

I Have.

 

Not superior only more marketable.

 

Celebrity voice acting is superior to regular voice actors in one way they tend to be a better draw for the average movie goer.

Career Voice actors are with out a question are superior in ability and range and ability to get across emotions and feel with their voice alone.

Few Actors excel at both.

 

true as that might be, it still doesn't change the fact that Samuel L Jackson sells more tickets, then Welker.

btw after GOOGLING THIS, it appears that Keanu Reeves is the highest paid actor of all time.

Samuel L jackson's not even on the list. So where did you get this information?

 

I think Sam L Jackson was the highest grossing, not highest paid.

 

If there is another animated musical movie they should have Scott in it because he can sing REALLY good.

 

So, John Goodman and Ken Watanabe were cast as AOE Hound and Drift.

I could think of certain voice actors who could do just as well, or even better, than these two.

HOUND
Patrick Warburton
Fred Tatasciore
Clancy Brown


DRIFT
Phil LaMarr
Sab Shimono
Andrew Kishino


However, Goodman and Watanabe are very talented actors. Even though they may have been cast for their celebrity status, I'm quite sure they'll do these roles fine.

 

i'd say John Goodman is now as much as a voice actor, as he was a regular actor now. if not more so. i here his voice in WAY more animated things now, then i see him acting.

i think he's gone the way of Patrick Stewart. where he's gone primarily to voice acting.

 

John Goodman is one of those few actors who great live action or voice acting. Hearing that he is hound I am super excited. Patrick Stewart, Morgen Freeman and Bryan Cranston are some of the others. One thing I enjoyed about the tf movies are that the voice actors were never big name celebrities. they could have never asked Peter Cullen and tried to get a big name actor but they didn't. The biggest in the past 3 was Hugo Weaving and I would not call him a big celebrity he just plays good as a villains. Seeing that aoe doesn't have a big celebrity name as a voice actor is pleasing. John Goodman is probably the biggest name for a voice actor so far but with him it not a cash in just a perk to the series.

 

I see nothing wrong with the casting of John Goodman as Hound, if anything it's perfect since it know it fits with the design.

Plus he was cast on his skill and not because "Oh Look I'm John Goodman."

 

Some do it as a side-career (i.e stand up comedians) - some do it to stay in work - that is probably why Mark Hamell took it up.
Some fall into it by accident.

I know the hard core Voice actor types get very annoyed that they can have a substantial part in a CGI kids movie and get paid a tiny fraction of the other cast members.

Those how have a distinctive voice do ask for more money now (i.e. Sponge Bob). It's changing slowly.

Ultimately they are replaceable though - I recall some people complaining about Harley Quinn not being a particular voice actor - I'm sorry to say I'd not even noticed.

So I suppose so long as they do a good job I don't care if they are the original actor, if they are a voice actor only, a part timer like Mark Hammel or Gary Chalk or a celb brought in for their name recognition.

Princess Fionna is still perhaps the best work Cameron Diaz has ever done for example.

Many people had no complaints about Beowolf's celb cast and likeness as far as I recall.

Johnathan Frakes was very good in Gargoyles too.

That girl droid in Flubber is the best thing in the movie too - and that is pretty much entirely a voice performance - no idea who the woman was though I just enjoyed the performance.

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Welker was in so many movies as some random animal voice that when added up it's billions of dollars in ticket sales - he didn't get paid much for those roles though and some of them are only seconds in length.

There seems to be some actors who have been in a dozens of Videogames so if you count games into the mix (either by money made or sheer amount) they must be clipping on his heels too eventually.

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I have to agree Liam Neeson usually plays Liam Neeson - not that I mind especially any more than I do with Arnold or Stallone always being themselves on one lever or another - it happens a lot if your personality or voice is very strong you never really inhabit the character in the way the more chameleon like actors might, from their point of view it's often just a pay cheque anyway.

 

Part of the reason for getting big named actors is that the Hollywood producers and suits still cling to this idea of star power. Yes there was a time in the history of Hollywood where an actors name could make a movie, but with films like Transcendence and After Earth we've seen star power has become a relic of the Hollywood past. But the power players in Hollywood tend to be older and they often cling to the old ways.

Another part of it is that the people casting voice actors for an animated movie watch TV and they watch movies. So watching a movie or tv they might think hey you know that guy or that gal has exactly the sort of voice we are looking for. Someone could be watching Firefly and go hey you know I bet Nathan Fillion could be the Green Lantern voice we need for our animated film.

Plus we now live in a world where actors can jump back and forth between voice acting and live action. Gillian Anderson was beloved both for X-Files and Princess Monokoke. She could do voice work on Up on Poppy Hill and still find work on TV with Crisis and Hannibal. Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (yes that's his full name) can jump between movies, TV, and voice acting because we aren't in a ridged entertainment world any more. And of course who's going to turn down Morgan Freeman for live acting or voice acting?

I don't think it's a case of one being superior to the other just that entertainment has changed so that voice acting is no longer seen as inferior to live action. Well and Hollywood and TV have seen just how much money animation can make now that they are no longer seen as a kids only product. So many live action films can only dream of making a Toy Story or Frozen box office run.