VAM 157 | Interview with Bob Bergen, Part 1

Welcome to episode 157 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

We have a very special guest on the podcast today! I’m honored to be able to share with you the first part of my interview with a paragon of the voice over industry, Bob Bergen! Bob is most famous for playing the voice of Porky Pig, but his resume is long and varied! In the world of Looney Tunes, he’s also voiced Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, and Sylvester Junior. He’s played Bucky, the squirrel, in the Disney movie The Emperor’s New Groove, where he had long discussions in squirrel speak with Patrick Warburton’s character, Kronk. Bob also plays the voice of Luke Skywalker in both Star Wars games and in the animated series Robot Chicken. In anime, you may know his work as Lupin the Third in the Castle of Cagliostro, and No-Face in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Bob’s been nominated for an Emmy 3 times and is a member of both the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He’s also a firm supporter of his fellow voice actors by being active in the actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA. In addition to all of his acting accomplishments, Bob has also been teaching voice acting classes since 1987 and is a wealth of information and experience!

In the first part of our discussion, Bob and I talk about how he broke into voice acting. He became obsessed with voice acting when he was very young, and at the age of 5 he told his mother that he wanted to be Porky Pig. Back then, Bob wasn’t aware of voice acting as a profession and he had no idea how the entertainment industry worked. He just knew that it was his dream to play Porky Pig. That single-minded focus helped keep him on track to achieve his childhood goal!

Bob was born and raised in the mid-west, but fortunately for him, his father got a job that required his family to move to Los Angeles when Bob was 14. Bob took full advantage of this opportunity and began reaching out to voice actors and animation studios in Los Angeles to find out more about voice acting. This was long before the internet allowed easy access to creators and studios. Bob was resourceful and tenacious enough to use whatever information he could get his hands on to learn what it took to work as a voice actor in Hollywood. This applied not only to networking with professionals in the industry, but also to developing his own acting skills as well. Having a plucky attitude can do a lot to get your foot in the door, so to speak, but industry professionals only fully open that door for you when they can tell you have talent.

For example, in this part of our interview, Bob shares with us the story of how he met his hero, the voice actor Mel Blanc who originated the character of Porky Pig. Bob was precocious enough to track Mel down and figure out how to get into a recording session to watch him in action in the booth. While Bob’s sleuthing had led to his first meeting with Mel, Bob also realized that he had a lot to learn about the craft and business of acting before he could become professionally competitive, so he got to work! Bob’s relentless commitment to his goals and his sober, practical approach to achieving them is an inspiration and I’m so glad I get to share his story with you!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #157 Here (MP3)