Voiceover as Character Work: A Different Kind of Acting

How voice work stretches the actor’s instinct.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing voiceover as something separate from acting. Not because it requires the same tools — it doesn’t — but because it challenges something more subtle: intuition.

When you're behind a mic, the tools you're used to reaching for — gesture, expression, even silence — aren’t there in the same way. You’re building something with only rhythm, breath, and tone. And somehow, it still has to feel human.

If you overthink it, it becomes stiff. But if you let it drift too far, it loses shape. The balance is oddly familiar — like working on a scene when you haven’t found the right inner motor yet. You're listening, adjusting, trying again.

I often approach short scripts as if I’m prepping a character. Even a commercial read has a tone, a viewpoint, a kind of logic. It’s not about doing a voice. It’s about understanding what would be said, and how it would be said — if it mattered.

That’s where it becomes acting. Not dramatic, not layered with subtext, but grounded. Even when the script is simple, the delivery can carry emotion or ease or distance, depending on what the moment calls for.

There’s no audience in the room. No costume. It may feel stripped down, but the emotion still needs to land.

If you're curious about the practical side of voiceover—studio work, recording in two languages, and how a typical recording day works, I’ve written more about that here. Or visit my Voice page to listen or get in touch.