Early grad dreams of voice acting

As the first semester comes to an end, students are cramming for their final exams and looking to the final stretch before the end of the year. For some students, this is the last time they’ll be in high school, as they’ve chosen to graduate early. One early grad, Carter Johnson, has a unique plan for post-secondary success: inspired by his childhood icons, Johnson has chosen to pursue voice acting. 

“I grew up on cartoons, and there’s so much good voice talent on those shows – Tom Kenny in Spongebob, Roger Craigsmith on Regular Show…I was always interested,” he said. “As I grew up, I started watching more YouTube, and I mimicked the funny voices they would do, so I got into impersonation.” 

Although it started as just a hobby, acting and impersonation quickly became a lifelong passion for Johnson. 

“I wasn’t always, like, ‘I wanna be a voice actor when I grow up’. But around 7th grade, I started recognizing the talent and all the work that goes into it. I did some research on audio equipment and sound editing, and it just sounded very interesting to me. I’ve always loved acting and storytelling.”

Voice acting has grown significantly with the rise in independent arts gaining popularity online, as well as the introduction of video games into the mainstream. What was once a very niche profession is now a growing field, with no shortage of competition, much like the more traditional forms of acting on stage and screen. When asked what set voice work apart for him, Johnson said this: 

“I’d rather pursue voice acting because I’m not as confident in my facial expressions…I don’t have a mirror in front of me all the time. But with my voice, I can always hear it – I like that aspect of it. My voice is probably my biggest strength when it comes to acting.” 

Some voice actors are also known for their online presence, or other artistic endeavors. Johnson expressed an interest in online content creation in addition to voice work. 

“The thing with that career is a lot of it is building a brand for yourself in the space, so companies will see your talent and hire you. In a lot of [voice] projects, you’ll see the same names pop up. Content creation is a lot of the same, so they kind of feed into each other. My dream would be to succeed at both.” 

Johnson’s dream franchise opportunity is, resoundingly, Sonic the Hedgehog. 

“I wouldn’t want to replace Roger Craigsmith as Sonic. Silver, on the other hand,” Johnson said with a laugh. “He’s my favorite character. There’s so many things I’d love to be in, but it’s really hard to get into those spaces. I think that’s changing as time goes on, though. Bigger companies are starting to see the talent that goes into indie projects.” 

Recently, the third movie adaptation of Sonic received some criticism from long-time fans for casting well-known celebrities rather than voice actors from the original games. 

“It makes sense,” Johnson said. “They’re trying to sell to more people than just [existing] fans. For people like my mom, the biggest thing was, like, ‘Jim Carrey’s in this movie?’ Even though they cast celebrities, they fit the characters. The Sonic movie did it right, Mario could have done better.”

Online careers can be difficult, as the unpredictable nature of the internet makes it hard to figure out how to find success. That doesn’t worry Johnson, who’s determined to continue doing what he loves.

“Things might not work out the way I want them to. I might not get a big voice acting thing, I might not get views. But I’ll always work at it.”