VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #447 – Stephen and Rider
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome to this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Heller, delighted to have you joining me as we are each and every week here on the program. Well, as we have been doing recently, we'll continue to do for the time being. We're taking a look Back at Voice Coaches Radio that was over the past 10 plus years, Voice Coaches Radio has been going strong.
There has been some great content, some great discussion, some great information, also some great interviews that have taken place that I understand the listeners. You guys may not have had a chance to go back through the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of episodes that have taken place, but lucky for you, I have. So, in going through those, finding some of those gems there, and getting a chance to put those back out there so that you are able to take a listen to them. Now, last week we heard an interview, uh, as, uh, Voice Coaches Radio had a chance to talk with Dave Foley and D. B. Sweeney. Uh, and, uh, this week it's actually interviews with Stephen Root and Rider Strong.
Warren Garling and Mike Spring hosting the episode. Though Mike, uh, is the person who is interviewing both, uh, actors. Uh, Stephen Root, who... Oh gosh, probably his biggest roles have been in all sorts of stuff, but, uh, he was in Dodgeball, uh, he was in Office Space, uh, and of course he was also on NewsRadio, as we mentioned last week with, uh, with Dave Foley, and, uh, and has done some voice acting work as well, quite a bit of it, in fact.
Rider Strong, who, well, anyone who's my age would, uh, remember him from Boy Meets World, um, But he also has done quite a bit of voice acting as well in his young career. So I had a chance to talk with both of those, did Mike Spring, uh, in this episode. So why don't we go ahead and take a listen to both Stephen Root and Ryder Strong.
We have a couple of folks that we've spoken to recently. In fact, Mike has done the interviews. And we're going to give you some highlights in the next few minutes here. So stick around for some fun. First with Stephen Root. And you go, who? Who? Stephen Root. And that's the thing about voice acting, and sometimes even on screen acting.
It takes a while before the name gets known. But let me put his image in your head. He was in the movie Office Space. He was in the TV show News Radio. He played the station manager. Jimmy James. There you go. So now you know who we're talking to, right? You saw him in No Country for Old Men. You saw him in the Men Who Stare at Goats.
Well, a couple people. You probably didn't see him in that, unfortunately. He's in a movie with George Clooney, for goodness sake. So obviously the man has done very well for himself. And as a voiceover. Over artist. He played Bill in the animated TV series King of the Hill for 12 years. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
Not bad at all. And animated features like the Ice Age movies and Finding Nemo. So not a bad career already. Now out of all that, what could you have talked to him about?
Well, mostly we talked about all those things you just mentioned, but I also want to mention he's really done so many voiceovers. It's very impressive.
If we listed everything he's done here, our intro would take 20 minutes. But he's been in numerous kids TV shows and animated series and specials. Just he's all over the place with his voice. But we did talk about King of the Hill quite a bit. We talked about just how much he likes voiceovers in general and a few other interesting tidbits.
So have a listen.
You've been in a lot of Uh, shows and things as a voice actor. You know, uh, uh, Tripping the Rift, American Dad, Batman Brave and the Bold. You know, how did you get started, first of all, in the voice acting side of things?
Well, I was, uh, you know, I'd done a couple of VO stuff, uh, when I was living in New York and doing a lot of theater and Broadway there.
And I was lucky enough to break into it with, um... Uh, Mike Judge's stuff, because he had, he had seen me do some, some southern things when he was starting King of the Hill, and wanted me to come in and audition for several roles. So, I auditioned for several, got, you know, the one that I thought was good for me, which was Bill.
But that really opened the door to a lot of, uh, Um, film thing, the Ice Age and the, uh, you know, Finding Nemo film stuff and the, uh, from that point, once you've done three or four and, and you're known as an actor in the business anyway, then there, that breaks down the door a little bit and you can start getting offers for smaller things, maybe Saturday afternoon.
Cartoon stuff. And so that happened with me. And then, uh, they saw that I could do many different characters, you know, it's just breaking into it and stuff.
Right. And, and what do you like about voice acting as opposed to, uh, on camera acting?
Well, um, it's, it's not really different. I mean, you're not separating your head from your body when you act.
You know, you're still doing the character with your whole body. You're just not seeing it. You have to be a little more specific with, with things, uh, because it's just your voice. But it's, it's, it's essentially the same process, figuring out, figuring out what you would do with this guy and then having, Having, uh, a director, uh, direct you, uh, and it, it becomes a, a very fast process because you're not having to deal with, um, makeup and clothes and everything else and blocking and whatever.
You're just being directed in a, in a tiny room, so it becomes a quick process, but it's Virtually the same as acting. Anything else?
Good stuff. A lot of good questions in there. And, uh, thank you for taking the time to talk with Steven. I'm sure he appreciates getting all this publicity through our podcast.
Well, you know, I, I do like to help out the struggling artists when I can. .
Now, you also spoke with Rider Strong. Once again, a name that you may not know.
But he is best known, perhaps, as the star of TV's Boy Meets World for about seven seasons. He also did the hit horror film called Cabin Fever. Now, as a voice actor, you know him from Disney's Hercules and in the animated series Starship Troopers. Again, not a bad list here.
And, uh, Rider's a young guy. He's, um, I think he's actually not even 30 yet, so he's had a pretty busy career.
He got started young on Boy Meets World, which is a very popular show. So he's done a lot of voice acting, a lot of on camera acting, and he's really enthusiastic about the voice acting field. You'll hear how much he enjoys it in the interview. He just thinks it's a lot of fun, which we do too. So, here you go.
And I was curious, you know, what's the difference for you between voice acting and on camera acting, and if you prefer... One over the other, or what you might like better about voice acting than on camera acting.
Voice acting is like the, the easiest job in the world. It's so much fun, and I would love to do some more of it.
Um, it's a great, it's a great job. I mean, it's a lot of fun. Um, you know, you don't have to learn your lines, you can look like crap. And, um, and there's also a lot, a lot of freedom in terms of improvisation and trying things different ways. Because there's not a huge film crew, you know, it's just you and a microphone, so.
If, um, you want to try something a little bit different, or change up the line, like, you know, it's you, the director, and maybe the writer's sitting there, and just try it. Doesn't, you know, it doesn't cost anybody that much to, to go a whole different direction, because they haven't animated it yet. I love, I love voiceover.
But, you know, it's fun. I, I have a lot of friends in that world. Will Friedle, who was on Boy Meets World with me, is now like... The go to cartoon guy. I mean, he's just, he's always doing like two or three cartoons. And I'm good friends with John DiMaggio, who's the voice of Bender on Futurama. And I'm so glad that those guys are coming back.
But yeah, I mean, you know, the last, I remember they had actually, when they were going through those awful negotiations with Fox for Futurama Day. They asked me to come in and audition for one of the parts to replace the cast. Wow. I was like, no, no, I refuse. I totally like refused to do it. And I called John DiMaggio.
I'm like, I'm not doing it. But he's like, good, good. And sure enough, of course, they ended up bringing back the original cast.
That was Mike Spring with a chance to interview both Stephen Root and Rider Strong about not only their acting career, but also their voice acting careers. You may not have known they had pretty illustrious voice acting careers as well to go along with the onscreen acting.
So as we have been doing, just looking back at some of the past episodes that have taken place over the 10 plus years of voice coach, voice coaches, radio, easy for me to say, and we will continue to do that as we move along. But as always, we thank you so much for tuning in. And if there is a topic, if there is an interview, if there is a subject that you want us to cover that you want us to talk about.
Let me know. [email protected]. That's the easiest way to get in touch with me [email protected]. It'll come right to me because again, as we always say, this isn't just my show. It's your show too. So let your voice be heard. Take part [email protected]. It's the best way to do that.
And again, we look forward to hearing from you, hearing your suggestions of what you'd like us to talk about, and we certainly will take heed of those. But in the meantime, we will continue to take a look back at the time that was here at Voice Coaches Radio, but the time. Well, it's up here for voice coaches radio, at least for this week.
Thanks so much for tuning in again. But until next time so long, everyone, visit voice coaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
There has been some great content, some great discussion, some great information, also some great interviews that have taken place that I understand the listeners. You guys may not have had a chance to go back through the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of episodes that have taken place, but lucky for you, I have. So, in going through those, finding some of those gems there, and getting a chance to put those back out there so that you are able to take a listen to them. Now, last week we heard an interview, uh, as, uh, Voice Coaches Radio had a chance to talk with Dave Foley and D. B. Sweeney. Uh, and, uh, this week it's actually interviews with Stephen Root and Rider Strong.
Warren Garling and Mike Spring hosting the episode. Though Mike, uh, is the person who is interviewing both, uh, actors. Uh, Stephen Root, who... Oh gosh, probably his biggest roles have been in all sorts of stuff, but, uh, he was in Dodgeball, uh, he was in Office Space, uh, and of course he was also on NewsRadio, as we mentioned last week with, uh, with Dave Foley, and, uh, and has done some voice acting work as well, quite a bit of it, in fact.
Rider Strong, who, well, anyone who's my age would, uh, remember him from Boy Meets World, um, But he also has done quite a bit of voice acting as well in his young career. So I had a chance to talk with both of those, did Mike Spring, uh, in this episode. So why don't we go ahead and take a listen to both Stephen Root and Ryder Strong.
We have a couple of folks that we've spoken to recently. In fact, Mike has done the interviews. And we're going to give you some highlights in the next few minutes here. So stick around for some fun. First with Stephen Root. And you go, who? Who? Stephen Root. And that's the thing about voice acting, and sometimes even on screen acting.
It takes a while before the name gets known. But let me put his image in your head. He was in the movie Office Space. He was in the TV show News Radio. He played the station manager. Jimmy James. There you go. So now you know who we're talking to, right? You saw him in No Country for Old Men. You saw him in the Men Who Stare at Goats.
Well, a couple people. You probably didn't see him in that, unfortunately. He's in a movie with George Clooney, for goodness sake. So obviously the man has done very well for himself. And as a voiceover. Over artist. He played Bill in the animated TV series King of the Hill for 12 years. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
Not bad at all. And animated features like the Ice Age movies and Finding Nemo. So not a bad career already. Now out of all that, what could you have talked to him about?
Well, mostly we talked about all those things you just mentioned, but I also want to mention he's really done so many voiceovers. It's very impressive.
If we listed everything he's done here, our intro would take 20 minutes. But he's been in numerous kids TV shows and animated series and specials. Just he's all over the place with his voice. But we did talk about King of the Hill quite a bit. We talked about just how much he likes voiceovers in general and a few other interesting tidbits.
So have a listen.
You've been in a lot of Uh, shows and things as a voice actor. You know, uh, uh, Tripping the Rift, American Dad, Batman Brave and the Bold. You know, how did you get started, first of all, in the voice acting side of things?
Well, I was, uh, you know, I'd done a couple of VO stuff, uh, when I was living in New York and doing a lot of theater and Broadway there.
And I was lucky enough to break into it with, um... Uh, Mike Judge's stuff, because he had, he had seen me do some, some southern things when he was starting King of the Hill, and wanted me to come in and audition for several roles. So, I auditioned for several, got, you know, the one that I thought was good for me, which was Bill.
But that really opened the door to a lot of, uh, Um, film thing, the Ice Age and the, uh, you know, Finding Nemo film stuff and the, uh, from that point, once you've done three or four and, and you're known as an actor in the business anyway, then there, that breaks down the door a little bit and you can start getting offers for smaller things, maybe Saturday afternoon.
Cartoon stuff. And so that happened with me. And then, uh, they saw that I could do many different characters, you know, it's just breaking into it and stuff.
Right. And, and what do you like about voice acting as opposed to, uh, on camera acting?
Well, um, it's, it's not really different. I mean, you're not separating your head from your body when you act.
You know, you're still doing the character with your whole body. You're just not seeing it. You have to be a little more specific with, with things, uh, because it's just your voice. But it's, it's, it's essentially the same process, figuring out, figuring out what you would do with this guy and then having, Having, uh, a director, uh, direct you, uh, and it, it becomes a, a very fast process because you're not having to deal with, um, makeup and clothes and everything else and blocking and whatever.
You're just being directed in a, in a tiny room, so it becomes a quick process, but it's Virtually the same as acting. Anything else?
Good stuff. A lot of good questions in there. And, uh, thank you for taking the time to talk with Steven. I'm sure he appreciates getting all this publicity through our podcast.
Well, you know, I, I do like to help out the struggling artists when I can. .
Now, you also spoke with Rider Strong. Once again, a name that you may not know.
But he is best known, perhaps, as the star of TV's Boy Meets World for about seven seasons. He also did the hit horror film called Cabin Fever. Now, as a voice actor, you know him from Disney's Hercules and in the animated series Starship Troopers. Again, not a bad list here.
And, uh, Rider's a young guy. He's, um, I think he's actually not even 30 yet, so he's had a pretty busy career.
He got started young on Boy Meets World, which is a very popular show. So he's done a lot of voice acting, a lot of on camera acting, and he's really enthusiastic about the voice acting field. You'll hear how much he enjoys it in the interview. He just thinks it's a lot of fun, which we do too. So, here you go.
And I was curious, you know, what's the difference for you between voice acting and on camera acting, and if you prefer... One over the other, or what you might like better about voice acting than on camera acting.
Voice acting is like the, the easiest job in the world. It's so much fun, and I would love to do some more of it.
Um, it's a great, it's a great job. I mean, it's a lot of fun. Um, you know, you don't have to learn your lines, you can look like crap. And, um, and there's also a lot, a lot of freedom in terms of improvisation and trying things different ways. Because there's not a huge film crew, you know, it's just you and a microphone, so.
If, um, you want to try something a little bit different, or change up the line, like, you know, it's you, the director, and maybe the writer's sitting there, and just try it. Doesn't, you know, it doesn't cost anybody that much to, to go a whole different direction, because they haven't animated it yet. I love, I love voiceover.
But, you know, it's fun. I, I have a lot of friends in that world. Will Friedle, who was on Boy Meets World with me, is now like... The go to cartoon guy. I mean, he's just, he's always doing like two or three cartoons. And I'm good friends with John DiMaggio, who's the voice of Bender on Futurama. And I'm so glad that those guys are coming back.
But yeah, I mean, you know, the last, I remember they had actually, when they were going through those awful negotiations with Fox for Futurama Day. They asked me to come in and audition for one of the parts to replace the cast. Wow. I was like, no, no, I refuse. I totally like refused to do it. And I called John DiMaggio.
I'm like, I'm not doing it. But he's like, good, good. And sure enough, of course, they ended up bringing back the original cast.
That was Mike Spring with a chance to interview both Stephen Root and Rider Strong about not only their acting career, but also their voice acting careers. You may not have known they had pretty illustrious voice acting careers as well to go along with the onscreen acting.
So as we have been doing, just looking back at some of the past episodes that have taken place over the 10 plus years of voice coach, voice coaches, radio, easy for me to say, and we will continue to do that as we move along. But as always, we thank you so much for tuning in. And if there is a topic, if there is an interview, if there is a subject that you want us to cover that you want us to talk about.
Let me know. [email protected]. That's the easiest way to get in touch with me [email protected]. It'll come right to me because again, as we always say, this isn't just my show. It's your show too. So let your voice be heard. Take part [email protected]. It's the best way to do that.
And again, we look forward to hearing from you, hearing your suggestions of what you'd like us to talk about, and we certainly will take heed of those. But in the meantime, we will continue to take a look back at the time that was here at Voice Coaches Radio, but the time. Well, it's up here for voice coaches radio, at least for this week.
Thanks so much for tuning in again. But until next time so long, everyone, visit voice coaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
Josh opens up the Voice Coaches Radio archives and finds an episode in which team members Mike and Warren interview voice over and film industry professionals Stephen and Rider.
