A Voice Actor's Pay?

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XD375

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I'm wondering, how much does a voice actor make per year? And how would this compare with other jobs?
 
It depends. On a show like The Simpsons, the VAs make a ton. I think it's over a hundred thousand per EPISODE.

But on things like dubs, the VAs don't make nearly that much. Dub actors aren't considered "regular cast", so they get paid far less than original actors.
 
So, someone dubbing Pokémon would get about $500 per episode?
 
I'm really not sure. I think it varies from company to company.

Commercial work varies too. I've heard everything from flat rates to hour rates, and those vary a lot.
 
What I've heard is that big name stars who dub animated movies get paid union scale. Unless they do more than one movie, in which case, it depends on how good their agents are.
 
I need to live in NYC to be a voice actor for TAJ or another big-name company, though, don't I? I want to be a VA among other things, but I hate Canadian animation.

Actually, what I've really wanted to do since I was four was make video games, but I now realize I need backup careers just in case!
 
XD375 said:
I need to live in NYC to be a voice actor for TAJ or another big-name company, though, don't I?
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Yes, you do, but that doesn't determine how much you get paid.
 
If I was to do VA work, I would want to do so on a good show, which is why I don't want to do VA work in Canada; their programming SUCKS!

I wish I lived in NYC now...but I don't want to live there at the same time! Maybe a close-by city?
 
Anime voice acting alone is not enough to make a living, unless you're very well known. Even many well known VAs have other jobs.

Despite this, I've had my heart set on becoming an actress (and hopefully a voice actress later) for almost 8 years. The people who do this love it, and don't quit because it's their passion.
 
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XD375 said:
I need to live in NYC to be a voice actor for TAJ or another big-name company, though, don't I? I want to be a VA among other things, but I hate Canadian animation.
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NYC? Why bother with that, when you could be working in Hollywood? I think there's probably more work to be had over there.
 
Yeah, but Hollywood is more on the movies, and I'd prefer to do TV work.

And how could voice acting alone not be enough? You make so much money!
 
Zhen Lin said:
NYC? Why bother with that, when you could be working in Hollywood? I think there's probably more work to be had over there.
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Places with voice acting-
New York City
Los Angeles
Houston
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Vancouver
Somewhere reaaaally small in North Carolina

And what I meant was anime voice acting. Cartoons are entirely different. Anime voice actors have a very, very low pay.
 
Keruri said:
Anime voice acting alone is not enough to make a living, unless you're very well known. Even many well known VAs have other jobs.
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That would be doing commercials.

Zhen Lin said:
NYC? Why bother with that, when you could be working in Hollywood?
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Because Hollywood does movies. They tend to choose known actors. And how often do animated movies come along? If a VA wants a steady job, NYC is the place to be.
 
I love Vancouver, but I hate Canadian programming. Los Angeles and the Texas ones don't interest me.

I'd never live in NYC either; maybe some small town near NYC (I border with NYS at the moment), but not NYC itself.

North Carolina is the nicest and the most obvious choice if you know me, but it's too small, according to what you said.

Although, Voice Acting also happens to not be my first choice; it's just backup.
 
At some point, I read in an interview that dub VA's make $25-$100 an hour.
 
^Cool.

Anyway, does anyone know the name of this small Carolinian town?
 
One thing people need to realize is that you don't train for something as specialized as "anime voice acting," and your first acting job isn't likely to be for an anime. You have to study theatre arts and performance for years before landing spots in TV ads and other "lower tier" work...you're not going to get a job as an anime VA right off the bat.
 
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the gadfly said:
Because Hollywood does movies. They tend to choose known actors. And how often do animated movies come along? If a VA wants a steady job, NYC is the place to be.
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Not Hollywood per se, but the general area. Disney is there. Cartoon Network is there. Warner Bros. Animation is there. It's not just movies. But yes, barrier to entry is probably higher.

Speaking of barrier to entry, another idea is to go learn Japanese and go to Japan.
 
Cartoon Network's headquarters is in Atlanta, GA.

Also, learning Japanese and trying to be a voice actor there would take ridiculously larger amount of time and effort than trying to be a voice actor domestically would.
 
Zhen Lin said:
Not Hollywood per se, but the general area. Disney is there. Cartoon Network is there. Warner Bros. Animation is there. It's not just movies.
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I live in the San Fernando Valley. Disney is here. Warner Bros. is here. DreamWorks is here. (You forgot about them.) Hanna-Barbera is here. Disney and Warners are in Burbank. DreamWorks is in Glendale. Hanna-Barbera is in Universal City. They're all here in the valley, but Hollywood is the term they prefer to use.

Of them, only Disney, as far as I know, is producing animation to fill the needs of their cable channel. The other studios are focusing on movies.

I don't know that Hanna-Barbera is even in business any more.
 
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