Perhaps one of the hardest working voice actresses in the entertainment business Jessica Straus certainly has all the right stuff. She voices some of the most colorful characters that many Anime fans have come to love. Junior's Cave recently caught up with the voice actress who was more than willing to share a little about her world. Enjoy!
Noreé: Hello, how are you doing today? Have you made any new year's resolutions? If so do you mind naming one of them?
Jessica: I'm doing groovy….or very well, thanks. He-he. I had a nice relaxing holiday and I'm ready for 2009.
Sure, I have a few New Year's resolutions. One is I'd like to release all past behavior patterns that cause me stress and step into 2009 with happiness, prosperity and a centered peace of mind. I like this resolution, because life in L.A. can get kind of hectic, so remembering to stay centered and just be happy reminds me of what life is about. Also, in the past I tended to be a bit of a perfectionist….I'd like to relax and enjoy more.
Noreé: Let's talk about your upbringing?
Jessica: Okay. Let's talk about that….I grew up on a pretty cool street in L.A. I had a lot of kids to play with, including directing and acting in my own cute shows with my friends. I also drew cartoon characters, mostly of animals…and friends loved them. I had your basic, typical suburban upbringing. My parents are first generation Europeans. My Mom is from Finland and my father is from Germany, so I suppose they may have been a little more "old fashioned" then other parents. My mom was the greatest and our house was the center of "good snacks", Easter Egg Hunts, Haunted Houses and kid's games. I always had plenty to do when I wasn't in school.
But my happy childhood was not without struggle. We moved to Arizona when I was 11 and I missed all my friends while we lived there for the 2 years and I was quite lonely. Also, I was the only artist in the immediate family, so you could say I was the "black sheep". It took a long time for my father (and my mother on some level) to accept my being an actress. I think they were afraid of the industry being unstable. Their European roots emphasized stability over following your dreams, so I had to overcome that family belief. However, now a-days, they pretty much accept me for whom I am and have learned to enjoy it.
Noreé: What prompted you to becoming a voice actress?
Jessica: I started out in college as a stage actress, and when I finished my BFA in Theater I came to L.A. to do stage and on-camera acting. I am a character actress, which means I have the range of playing characters of all different ages and accents, so voice over was just where I ended up getting the most work. And in the end, I'm happiest doing voice overs. I wasn't always in the mood to dress up and look pretty for every on-camera audition. In voice over, I got jobs based on my talents, not on how I looked.
Noreé: From the clips that I have seen from your demo of the anime series Wolf Rain, Blue seems to be a character with a lot of emotions. How do you muster up these emotions and make them seem authentic?
Jessica: Acting, my friend. It's just acting and all the training. I actually use a simple technique which is connected to my breath and where I pitch my voice. For instance, if you breathe down into your lower abdomen, that is where you may feel sadness in your body; I learned to be aware of my body, and how I feel and where the vibration of the emotion originates. This technique I learned many years ago from a Polish director who taught the Grotowski method of acting. It was a very intense class. But it was great, because I don't have to go back to every intense, sad experience in my life….I just breathe and the emotion comes.
Noreé: You also voice act for video games. Since doing them, have
you become a fan of video games yourself?
Jessica: I think video games are fun and I'd love to be able to play a few that I'm on because I had fun voicing them….but to be honest, I don't have the time nor do I have any of the fancy gamer controls to play 'em with. I did play Diablo II all the way through when I was sick one time….but that was years ago. I voiced Amazon on that game and really got sucked into finishing it. That was a good game, but not as high-tech as they make them now.
Noreé: In some of your projects you have voiced two or more
characters. How do you keep your characters distinction?
Jessica: Part of that is just acting training and knowing where to pitch my voice for each character. I just allow each character to take over and let my imagination lead me. In addition to vocal differences and different thoughts for each character, I hold my body differently. For instance; a super hero holds their body quite differently than a shy, nerdy kid.
Noreé: If you had the opportunity to work on any series what would it
be and why?
Jessica: I have to admit, even though I love and respect all the work I do on Anime and games, I would really like to be on an American cartoon series. I've done a few shorts & pilots, but would enjoy more work in that area. On American cartoons, you often get a chance to work with other actors too, instead of working by yourself, and that's a lot of fun. I miss working with other actors. And I wouldn't mind doing a series for really little kids too. I love playing innocent, cute characters and communicating with that audience.
Noreé: Do you feel that voice actors/actresses are under appreciated
in the entertainment industry?
Jessica: I've been lucky with the people I work with so I don't feel under appreciated. But I tend to focus on the positive, so I'm sure there are some misinformed folks out there who think anyone can do this. But actually, voice acting for animation and games requires you to be a really good actor, quick at improvisation, and you must be able to take direction and perform a line a bunch of different ways. Until you experience being in front of the mic with a script you've never seen before, you wouldn't know how much training and talent it takes to pull it off.
Noreé: When you are not voice acting what do you do for relaxation?
Jessica: I love outdoor activities. Just went hiking in Santa Barbara over the holidays. I also love to snow ski, rollerblade, bike ride… Besides sports I love to meditate, read, watch good movies and hang out with my plus-sized model kitty, Jasmine, and my boyfriend, Bill.
Noreé: What are some up coming projects you are working on?
Jessica: I'm going to be on Cartoon Network in "Code Geass R2" playing a couple of characters. One is a little girl and the other is a tough, fighter-type chick. I think they will be airing soon…., episode 8 or 9 is where they show up. I have more sessions coming up for both characters…until they get killed off, or the series ends, that is. I was just going over my game credits and I realized I'm waaaayyy behind in knowing if the game has come out & posting those on my new MySpace page. But I know several of them I can't mention yet until the game comes out….it's in the contract. I'll be posting the ones I can talk about soon…. So with the first weeks of January, please visit:
Jessica: Well, thanks so much for the interview. I hope the fans find this informative. Anyone can visit my website or MySpace page for more information. If I don't get back to you right away, just know I do appreciate your e-mails and support. Also, for any of those asking how in the heck to start voice over career in animation & games, I'd say take a couple of acting and improvisation classes and see if you have the passion for it. It is a competitive business, especially in L.A. Those with talent, who persist, practice, and are passionate about acting in voice overs, are most likely to succeed. Follow your heart and have fun!
