*During the audition process you gave us a veritable smorgasbord of voices, can you sort through the multiple personalities and give us some insight as to who John Bell really is?
John Bell is a frustrated actor/ham/comedian who loves doing voices for commercials, radio dramas, and games. He... that is to say...I currently work at a chain of radio stations but--to add to my frustration--I'm not on the air. I write and produce the radio ads, some of which have won awards. I invite you (and here comes the cheap plug) to visit my website, www.profzounds.com. I've been married 30 years as of December 20th, 2004, and have two sons: John III (23) and Edward (21). Oh, and I guess I'd better mention my wife's name (Jean) if I don't want to sleep on the couch when she reads this!
*Have you done voice acting for video games before?
Yes, I started out a few years ago doing some voices for a game called
Cherokee Trails. Then somebody mentioned me to somebody else, who
mentioned me to somebody else, and I've done several games over the past
few years. Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Mummy, The
Arrangement, Fatman, and a few still in production, like Project Joe and
Lifestream. Its quite a challenge to get individual lines and make them
sound like they "fit" in the context of a scene.
*How did you get into voice acting and how long have you been doing it?
Heck, I've been doing this since I was a kid. I've co-written and
produced radio dramas (that can be heard at my website, see above cheap
plug), I've done different characters back when I was on the air, and I
try to come up with as many voices as I can for my commercial work. I
have a BS (how appropriate) in Speech and Theatre from the University of
Mississippi, which is where I got really interested in ALL forms of
acting. I also do improvisational comedy for kids as "Prof. Zounds".
*What attracted you to this project?
The game sounded intriguing and fun. I'm VERY much into "fun"! And
also... I was asked! I rarely turn down an offer to do voices. I'm THAT
MUCH of a ham!
*What were the worst and best things about the job?
There really were no "worst things".... except my paranoia that I'm
going to read some lines wrong and screw up a scene! The "best things"
were the challenges to get the voices right...with the right timing,
inflection, pacing, etc. With today's technology, I can record a voice,
send it over the 'net, and get a response in MINUTES! In the old days,
I'd have to FedEx a tape to a client, then wait for DAYS before I got
any feedback. And with this technology, retakes are a breeze. How did
we EVER do this before the internet??
*What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
I'd stick a pickle in each ear, stand on one foot, spin around six
times, and hum the theme music to Brain Hotel...backwards!
*Where else might we have heard your voice?
I've done commercials for clients from Mississippi to Minnesota to
Hawaii to Florida. I was on a TV commercial for JobOpps.net and I
appeared on ABC TV's "America's Funniest People" about ten years ago.
And, yes, a lot of this can be heard and/or seen on my website (that
makes THREE free plugs so far! I'm on a ROLL!).
{John has also been featured on the imfamous Dr. Demento radio show. -ed.}
*If you had to sum up your total experience in working on Brain Hotel in one word, what would that word be?
"Whackadoodle"! I mean...one minute I'm a sarcastic robot, and the next
I'm a snooty desk clerk! And when the game is finished, I'll be able to
see my voices come out of these characters on my screen! I gotta admit,
that NEVER gets old!
By the way........ have I mentioned my website, yet?
Interview with John Bell.