Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Riedy.
Rebecca, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
One of the earliest stories told about me (besides some hair raising terrible two behavior that would have most people clamoring for an exorcist) is that my grandmother would catch me in my room talking or singing into whatever I could fashion into a microphone. Naturally, I became an actor. After graduating from Southern Methodist University with my freshly printed theater degree in my hot little hands, I headed west to Hollywood, because I felt it would be a nicer place to starve than New York City.
Amongst the usual tools of the trade that serious actors must have on hand; ie, headshot, resume, waitress skills, I had the big idea to add a voiceover demo. I went to Carroll Day Kimball, who was and still is to this day, a premiere casting director in the voiceover industry, to coach me and put together a commercial demo. At the end of the process, I was taken on as a client by one of the top voiceover agencies and I was off and running.
Gradually, pursuing theater and on-camera work faded away as I became more successful behind the mic. Over the course of my 24-year career, I have been lucky enough to work in almost every corner of the world where voiceover is used. I have represented top corporations as their branding voice for tv and radio campaigns, I have live announced premiere award shows, I have brought animated characters to life and countless other areas.
Now, my wonderful husband of 20 years and our two boys live in Carlsbad. I work out of my home studio built into a walk-in closet and commute up to LA when I need to.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’m not sure anyone really has a smooth road and I am no exception. Three years into my career, that top voiceover agency I told you about dropped me from their roster. It is the equivalent of getting fired from a regular job and although it seems like agencies are teams you hire, the reality is that they effectively hire you. It was brutal. Getting a new agency to look at me was not easy. After three years, I had worked but my resume was underwhelming.
It took me eight months to get representation again. But I spent that time training and sharpening my skills to make me a better voice actor than I had been. I started working with Nancy Wolfson, who is now a top coach in the industry. She is an amazing coach with precision insight into the subtleties of the voiceover craft. With her help, I finally found my feet again and got signed by a smaller agency.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Rebecca Riedy story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a little bit of a chameleon actor. Some voice actors really specialize and there is an excellent reason for that. Voiceover really is such a vast world – since the skill is used in so many different industries, with different needs, norms, and protocols. When an actor really tunes into delivering a stellar structured promo read for networks or a business read for corporate narration, it can be hard to shift into an unstructured “natural” read for commercials. The rhythms are just different. I am one of the actors who seems to swing between these styles and nab work in several different arenas.
I think that is what sets me apart. I think the videogame directors who know me for the Middle Eastern cat character I do for them are shocked as hell to learn that I just live announced the Golden Globes. Or the writers on the spoof drug commercials for the late-night show host I do have no idea that I am also the voice on those Proactiv skin care commercials they see all the time. I just sneak into all kinds of crazy places!
I have been the live announcer for the Primetime Emmys, The Grammys, The ESPYs, The Creative Arts Emmys, The American Music Awards and The Golden Globes. I am a British super spy in the game Saints Row IV, the aforementioned cat in Elder Scrolls, a zombie crushing soldier in Resident Evil and the AI guide voice in Forza Motorsports 5 and 6. I have done comedy bits for Jimmy Kimmel Live and Chelsea Handler, promos for Travel Channel, VH1, Nickelodeon and many others. I have represented global brands in their national marketing campaigns and been the voice of an angel for a New Year’s Eve party in Belgium.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Voiceover has been changing at roughly the speed of sound (oy, the pun) and it is hard to see where it may go. Technology has utterly transformed the voiceover industry in every way for both better and worse.
On one hand, the internet and the affordability of home studios have made the career viable for actors living outside of either New York or LA to get into the field. More and more people are able to follow the dream of doing this for a career without having to relocate. On the other hand, the competition is also therefore exponentially larger than it was when I first started.
As new technologies develop, so do new avenues for voiceover actors. Streaming services and added cable channels have created a demand for more and more content and more and more promotion for that content. New AI platforms like Siri and Alexa require actors to provide those voices. Social media has given the ad industry a new way to target viewers and actors benefit from that as well. But with all of that comes the fact that the ad buys are far smaller and therefore, the pay scale has drastically decreased. So even though there is more work, actors get paid less for it and have far more competition to book it.
As far as gender equality, women are getting more work than ever before. Ten years ago, you would never have heard a car commercial voiced by a woman. Now, it almost sounds weird when you hear a man on one. Award shows have seen a major shift in this area as well. Women are now at least equal if not dominant in that area. There are some still areas that hold steady with the men, for the most part, if you hear voiceover on a movie trailer, it is still mostly a man you’ll hear. The same is true for network promos, but that is slowly loosening up a bit.
Contact Info:
- Address: c/o Atlas Talent Agency
8721 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069 - Website: www.rebeccariedy.com
- Phone: 818-445-7756
- Email: rebecca.riedy@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccariedy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealRebeccaRiedy/notifications/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebeccariedy?lang=en
Image Credit:
John Riedy Photography
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
