W&W
So, that role was Sergeant Jaxo in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I was so nervous and unsure of myself during the process but also loved it so much. The director I worked with was absolutely amazing. That was the point I decided to really turn my focus in the direction of voice over. I enrolled in classes soon after.
TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN THIS INDUSTRY AND HOW YOU OVERCOME THOSE CHALLENGES.
I think something I can speak to specifically would be working in the male-dominated genre of promo and trailer. When I took my first VO class, I was told to not even bother trying to work in that area. It was all male voices and only a handful of them, at that.
Honestly, I don't know what it was that triggered me to eventually say, "I want to do this." A A few years later, as a growing number of women be- gan to work in the promotion industry, I decided to take a risk and see if I could succeed. I started with a couple of spots working for Vh1 and loved it, so I kept working at it.
Thanks to my agents at Atlas, I eventually started working for Sundance Channel, which taught me so much. They threw a lot my way, and I loved every second of it. At that point, another friend urged me to get a manager. She told me I was ready to dive in deeper into the trailer and promo world. She introduced me to the team at Jason Marks Talent, and they brought so many promo and trailer opportunities my way. Book- ing the campaign for the Oscar-winning movie, "Women Talking," will forever be a huge point of pride for me.
"YOU NEED TO BE
AN ACTOR, FIRST AND FOREMOST.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING SOME DON'T CONSIDER
OR REALIZE. THEY THINK VOICE OVER IS ONLY
READING.
I have since worked for many other great movies and shows that I am so proud to be a part of and continue to try to break through those barriers in the male-dominated side of the business. I also have to say that my male counterparts have been nothing but supportive, along with countless producers and agents. The trailer world is still a very niche area, but I really believe once we start getting used to not just hearing the booming Don LaFontaine "In a World voice" (all the respect to him, by the way) and hear more female voices on some of these trailers, it will start to become a lot more common- place. I hope to be in the mix when that happens.
JAPAN IS KNOWN FOR SO MANY GREAT ICONIC VOICE OVER PEOPLE, SUCH AS CHARACTERS FROM ANIME OR MOVIES AND DUBBED TV SHOWS. WHO ARE SOME THAT YOU ADMIRE IN THIS INDUSTRY?
Marie: I always feel a kinship with the Japa- nese voices of the characters I voice. The late and wonderful Atsuko Tanaka was the original voice for Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen. Michiko Kaiden is my Japanese Dorio coun- terpart in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. I have so much admiration and respect for them.
IS THERE ANY PROJECT OR PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH OR COLLABORATE WITH?
Marie: I mean, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to work for two different Star Wars franchises, with a character in SWTOR and the promo campaign for Ahsoka. I would love to do more trailer work. An animated series that my kids love to watch would also be pretty incredible. There are a lot of things that fall under that umbrella. It's a lot of fun to be able to share this world with them. It's extra exciting when I get to work on something that they can connect with.
TALK ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF WORK YOU ARE CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON.
Marie: My list has been promo and trailer, but I am also setting my focus on more animation work this year. I have enjoyed be- ing able to branch out into different types of voice over work throughout my career. It is fun to narrate a documentary in the morning and then voice a badass video game charac- ter in the afternoon.