voice acting

Meaning

Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. It is commonly used in animations, video games, commercials, audiobooks, and dubbed foreign films. The actors rely entirely on their vocal tone and expression since they are not seen on screen.

Examples

• He decided to try voice acting after people kept telling him he had a great radio voice.

  He decided to try voice acting after people kept telling him he had a great radio voice.

• Voice acting for video games requires a lot of screaming and vocal strain.

  Voice acting for video games requires a lot of screaming and vocal strain.

• Many famous Hollywood stars do voice acting for animated movies these days.

  Many famous Hollywood stars do voice acting for animated movies these days.

• She took a class to improve her voice acting skills and learn different accents.

  She took a class to improve her voice acting skills and learn different accents.

• The voice acting in that anime was absolutely incredible.

  The voice acting in that anime was absolutely incredible.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He does voice speaking for cartoons.

  ✓ He does voice acting for cartoons.

  The industry term is 'voice acting' or 'voiceover work' because the performer is acting and portraying a character, not just speaking.

• ✗ She is a voice actress actor.

  ✓ She is a voice actress.

  Do not combine the terms. Use 'voice actor' as a gender-neutral term, or 'voice actress' specifically for a female performer.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I love the ___ in this game; the characters sound so realistic.

  💡 The vocal performance of the characters.

  Show answer

  voice acting

• If you have a versatile voice, you might want to look into ___ as a career.

  💡 The profession of performing voices for animations or games.

  Show answer

  voice acting