September 19, 2022 • 33 mins
Yvette Nicole Brown has done…just about everything! Community, Avengers: Endgame, Family Guy, Lego Star Wars…the list goes on and on.
Yvette, Christy and Will discuss the intricacies of life and career. How did she get her start? Who is her favorite co-star of all time?! Plus…details on her new animated series “Firebuds” and secrets of the V.O. world!
There’s no better way to prepare to be a “voice” than to hear the voice of someone that’s done it so well.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Christie, Hey Will, how are you. I'm really looking
forward to today's guest. I am too. We always talk
about how excited we are when we're getting these guests,
but we really are because the guests are incredible. Really yavette.
Nicole Brown is going to be with us today. She's
gonna be with us for a short amount of time
because she is booked and busy. Hello, Hello, Hey, thank
(00:21):
you so much for joining us. We are just honored
to have you here and do hear voices today we did,
which is kind of the coolest thing in the world
because you, I mean, you're This is a short podcast,
so we can't go over your entire resume because it's crazy.
(00:41):
But you've done a ton of voice over work too.
I have. I've been so humbled that I've been able
to make a new line in my career doing this.
It's really awesome. What was your first foray into the
world a voice over? The first show I did was
Pound Puppies. Gosh, I think it was like ten years ago.
It was. It was a long time ago, probably two
thousand and ten or two thousand eleven, so maybe ten
(01:04):
ten years ago. Um, and yeah, it was like John
DiMaggio and Eric McCormick and a Lana and so no
one talented, no one talented. Noemio is the worst. He is.
He's absolutely the worst human being elever, right. Only the
only person worst is Cree Summer. So there's a shame
she's not talented. Crea and I have have been boyfriend
(01:28):
and girlfriend in so many different animated series that my
wife jokes she's my second wife. I love your wife.
My work wife is my work wife. Um So, Pound Puppies,
which was, you know, a huge, uh animated series just
for the little kids. I mean they love I remember
(01:49):
when Pound Puppies came out for the first time. You
are not old enough to remember that. You're a baby,
You don't. I'm the youngest of four, I promise you.
I had Pound Puppies all over. I was a big puppy. Okay,
I'll believe it. How did you now, were you able
to record with the whole cast or did you record
by yourself? No? Back in this is what's funny. The
Pound Puppies. We all recorded together in a big studio
(02:10):
and it was like Michael Rappaport was up in there too,
and we had Betty White was on our show. It
was it was like, yeah, it was crazy. Now Betty.
Betty recorded of course separately because we have all been
crying like children every time the studios. It would have
been a good recording session. But no, we all for
the most part, unless someone had a problem, you know,
or another some place they had to be, we all
(02:31):
were in there together recording, which was a lot of
fun because I learned. I learned so much getting to
watch them work. Yeah, you know, and you just just
as an actor to getting to play off of everybody
around you and having to you know, not having to
wonder how they're going to respond to what you're saying,
and it just man, it makes such a difference, it
really does. Do you guys prefer Do you guys prefer
the group sessions are the solo sessions? Uh? Well, we
(02:53):
have an interesting story. So basically when I did Kim,
I went to college in New York and she wanted
to learn and stuff. But well, you know, h guess
but checktally twelve years to eventually finish that degree. But look,
I'm very jealous that Will got to be in the
room with Nicole Sullivan and john and stuff. So and
(03:15):
Johnny DiMaggio and yeah, we had everybody there. It was
it was great. So you know what's funny for me,
This is what's funny. I I'm quicker by myself. You know,
when I was in the studio and I can just
knock out three in a row, I can because I can.
I'm such a self starter. I'm the same way even
in acting, like if we're if I'm acting on camera
and someone can't and it's like a scene, a telephone
scene or whatever, I don't need the other persons there.
(03:38):
And even if they're doing someone's coverage and they have
to go, I can do coverage looking at a tennis ball.
But I think that's because I think that's because doing
community there were so many times we were doing such
weird things and we were wedged into corners or somebody's
under a table, and so you had to get used
to acting to the person that wasn't there. And so
now I don't. I don't really need the other person there.
It's nice, but I can. I don't need them there.
(04:00):
I much much much prefer recording with the with the group.
Yeah I do. It's I totally understand where you're coming from.
And again, when it depended on on which company you're
working with. Disney likes to record separate a lot of times. Um.
But coming off of you know, the first animated series
I did was was Batman Beyond with Andrea Romano, and
it was the whole cast of so they'd be like
(04:22):
fifteen people there and and like Betty White, we didn't
Betty White, but you didn't know who was going to
walk into the room. So it was kind of the
coolest thing in the world, wondering who was going to
be there and and who was going to show up.
And I got to work with John Ritter, and you
got to work with those kind of wonderful people, um
and so I got used to kind of doing it
like the nineteen thirties radio play where you just read
(04:42):
it through like an old radio show. Um and but
then there's talking about going faster. So people like John
DiMaggio are the greatest people in the world to work with.
But they're also so funny that sometimes there'll be two
or three people like that in the room or or
they're they're going off on their own kind of tangent
and ran the three hour session ends up taking five
(05:04):
hours because you're laughing. But man it is. Let me
ask you this world. I'm sorry. Now I'm turning into
an interviewer. So you love recording as a group. Are
you an extrovert or introvert in life? Oh, I'm an extrovert. Well,
what's weird? I'm an extroverted introvert. Um. So I was
very much an extrovert until I was So. I was
(05:24):
an on camera actor for years. I was on a
show called Boy Meets World Forever and then and then,
so about three quarters the way through Boy Meets World,
I got hit with an anxiety disorder. So I went
from being the guy who needed to be in front
of everybody to the guy who couldn't be in front
of everybody. So then I spent years after that in
(05:45):
the voiceover world kind of getting my voice back and
getting the acting chops back, and so I had to
learn how to be in front of people again. Do
you think that happened because you were being shout out
of a cannon as a child star, and it's like
all eyes on you as you're going through your formative years. Maybe.
I also think just with all the reading and studies
I've been doing about any sort of mental illness, they
normally hit you in your twenties, your early attornies. So
(06:07):
I think it's, you know, like anything else, it's a
combination of a number of factors from genetics too. I
was I was. I was never a fast kid, like
I was never going to clubs or any of that
kind of stuff. But I do think you can live
certain lifestyles when you're famous, whatever word you want to use,
where sometimes your brain says you need to slow down. Um,
and that's what mine did. It happened in the middle
(06:27):
of a take. I was doing a movie called h
Double hockey Sticks, one of the like the Disney dcom movies,
and with Gabrielle Union. I'm in the scene with Gabrielle
Union when I had my first panic attack, and they
used that take so I can actually watch the movie
and go, that's that was my first panic attack. Um.
So it Gabrielle Union with that. I've never asked you this.
I didn't tell her. I got through the take and
(06:49):
and did every Gabrielle Union was so good that it
would she would even if I broke in the middle
of the scene, she would still would have stayed in
character because she's just so good. Um. But it was, Yeah,
it was. It was life changing. But it also threw
me more into the voiceover world, which is something that
became just the love of my life. So well, thank
you for thank you for sharing that. Because I have
(07:10):
a theory. I think that people that enjoy the group
sessions are extroverts and the people that like the single
because I'm totally introverted. I know people are not believe that,
but I am such an interest I am. Yeah. Yeah,
So for me being in my little cave, you know,
creating characters is you know, safely in my little cave.
You don't like what I like, So then how do
(07:31):
you how how do you kind of for yourself reconcile
being an introvert but wanting to perform, because I mean,
community things like this, You're you're stealing scenes, so it
can't be fully introverted. I mean no, it is. You
know why, because for me, performing is a gift, is
offering instead of a taking. So when I'm acting, I'm
(07:52):
thinking of I'm providing joy or I'm making someone think
i'm giving. So I'm showing up to be of service
than to take what I can from the room. So
that's why I'm so much better as a supporting actor,
Like I'm really comfortable in a support role even when
I was singing. When I used to sing, I was
happier in the background. So I'm not someone that needs
to be out front. So if I'm there, I'm there
to facilitate the gifts of other people. So it's less
(08:15):
look at me. It's like, I'm gonna do this, so
you look at them, you know, So that's it's so
it's such an interesting way to look at it. I
quite a little tangent. I saw an interview with where
um uh Jerry Seinfeld was interviewing Michael Richards from Seinfeld
and he said to him, you know, if you could
go back and do something different, what would you do.
And Michael Richards said, well, you know, I I would
(08:36):
have I would have looked at it a little differently.
So I wasn't taking it so seriously, and Jerry was
just shaking his head. He said what he said, it
was never about us, It was always about the audience.
That's right, and so the the idea that you got
that instantly and you kind of crafted your career based
on I'm not comfortable, but I'm going to go out
(08:58):
there and do what I have to do to if
what I have to everyone else is remarkable, frankly offering,
it's funny, you say, let me just say this one
more thing I know, I know, christ is can we
get to the there was used to the interview? Okay,
I used to do so many I still do a
lot of talk shows. And I won't say what talk
show it was, but I was on a talk show once,
(09:18):
and when I do talk shows, I like talking to
the audience. Like there's an audience at home. There's the
people that you're on the panel with or who you're
sitting with on the couch within, there's also the people
that are actually in the room. And I worked with
the talk show host once that the advice that was
given to me as that we were going out is
don't pay attention to those people there, like the half
of them they bust in, it doesn't matter, just ignore them.
And I was like, ignore the human beings in the room,
(09:40):
like and I purposely was like, I will not take
that advice. I am going to talk to the people
in the room who are kind enough to sit here
and come to this show. It is always what you're giving.
It is never what you're taking. If you are an
entertainer of any sort or just a human being in
the world and your life is about what you can get,
you are doing it wrong. It is what can I
get each room you go in? What can I give
(10:02):
and deposit in this room to make this room and
the people in it better no matter what when you
go in. That's amazing. And we've all worked with actors
to where when it comes to the background talent that
you have them or or worse, we'll say like other
walking props, and yeah, they're they're human beings, they're actors
to there do a job. Absolutely, Yeah, it's absolutely saying
(10:24):
with the crew as I know some actors that treat
the crew like they're just there to Yeah, we could
go on a tangent. We could, we could absolutely, Okay,
and we've all worked with them. But but that's again
bringing it around full circle, which is great. You very
rarely meet people like that in the voiceover world, right
because they're exactly because I think we get it, you
know what I mean, Like we're and it's a less
(10:45):
vain part of the industry on camera. You're not on camera,
and you don't even think about it. It's all about
what can my what can my voice do? How can
your body? How can your body serve you essentially exactly?
How can I be a silly? How can I find
this this woodland creature I'm playing somewhere in my brain
(11:06):
and also in the group sessions, make my buddies laugh, like,
how can I do something in here that that delights
my friends? And and if you're anything like me, the
truly funny people like the John DiMaggio's and the Cree Summers,
making them laugh is even more special thing because it's like,
oh man, I made them laugh. That's the coolest thing
in the world. The is do you have any funny
um in person experiences while recording with one of these
(11:29):
greats that you've been I do, And this is all
I've been thinking about since we've been talking about it.
Michael Report, who I love. I love him so much.
He's married to one of my dearest friends, Kibi. Michael
rad Report is the most loud actor in a booth.
Like he's coughing. He's wearing the rustly jacket. You know,
he's he's wearing a windbreaker. He's you know, he's eating chips.
(11:53):
He's eating chips, you know, it's like you're trying to
do your line and he's like coughing up a loogie.
Like It's just so it was like all of our
sessions with Michael, we knew Michael was going to be
there is like add an hour, and the thing is,
he's not it's not intentional. He just literally is fully
living his Michael reperport life all the time. And it
just it's so anytime I had a session with him,
it was always hilarious. Yeah, He's all I thought about.
(12:16):
He's literally all I've been thinking about. Is there a
type of of uh character in the voice over world
you prefer to play? I mean it's like, for instance,
we're we're we're certainly going to be talking about the Firebuds,
(12:38):
which looks like an incredible show, another ensemble show. But
is there something where it's do you prefer playing like
the kind of Woodland creatures or the superheroes or I mean,
I know, for instance, you are I've been told a
super fan of The Walking Dead. Oh my gosh, I
love it so much. So is that like, well, have
you got so? One of a close friend of mine,
(12:59):
a huge voiceover guy, is also on The Walking Dead
carry Peyton. Have you worked with Cary, I have a
Cary Um. I can't remember what we worked on before,
but Cary and also Ross Markuan is a good is
a huge I mean just rich talent. I remember the
fun fun fact when Carry booked The Walking Dead, he
hadn't shot yet, he had just booked, and we were
in a session. I don't know if we were in
(13:19):
a session. We were definitely in a studio together, I
don't I can't remember. We were coming ships passing the night,
coming out of a session. I'm the first one that
told him what he was, what was about to happen
to him, because sorry, just said yes to the show,
not realizing that he was about to be a part
of a juggernaut and he was gonna be so famous.
I said, listen, if you want to take your kids
to Disney, you need to do it now, because because
(13:40):
once you know, once this, once you are you know
King Ezekiel, your whole life is going to change. And
he and he took it. He was It was a
sobering moment for me. He was like word like, he
was like for real. I was like yeah. And then
when I saw him later, like I think I saw
him at Comic Con the next year, he was like,
you did not lie, and he was grateful that he
had the warning to say goodbye to his anonymity because
(14:02):
he was such a huge voiceover artist. He could feel anywhere,
you know, without people, he can't go. His face is
now known by everybody, so it's everything. And when every
time I see Cary, I think of the same thing
where everything in his life changed. Car Car never changed.
He never changed, exactly the same human being he was before.
He's just now awesomely famous. And he steals French fries too.
(14:25):
I don't know if you guys know that. And and
Brito and Boetos as well. Vorrito, I love that I
talked about the Windbreaker. I just swished my way because
I've made like a windbreaker, like the How do you
even do a podcast about voices in your swishy jack?
Forgive me, guys, sound amazing. I don't know what you're
(14:46):
recording on something. Really, I'm on a freaking yetti, guys,
like this, it's a yetti. This is not even the yettie.
This is not the mic I used for voiceover. This
is just the mic I used for zoom calls. But
I'm hearing myself, like, why don't I use the yetti?
This is really nice and watery. And you know, when
we were at D twenty three, I introduced, well not me,
but the social team at Disney introduced um a plug
(15:10):
in microphone that goes into your phone. What oh Yes,
they're on Amazon and a lot of like you know,
TikTokers and stuff, they use this microphone. It's a little
bit microphone, about the size of the index phone. I've
seen that there's a real famous yeah lady that uses
it on on TikTok Yes, yes, oh okay, and they
(15:31):
work really well. And I'm just telling you, like people
can RaSE, you know. I I've done auditions. I haven't
booked anything, but I have a voiceover auditions from my
voice memo from I do know me too, I use
my voice from my auditions, I really do. But I'm
thinking that little Mike might be nice Christie in my
pechnology nowadays, back in the day, you've got to drive
(15:54):
to your voiceover agents and GETSD you have to sit
and wait for Do you think we're ever getting back
to that? Guys, you think it's the it's the since
COVID is now going to be us in our little booth.
We all have the equipment now makes it way it's
going to be. And it's it's strange to explain to
people that don't understand, but that are huge animation fans, like, oh,
(16:14):
that show that you're watching now was recorded. Everybody recorded
separately in their own homes, you know. And I gotta say,
guys like Andrea Romano, we had her on the show,
and I feel like if there's somebody who was like
mentored by and Andrea or something like that, that might
be a very case by case basis. And of course,
like I'm sure will if I had the opportunity to
do something with you, um, you know, I would love
(16:36):
to be in studio again. Oh I would too. I mean,
that's again what I make that choice. I would prefer
very quickly. While you were working with John Stamos, did
you get to read the label of what kind of
blood he's drinking tonight? I'm just curious because we can,
we can we amazon that because baby, first of all,
(16:57):
you look you both look great to stop it, but yeah,
it is it's baby horrible blood and he gets it,
he gets it from gets it injected into his bulgaria
and he just just see him. You open up his
dressing room and he's just there with these little gerbils going,
don't get the way you girls. It was so crazy
about it. Two guys, is that like I joke about this,
(17:18):
but this is really what he does. He decides how
much wattage he's going to give with his smile because
he knows that if he gives you the full Stamos,
everybody can't handle it because you've got the hair, you
got the face, and then you've got the smile. And
some of when I first met him, I only would
get like half a smile, like halfway. And then one
day he gave me the full Stamos. I was like,
(17:38):
dear God, like he's such a good looking man. It's
like it's like the rock smolder, you can smolder. You
guys supposed to have traveled in the same circles of production.
Did you meet him back of the day Again, you
don't meet Stamos so much as experience sperience. You experience
and you glance at him and look away like absolutely,
(17:59):
it's because you can't stare at them to you can't.
That's funny. He gave me the full stay most okay,
so we would be remiss if we didn't. Well, first
of all, we want to talk to you, of course
about firebuds. I have a five, I have a five
and a three year old that we feel okay, we
will be watching it, um, and also to kind of
(18:21):
interesting in terms of the the you know, the narrative
of it is that there's first responder children, right or
children of first responder? The first responders? Was that interesting
at because it was you know, it was September eleven
when you guys did that. I know, isn't that crazy? Um?
It is what I love about our show, and thank
you for for getting a chance to talk about this.
It is a love letter to first responders. And the
(18:42):
thing that is so interesting to me every time I
think about it, even with nine eleven in my mind,
what does it take to be the person that sees
danger and people running from danger and deciding to go
towards it. I don't know what what magic is in
those people, being a doctor, being a fire person, being
a police person to say that I could die, but
(19:04):
saving other people is more important than even my life
in this moment. And so this show is is a
way to spotlight that level of bravery and and community
and care and to encourage children and their families to
find a way to bring that level of community into
their own lives. And and Craig Gerber has created just
a wonderful show. And I'm just overjoyed that I get
(19:26):
to plead to to play or voice Chief Faith Fireson,
which is first of all, which is a great name,
but talking about the first responders that I've literally got
goose bumps. She's because yeah, it's not like Mark, it's
not a Marvel franchise. It's not like you know, Disney
also has their Spidy franchise, which my kids are just
drinking up. But I'm going to show them this too,
(19:48):
because it's important that there's a balance. Um. And it's
great that Disney can show that that bravery doesn't have
to be supernatural, that that's right, yeah, And it's something
that's in that's in your community because we are our
brother in sisters keeper. And I think sometimes in this
world in particular right now, everybody is so focused on
what they can get for them and I gotta get
mine good good luck in yours. How about you know,
(20:09):
I share what I have? How about I I carry
your load? How about I walk with you for a
little while if you're going through something like those are
things that we need to model two kids to. The
idea of just achieve, achieve, achieve is fine, yeah, but
it's but are you really the best if you've got
to step over somebody to get to it? Your community?
Who is your community? Absolutely call back. It's a great show.
(20:32):
By the way that that word community just keeps popping up.
It's a great show. This concept of community, this concept
of serving your team, being a part of the team. Um.
And of course, like we were talking about being sort
of an introvert at home, being able to accomplish this
kind of artistry. UM, I mean, what are your goals?
What is other than being sort of part of amazing
ensemble things in the future, I'd imagine, what is it
(20:55):
that you would like to do? What roles do you
think you would absolutely want to play? You know, it's
so funny, guys. I've been in the industry, as we
all are, you know, twenty some years at this point,
and I feel like I've climbed every mountain I dreamed
of when I was a kid, Like I've worked with
the Muppets, I've I've been a part of a Star
Wars project. I've been in a Marvel movie. I'm in
a Disney Princess movie. Like I feel like if I
(21:18):
were to have more on the list of degree, you
know what I mean, Like I don't. I don't have
a master plan, and I don't sit up and go
I say what I want to do. I want to
continue to pay my bills and take care of my dad.
I'm a caregiver with money I make as a performer.
I want to continue to use my platform for good,
like reminding people please register and please vote, because you know,
a lot of bad people are in positions of power
(21:39):
and they're making decisions about you and your body, and
that is that are dangerous and we need to vote.
So I love that I have a platform for that.
And I love that I get to model silliness in
the world. Like I'm such a silly person. I'm a
serious person when it comes to things that matter, but
my general, you know, mindset is toddler. Like I'm just
a big kid, And I love that I get to
(22:01):
be as grown as I am and I get to
do so many silly things and have so much fun
in life. And so I don't. I'm grateful, like I
don't have anything else that I want to do besides
what I keep laughing. Yeah, I live by a very
simple model of my wife and I always talk about
this that there is a very big difference between child
ish and childlike, and so childlike is wonderful and that's
(22:23):
how I am. And there are times my wife and
I will just go to a toy store if we
can find one. Come on, of course, because every Christmas Eve,
my my my wife, my daughter, and my now future
step son. Um, we have our future son in law.
Excuse me, we have a nerve gunfighters if we have
a nerve. So it's that's what you have to I mean,
(22:46):
that's kind of the stuff you have to do. You
have to stay young at heart and U and I
you have to grow up. Yeah, And I think that
also resonates through the voiceover community. It is you meet
a lot of big kids, and people sometimes say that
as a negative. It's not at all. It's a wonderful positive.
We're playing, we're playing make believe. It's the things that
we used to do as kids, and we will be.
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the cop right now.
You're gonna be the robber and we're gonna you know,
(23:08):
that's what we always used to do, and now we
get to do it, and and and our silliness and
our imaginations are encouraged. You know. They show you a
picture and they say, what is this person's voice? And
I'm sorry, I'm holding you to one question. I gotta
do it. No greediness involved. So there's no greediness. But
you can play anybody you want in the voiceover World
Superhero anybody who do you play? Oh gosh, you know
(23:32):
this is this is weird, but I just I just
love that I've gotten to play so many little characters,
little animals like I remember when I did Pound Puppies. This.
I was so green. When I first did Pound Puppies.
I didn't realize that when you do a session, they
get your voice in another. I had no idea. So
the first time I was in the session, I was
prepared to be um, Cookie, my dog. I found my
(23:54):
Cookie voice and they're like, oh, that you're also one
of the one of the squirrels. Excuse me, They're like, yeah,
you're You're one of the guirrel So these are you know,
just this is what the squirrel is saying, just make
up a squirrel voice. And I had never publicly in
front of all these legends. I told you, who's in
the room, I need to now make a squirrel voice.
And I tapped right into my inner child and just
made this ridiculous voice that lasts through four seasons of
(24:16):
of Pound Puppies. And I just feel like that that
is the level that is fun for me, because again,
I'm a supporting player, right, So I'm not gonna say
iron Man, you know, I'm gonna say, you know, the
person that's tinkering with iron Man's you know armor, the
little squirrel that comes in and the fairy tale version
of iron Man and and and does his armor. Okay,
first of all that is now trademarked and belongs to
(24:37):
your voice is the it's just the little squirrel that
comes in to fix all the armor for iron Man.
I'm a giver. It's yours that that is so funny.
Other than firebuds and all the other stuff you're doing.
(24:58):
Where where can people find you when they're when they're
good for you? Now? Well, if you're looking for me
on social media, it's at Y and B on Twitter
and Addie vet Nicole Brown on Instagram and Facebook. And
then I think I mentioned Disenchanted. The sequel to Enchanted
is coming out at Thanksgiving, so I'm in that. And
UM and also Big Shot season two is starting on
October twelfth, I believe on UM on Disney Plus. And
(25:20):
then lastly, of course Firebirds is September twenty one. Everywhere
just basically just launched your Disney Plus tap there, I'll
be there and uh and with the other twenty minutes
of the day, you're sleeping, I hope rarely. I don't
speak much. I'm either taking care of my dog or
taking care of my dad. And you know, also you know,
mainlining news because I'm watching about all the elections and
(25:43):
everything that's going on. So it's a pretty full life.
I'm grateful. Yeah, it's said too that you have a
lot of um sort of passionate about infrastructure and stuff
like that. Are there. They're sort of sort of causes
that you want to maybe shout out to. I love
that they that they mentioned this. I actually narrated and
and and Cope deduced a documentary called Be Prepared to Stop.
We did it in two thousand and seventeen, and it
(26:04):
breaks down. How um the state of disarray our infrastructure
across the nation is in and it's still available, I believe,
on on YouTube for free and you should watch it
because if you're wondering about Infrastructure Week or the infrastructure
bill that um are great President um Biden um past.
It explains the need. UM. This is something I'll tell
(26:25):
you that we'll scare you. Um. There's a great percentage
and it's over. The bridges that you drive over or
under every day are rated D or D plus in
this country. So if you really uh no baby, So
if you if you realized how much uh we're crumbling
(26:46):
as a nation. Our roads are bridges, we we know
it now. Our water systems are destroyed. You got all
these It used to be just Front Michigan and now
there's so many different cities and states. Have the grid
failed us? And it was That's what I'm saying. There's
not the drinking water is affected, electricity is affected, Our
roads and bridges are affected. So please watch the documentary.
(27:07):
And you narrated it to the narration was a whole
different experience. It's my voice talking about we gotta fix it, guys.
And now I rest a little easier. I used to
talk about be prepared to stop all the time, and
now I can rest a little bit because help is
on the way with the infrastructure bill. So yeah, that's great,
that's so great. Thank you so much. Oh well, thank
you so much for joining us. This has been I
(27:29):
mean again, we know that he also so busy that
we thank you so much for fitting us. It's my pleasure.
It's I love firebuds, and I love voiceover actors, and
so I love the idea of being on your podcast.
So thanks for having me. This is so great. Thank
you very much for joining us. And go again, just
turn on the TV or the radio or anything just
(27:50):
to find out what is doing because passing out some
some delicious Oreo cookie. You appreciate it. Thank you guys.
Bye bye. Wow. Talk about somebody who's also just uh
doing amazing work you know, on camera off camera, just
an incredible person who's just trying to spread love and joy.
(28:13):
I mean, I mean, I have never I mean the
audacity of her to be like, you know, like so
opposite to what people think of as you know, an
actor act a famous actor at that, an accomplished actor
who people know by name and face, and you know
she is obviously when I when I heard her voice,
I was like, oh, she's a voice of actor. Yeah.
It's like there was people in my life that I've
(28:35):
heard and I'm like, you should do voice over, and
then later in their careers they ended up doing some
really big voice you know, in something, and um, I
take pleasure in in in hearing that, in that potential
in people's voices. And so when she came on, I
was like, immediately, just what is beautiful? Yeah, that that
you know, very um detailed, very very deep, very um.
(28:59):
I don't textured kind of voice, but it's a smooth texture.
It's hard, it's hard to describe. It was a kind
voice that that came from her soul. And so it
is so interesting how a voice over actors will find
a lot of inspiration and doing voices that may not
sound like them, but it's it's great when their voice
can sound just great being what it is, right, Yeah, exactly, Yeah,
(29:21):
just that that the rich texture of the voice. Right away. Well,
do you ever just do your voice and anything that
you've ever done? I do, sure, Yeah, I mean there's
certain things where I'll do I'll do just my voice.
I mean like character commercial stuff. I mean, star Lord
from Guardians of the Galaxy was kind of just me
really um yeah, he was, It's just hey, come on, come, rockets,
(29:41):
what are you doing. I mean it was kind of
it's just more or less me um, but you know,
it's going up higher in the register, are going deeper
for Terry was was kind of in the middle. And
and then there's different versions of those kind of two voices. Again,
we've talked about how it runs the gamut and voice
in the voice over world. And I'm not one of
those actors that can do fifty voices. I'm just not.
And that's okay, um, which which leads me a beautiful
(30:05):
segue into our jeez, I forget what was any of
our contest again? Oh you stuff it. It's the very good,
very amazing contest to find the famous person that will
become you. I'm just gonna get worse with it. That
was the best one. It's the super awesome contest to
become the next voice, next big voice actor. I just
(30:25):
wish that when we said that we would do like
super like we have to stop in the podcast and
make it again. Even when you just did it there,
you didn't get the first two words right, I'll see
myself out. No. So, but it's that's a perfect example
if you if you are a fan of the show
and you are thinking about joining the contest, the super
awesome contest to become the next big voice actor, and
(30:47):
you're thinking yourself, I can't do fifty voices. We can't either,
and a lot of voiceover actors can't. A lot of
voiceover actors find great careers with the one or two
voices they can do, or in reading commercial copy or narrating.
You know, a YouTube video like like uh that was
just talking about how she did her be prepared to stop.
(31:08):
There are people that that will go out there and narrate,
narrate different things, the movie trailers, all the things. You know,
it might not be might not be somebody that can
do a hundred voices. So if you're thinking yourself, man,
this would be a fun thing to enter, but I
can't do a hundred voices. Don't ever forget neither can we. Uh?
And we are going to come out obviously with more
details very soon. Uh. The details. I can't build this
(31:31):
up enough. They are so cool. Wait to hear all
the stuff that you're gonna win. Uh, and it's like
new stuff. There's like new stuff all the time to like, yeah, people,
we're adding onto this because a lot of people are
really supportive of us in this community that we're in. Um,
some really big names are are are really being very
supportive and we wish that we could tell you guys more.
But you just need to stay tuned and don't worry
(31:52):
because if you are interested, you're learning things in every episode.
I feel like I'm taking away lessons from each of
these you know guests that we get to have. They
all have very different approaches. You know, You've got Alan, Tutic,
Taj Morey and and then now Yvette and they are
very different but all very good people. So thank you
for for your support in our podcast. Thank you for
(32:14):
listening and hopefully, um, if you feel like you know
hitting us up on socials, I always look at them
and it's great to connect with you guys, so UM,
feel free to to connect that way. It's what it's
it's I hear I hear voices podcast Yeah, I hear
voices podcasts on Instagram TikTok. Yeah, and we love to
see Christie's in charge of all that stuff because again.
I don't know the internets and the strangeness, um, but
(32:37):
thank you again for joining us. Thank you so much.
Event Nicole Brown, who took some time out from just
the you heard the most ridiculously busy schedule to join
us and talk about firebuds and all the other stuff.
She's done. What an awesome guest, and join us next time.
We're gonna have a ton of fun, more information about
the what was the name? I can't can't remember the
name of the contest. What was it? What was it?
(32:58):
Absolutely not? Um, your mom. I think that's just pretty
much where we have to leave it. So don't ever
forget if you think you've got what it takes to
step up to the microphone, put your voices where your
mouth is. Thanks everybody, and thanks mom. I hear Voices
(33:18):
as hosted by Wilfred l and Christy Carlson Romano. Executive
produced by Wilfredel, Brendan Rooney, Amy Sugarman and Vicki Ernst Chang.
Our executive in charge of production is Danielle Romo. Our
producer is Lorraine Vera Wez and our editor slash engineer
is Brian Burton. And that was my announcer voice. Some
side effects of listening to I Hear Voices are sore
abs from hilarity, falling down the cocomelon rabbit hole, sneezing
(33:39):
due to mass nostalgia, and hugs. Follow I Hear Voices
wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss any
of the amazing voices. Be sure to follow us on
Instagram and TikTok at I Hear Voices podcast. To see
the video stream, subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can
also check us out on my space omeigal Vine, lime Wire.
Hey I'm a napster. Okay, well let's teach you about
the Internet. The who
Hey, Christie, Hey Will, how are you. I'm really looking
forward to today's guest. I am too. We always talk
about how excited we are when we're getting these guests,
but we really are because the guests are incredible. Really yavette.
Nicole Brown is going to be with us today. She's
gonna be with us for a short amount of time
because she is booked and busy. Hello, Hello, Hey, thank
(00:21):
you so much for joining us. We are just honored
to have you here and do hear voices today we did,
which is kind of the coolest thing in the world
because you, I mean, you're This is a short podcast,
so we can't go over your entire resume because it's crazy.
(00:41):
But you've done a ton of voice over work too.
I have. I've been so humbled that I've been able
to make a new line in my career doing this.
It's really awesome. What was your first foray into the
world a voice over? The first show I did was
Pound Puppies. Gosh, I think it was like ten years ago.
It was. It was a long time ago, probably two
thousand and ten or two thousand eleven, so maybe ten
(01:04):
ten years ago. Um, and yeah, it was like John
DiMaggio and Eric McCormick and a Lana and so no
one talented, no one talented. Noemio is the worst. He is.
He's absolutely the worst human being elever, right. Only the
only person worst is Cree Summer. So there's a shame
she's not talented. Crea and I have have been boyfriend
(01:28):
and girlfriend in so many different animated series that my
wife jokes she's my second wife. I love your wife.
My work wife is my work wife. Um So, Pound Puppies,
which was, you know, a huge, uh animated series just
for the little kids. I mean they love I remember
(01:49):
when Pound Puppies came out for the first time. You
are not old enough to remember that. You're a baby,
You don't. I'm the youngest of four, I promise you.
I had Pound Puppies all over. I was a big puppy. Okay,
I'll believe it. How did you now, were you able
to record with the whole cast or did you record
by yourself? No? Back in this is what's funny. The
Pound Puppies. We all recorded together in a big studio
(02:10):
and it was like Michael Rappaport was up in there too,
and we had Betty White was on our show. It
was it was like, yeah, it was crazy. Now Betty.
Betty recorded of course separately because we have all been
crying like children every time the studios. It would have
been a good recording session. But no, we all for
the most part, unless someone had a problem, you know,
or another some place they had to be, we all
(02:31):
were in there together recording, which was a lot of
fun because I learned. I learned so much getting to
watch them work. Yeah, you know, and you just just
as an actor to getting to play off of everybody
around you and having to you know, not having to
wonder how they're going to respond to what you're saying,
and it just man, it makes such a difference, it
really does. Do you guys prefer Do you guys prefer
the group sessions are the solo sessions? Uh? Well, we
(02:53):
have an interesting story. So basically when I did Kim,
I went to college in New York and she wanted
to learn and stuff. But well, you know, h guess
but checktally twelve years to eventually finish that degree. But look,
I'm very jealous that Will got to be in the
room with Nicole Sullivan and john and stuff. So and
(03:15):
Johnny DiMaggio and yeah, we had everybody there. It was
it was great. So you know what's funny for me,
This is what's funny. I I'm quicker by myself. You know,
when I was in the studio and I can just
knock out three in a row, I can because I can.
I'm such a self starter. I'm the same way even
in acting, like if we're if I'm acting on camera
and someone can't and it's like a scene, a telephone
scene or whatever, I don't need the other persons there.
(03:38):
And even if they're doing someone's coverage and they have
to go, I can do coverage looking at a tennis ball.
But I think that's because I think that's because doing
community there were so many times we were doing such
weird things and we were wedged into corners or somebody's
under a table, and so you had to get used
to acting to the person that wasn't there. And so
now I don't. I don't really need the other person there.
It's nice, but I can. I don't need them there.
(04:00):
I much much much prefer recording with the with the group.
Yeah I do. It's I totally understand where you're coming from.
And again, when it depended on on which company you're
working with. Disney likes to record separate a lot of times. Um.
But coming off of you know, the first animated series
I did was was Batman Beyond with Andrea Romano, and
it was the whole cast of so they'd be like
(04:22):
fifteen people there and and like Betty White, we didn't
Betty White, but you didn't know who was going to
walk into the room. So it was kind of the
coolest thing in the world, wondering who was going to
be there and and who was going to show up.
And I got to work with John Ritter, and you
got to work with those kind of wonderful people, um
and so I got used to kind of doing it
like the nineteen thirties radio play where you just read
(04:42):
it through like an old radio show. Um and but
then there's talking about going faster. So people like John
DiMaggio are the greatest people in the world to work with.
But they're also so funny that sometimes there'll be two
or three people like that in the room or or
they're they're going off on their own kind of tangent
and ran the three hour session ends up taking five
(05:04):
hours because you're laughing. But man it is. Let me
ask you this world. I'm sorry. Now I'm turning into
an interviewer. So you love recording as a group. Are
you an extrovert or introvert in life? Oh, I'm an extrovert. Well,
what's weird? I'm an extroverted introvert. Um. So I was
very much an extrovert until I was So. I was
(05:24):
an on camera actor for years. I was on a
show called Boy Meets World Forever and then and then,
so about three quarters the way through Boy Meets World,
I got hit with an anxiety disorder. So I went
from being the guy who needed to be in front
of everybody to the guy who couldn't be in front
of everybody. So then I spent years after that in
(05:45):
the voiceover world kind of getting my voice back and
getting the acting chops back, and so I had to
learn how to be in front of people again. Do
you think that happened because you were being shout out
of a cannon as a child star, and it's like
all eyes on you as you're going through your formative years. Maybe.
I also think just with all the reading and studies
I've been doing about any sort of mental illness, they
normally hit you in your twenties, your early attornies. So
(06:07):
I think it's, you know, like anything else, it's a
combination of a number of factors from genetics too. I
was I was. I was never a fast kid, like
I was never going to clubs or any of that
kind of stuff. But I do think you can live
certain lifestyles when you're famous, whatever word you want to use,
where sometimes your brain says you need to slow down. Um,
and that's what mine did. It happened in the middle
(06:27):
of a take. I was doing a movie called h
Double hockey Sticks, one of the like the Disney dcom movies,
and with Gabrielle Union. I'm in the scene with Gabrielle
Union when I had my first panic attack, and they
used that take so I can actually watch the movie
and go, that's that was my first panic attack. Um.
So it Gabrielle Union with that. I've never asked you this.
I didn't tell her. I got through the take and
(06:49):
and did every Gabrielle Union was so good that it
would she would even if I broke in the middle
of the scene, she would still would have stayed in
character because she's just so good. Um. But it was, Yeah,
it was. It was life changing. But it also threw
me more into the voiceover world, which is something that
became just the love of my life. So well, thank
you for thank you for sharing that. Because I have
(07:10):
a theory. I think that people that enjoy the group
sessions are extroverts and the people that like the single
because I'm totally introverted. I know people are not believe that,
but I am such an interest I am. Yeah. Yeah,
So for me being in my little cave, you know,
creating characters is you know, safely in my little cave.
You don't like what I like, So then how do
(07:31):
you how how do you kind of for yourself reconcile
being an introvert but wanting to perform, because I mean,
community things like this, You're you're stealing scenes, so it
can't be fully introverted. I mean no, it is. You
know why, because for me, performing is a gift, is
offering instead of a taking. So when I'm acting, I'm
(07:52):
thinking of I'm providing joy or I'm making someone think
i'm giving. So I'm showing up to be of service
than to take what I can from the room. So
that's why I'm so much better as a supporting actor,
Like I'm really comfortable in a support role even when
I was singing. When I used to sing, I was
happier in the background. So I'm not someone that needs
to be out front. So if I'm there, I'm there
to facilitate the gifts of other people. So it's less
(08:15):
look at me. It's like, I'm gonna do this, so
you look at them, you know, So that's it's so
it's such an interesting way to look at it. I
quite a little tangent. I saw an interview with where
um uh Jerry Seinfeld was interviewing Michael Richards from Seinfeld
and he said to him, you know, if you could
go back and do something different, what would you do.
And Michael Richards said, well, you know, I I would
(08:36):
have I would have looked at it a little differently.
So I wasn't taking it so seriously, and Jerry was
just shaking his head. He said what he said, it
was never about us, It was always about the audience.
That's right, and so the the idea that you got
that instantly and you kind of crafted your career based
on I'm not comfortable, but I'm going to go out
(08:58):
there and do what I have to do to if
what I have to everyone else is remarkable, frankly offering,
it's funny, you say, let me just say this one
more thing I know, I know, christ is can we
get to the there was used to the interview? Okay,
I used to do so many I still do a
lot of talk shows. And I won't say what talk
show it was, but I was on a talk show once,
(09:18):
and when I do talk shows, I like talking to
the audience. Like there's an audience at home. There's the
people that you're on the panel with or who you're
sitting with on the couch within, there's also the people
that are actually in the room. And I worked with
the talk show host once that the advice that was
given to me as that we were going out is
don't pay attention to those people there, like the half
of them they bust in, it doesn't matter, just ignore them.
And I was like, ignore the human beings in the room,
(09:40):
like and I purposely was like, I will not take
that advice. I am going to talk to the people
in the room who are kind enough to sit here
and come to this show. It is always what you're giving.
It is never what you're taking. If you are an
entertainer of any sort or just a human being in
the world and your life is about what you can get,
you are doing it wrong. It is what can I
get each room you go in? What can I give
(10:02):
and deposit in this room to make this room and
the people in it better no matter what when you
go in. That's amazing. And we've all worked with actors
to where when it comes to the background talent that
you have them or or worse, we'll say like other
walking props, and yeah, they're they're human beings, they're actors
to there do a job. Absolutely, Yeah, it's absolutely saying
(10:24):
with the crew as I know some actors that treat
the crew like they're just there to Yeah, we could
go on a tangent. We could, we could absolutely, Okay,
and we've all worked with them. But but that's again
bringing it around full circle, which is great. You very
rarely meet people like that in the voiceover world, right
because they're exactly because I think we get it, you
know what I mean, Like we're and it's a less
(10:45):
vain part of the industry on camera. You're not on camera,
and you don't even think about it. It's all about
what can my what can my voice do? How can
your body? How can your body serve you essentially exactly?
How can I be a silly? How can I find
this this woodland creature I'm playing somewhere in my brain
(11:06):
and also in the group sessions, make my buddies laugh, like,
how can I do something in here that that delights
my friends? And and if you're anything like me, the
truly funny people like the John DiMaggio's and the Cree Summers,
making them laugh is even more special thing because it's like,
oh man, I made them laugh. That's the coolest thing
in the world. The is do you have any funny
um in person experiences while recording with one of these
(11:29):
greats that you've been I do, And this is all
I've been thinking about since we've been talking about it.
Michael Report, who I love. I love him so much.
He's married to one of my dearest friends, Kibi. Michael
rad Report is the most loud actor in a booth.
Like he's coughing. He's wearing the rustly jacket. You know,
he's he's wearing a windbreaker. He's you know, he's eating chips.
(11:53):
He's eating chips, you know, it's like you're trying to
do your line and he's like coughing up a loogie.
Like It's just so it was like all of our
sessions with Michael, we knew Michael was going to be
there is like add an hour, and the thing is,
he's not it's not intentional. He just literally is fully
living his Michael reperport life all the time. And it
just it's so anytime I had a session with him,
it was always hilarious. Yeah, He's all I thought about.
(12:16):
He's literally all I've been thinking about. Is there a
type of of uh character in the voice over world
you prefer to play? I mean it's like, for instance,
we're we're we're certainly going to be talking about the Firebuds,
(12:38):
which looks like an incredible show, another ensemble show. But
is there something where it's do you prefer playing like
the kind of Woodland creatures or the superheroes or I mean,
I know, for instance, you are I've been told a
super fan of The Walking Dead. Oh my gosh, I
love it so much. So is that like, well, have
you got so? One of a close friend of mine,
(12:59):
a huge voiceover guy, is also on The Walking Dead
carry Peyton. Have you worked with Cary, I have a
Cary Um. I can't remember what we worked on before,
but Cary and also Ross Markuan is a good is
a huge I mean just rich talent. I remember the
fun fun fact when Carry booked The Walking Dead, he
hadn't shot yet, he had just booked, and we were
in a session. I don't know if we were in
(13:19):
a session. We were definitely in a studio together, I
don't I can't remember. We were coming ships passing the night,
coming out of a session. I'm the first one that
told him what he was, what was about to happen
to him, because sorry, just said yes to the show,
not realizing that he was about to be a part
of a juggernaut and he was gonna be so famous.
I said, listen, if you want to take your kids
to Disney, you need to do it now, because because
(13:40):
once you know, once this, once you are you know
King Ezekiel, your whole life is going to change. And
he and he took it. He was It was a
sobering moment for me. He was like word like, he
was like for real. I was like yeah. And then
when I saw him later, like I think I saw
him at Comic Con the next year, he was like,
you did not lie, and he was grateful that he
had the warning to say goodbye to his anonymity because
(14:02):
he was such a huge voiceover artist. He could feel anywhere,
you know, without people, he can't go. His face is
now known by everybody, so it's everything. And when every
time I see Cary, I think of the same thing
where everything in his life changed. Car Car never changed.
He never changed, exactly the same human being he was before.
He's just now awesomely famous. And he steals French fries too.
(14:25):
I don't know if you guys know that. And and
Brito and Boetos as well. Vorrito, I love that I
talked about the Windbreaker. I just swished my way because
I've made like a windbreaker, like the How do you
even do a podcast about voices in your swishy jack?
Forgive me, guys, sound amazing. I don't know what you're
(14:46):
recording on something. Really, I'm on a freaking yetti, guys,
like this, it's a yetti. This is not even the yettie.
This is not the mic I used for voiceover. This
is just the mic I used for zoom calls. But
I'm hearing myself, like, why don't I use the yetti?
This is really nice and watery. And you know, when
we were at D twenty three, I introduced, well not me,
but the social team at Disney introduced um a plug
(15:10):
in microphone that goes into your phone. What oh Yes,
they're on Amazon and a lot of like you know,
TikTokers and stuff, they use this microphone. It's a little
bit microphone, about the size of the index phone. I've
seen that there's a real famous yeah lady that uses
it on on TikTok Yes, yes, oh okay, and they
(15:31):
work really well. And I'm just telling you, like people
can RaSE, you know. I I've done auditions. I haven't
booked anything, but I have a voiceover auditions from my
voice memo from I do know me too, I use
my voice from my auditions, I really do. But I'm
thinking that little Mike might be nice Christie in my
pechnology nowadays, back in the day, you've got to drive
(15:54):
to your voiceover agents and GETSD you have to sit
and wait for Do you think we're ever getting back
to that? Guys, you think it's the it's the since
COVID is now going to be us in our little booth.
We all have the equipment now makes it way it's
going to be. And it's it's strange to explain to
people that don't understand, but that are huge animation fans, like, oh,
(16:14):
that show that you're watching now was recorded. Everybody recorded
separately in their own homes, you know. And I gotta say,
guys like Andrea Romano, we had her on the show,
and I feel like if there's somebody who was like
mentored by and Andrea or something like that, that might
be a very case by case basis. And of course,
like I'm sure will if I had the opportunity to
do something with you, um, you know, I would love
(16:36):
to be in studio again. Oh I would too. I mean,
that's again what I make that choice. I would prefer
very quickly. While you were working with John Stamos, did
you get to read the label of what kind of
blood he's drinking tonight? I'm just curious because we can,
we can we amazon that because baby, first of all,
(16:57):
you look you both look great to stop it, but yeah,
it is it's baby horrible blood and he gets it,
he gets it from gets it injected into his bulgaria
and he just just see him. You open up his
dressing room and he's just there with these little gerbils going,
don't get the way you girls. It was so crazy
about it. Two guys, is that like I joke about this,
(17:18):
but this is really what he does. He decides how
much wattage he's going to give with his smile because
he knows that if he gives you the full Stamos,
everybody can't handle it because you've got the hair, you
got the face, and then you've got the smile. And
some of when I first met him, I only would
get like half a smile, like halfway. And then one
day he gave me the full Stamos. I was like,
(17:38):
dear God, like he's such a good looking man. It's
like it's like the rock smolder, you can smolder. You
guys supposed to have traveled in the same circles of production.
Did you meet him back of the day Again, you
don't meet Stamos so much as experience sperience. You experience
and you glance at him and look away like absolutely,
(17:59):
it's because you can't stare at them to you can't.
That's funny. He gave me the full stay most okay,
so we would be remiss if we didn't. Well, first
of all, we want to talk to you, of course
about firebuds. I have a five, I have a five
and a three year old that we feel okay, we
will be watching it, um, and also to kind of
(18:21):
interesting in terms of the the you know, the narrative
of it is that there's first responder children, right or
children of first responder? The first responders? Was that interesting
at because it was you know, it was September eleven
when you guys did that. I know, isn't that crazy? Um?
It is what I love about our show, and thank
you for for getting a chance to talk about this.
It is a love letter to first responders. And the
(18:42):
thing that is so interesting to me every time I
think about it, even with nine eleven in my mind,
what does it take to be the person that sees
danger and people running from danger and deciding to go
towards it. I don't know what what magic is in
those people, being a doctor, being a fire person, being
a police person to say that I could die, but
(19:04):
saving other people is more important than even my life
in this moment. And so this show is is a
way to spotlight that level of bravery and and community
and care and to encourage children and their families to
find a way to bring that level of community into
their own lives. And and Craig Gerber has created just
a wonderful show. And I'm just overjoyed that I get
(19:26):
to plead to to play or voice Chief Faith Fireson,
which is first of all, which is a great name,
but talking about the first responders that I've literally got
goose bumps. She's because yeah, it's not like Mark, it's
not a Marvel franchise. It's not like you know, Disney
also has their Spidy franchise, which my kids are just
drinking up. But I'm going to show them this too,
(19:48):
because it's important that there's a balance. Um. And it's
great that Disney can show that that bravery doesn't have
to be supernatural, that that's right, yeah, And it's something
that's in that's in your community because we are our
brother in sisters keeper. And I think sometimes in this
world in particular right now, everybody is so focused on
what they can get for them and I gotta get
mine good good luck in yours. How about you know,
(20:09):
I share what I have? How about I I carry
your load? How about I walk with you for a
little while if you're going through something like those are
things that we need to model two kids to. The
idea of just achieve, achieve, achieve is fine, yeah, but
it's but are you really the best if you've got
to step over somebody to get to it? Your community?
Who is your community? Absolutely call back. It's a great show.
(20:32):
By the way that that word community just keeps popping up.
It's a great show. This concept of community, this concept
of serving your team, being a part of the team. Um.
And of course, like we were talking about being sort
of an introvert at home, being able to accomplish this
kind of artistry. UM, I mean, what are your goals?
What is other than being sort of part of amazing
ensemble things in the future, I'd imagine, what is it
(20:55):
that you would like to do? What roles do you
think you would absolutely want to play? You know, it's
so funny, guys. I've been in the industry, as we
all are, you know, twenty some years at this point,
and I feel like I've climbed every mountain I dreamed
of when I was a kid, Like I've worked with
the Muppets, I've I've been a part of a Star
Wars project. I've been in a Marvel movie. I'm in
a Disney Princess movie. Like I feel like if I
(21:18):
were to have more on the list of degree, you
know what I mean, Like I don't. I don't have
a master plan, and I don't sit up and go
I say what I want to do. I want to
continue to pay my bills and take care of my dad.
I'm a caregiver with money I make as a performer.
I want to continue to use my platform for good,
like reminding people please register and please vote, because you know,
a lot of bad people are in positions of power
(21:39):
and they're making decisions about you and your body, and
that is that are dangerous and we need to vote.
So I love that I have a platform for that.
And I love that I get to model silliness in
the world. Like I'm such a silly person. I'm a
serious person when it comes to things that matter, but
my general, you know, mindset is toddler. Like I'm just
a big kid, And I love that I get to
(22:01):
be as grown as I am and I get to
do so many silly things and have so much fun
in life. And so I don't. I'm grateful, like I
don't have anything else that I want to do besides
what I keep laughing. Yeah, I live by a very
simple model of my wife and I always talk about
this that there is a very big difference between child
ish and childlike, and so childlike is wonderful and that's
(22:23):
how I am. And there are times my wife and
I will just go to a toy store if we
can find one. Come on, of course, because every Christmas Eve,
my my my wife, my daughter, and my now future
step son. Um, we have our future son in law.
Excuse me, we have a nerve gunfighters if we have
a nerve. So it's that's what you have to I mean,
(22:46):
that's kind of the stuff you have to do. You
have to stay young at heart and U and I
you have to grow up. Yeah, And I think that
also resonates through the voiceover community. It is you meet
a lot of big kids, and people sometimes say that
as a negative. It's not at all. It's a wonderful positive.
We're playing, we're playing make believe. It's the things that
we used to do as kids, and we will be.
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the cop right now.
You're gonna be the robber and we're gonna you know,
(23:08):
that's what we always used to do, and now we
get to do it, and and and our silliness and
our imaginations are encouraged. You know. They show you a
picture and they say, what is this person's voice? And
I'm sorry, I'm holding you to one question. I gotta
do it. No greediness involved. So there's no greediness. But
you can play anybody you want in the voiceover World
Superhero anybody who do you play? Oh gosh, you know
(23:32):
this is this is weird, but I just I just
love that I've gotten to play so many little characters,
little animals like I remember when I did Pound Puppies. This.
I was so green. When I first did Pound Puppies.
I didn't realize that when you do a session, they
get your voice in another. I had no idea. So
the first time I was in the session, I was
prepared to be um, Cookie, my dog. I found my
(23:54):
Cookie voice and they're like, oh, that you're also one
of the one of the squirrels. Excuse me, They're like, yeah,
you're You're one of the guirrel So these are you know,
just this is what the squirrel is saying, just make
up a squirrel voice. And I had never publicly in
front of all these legends. I told you, who's in
the room, I need to now make a squirrel voice.
And I tapped right into my inner child and just
made this ridiculous voice that lasts through four seasons of
(24:16):
of Pound Puppies. And I just feel like that that
is the level that is fun for me, because again,
I'm a supporting player, right, So I'm not gonna say
iron Man, you know, I'm gonna say, you know, the
person that's tinkering with iron Man's you know armor, the
little squirrel that comes in and the fairy tale version
of iron Man and and and does his armor. Okay,
first of all that is now trademarked and belongs to
(24:37):
your voice is the it's just the little squirrel that
comes in to fix all the armor for iron Man.
I'm a giver. It's yours that that is so funny.
Other than firebuds and all the other stuff you're doing.
(24:58):
Where where can people find you when they're when they're
good for you? Now? Well, if you're looking for me
on social media, it's at Y and B on Twitter
and Addie vet Nicole Brown on Instagram and Facebook. And
then I think I mentioned Disenchanted. The sequel to Enchanted
is coming out at Thanksgiving, so I'm in that. And
UM and also Big Shot season two is starting on
October twelfth, I believe on UM on Disney Plus. And
(25:20):
then lastly, of course Firebirds is September twenty one. Everywhere
just basically just launched your Disney Plus tap there, I'll
be there and uh and with the other twenty minutes
of the day, you're sleeping, I hope rarely. I don't
speak much. I'm either taking care of my dog or
taking care of my dad. And you know, also you know,
mainlining news because I'm watching about all the elections and
(25:43):
everything that's going on. So it's a pretty full life.
I'm grateful. Yeah, it's said too that you have a
lot of um sort of passionate about infrastructure and stuff
like that. Are there. They're sort of sort of causes
that you want to maybe shout out to. I love
that they that they mentioned this. I actually narrated and
and and Cope deduced a documentary called Be Prepared to Stop.
We did it in two thousand and seventeen, and it
(26:04):
breaks down. How um the state of disarray our infrastructure
across the nation is in and it's still available, I believe,
on on YouTube for free and you should watch it
because if you're wondering about Infrastructure Week or the infrastructure
bill that um are great President um Biden um past.
It explains the need. UM. This is something I'll tell
(26:25):
you that we'll scare you. Um. There's a great percentage
and it's over. The bridges that you drive over or
under every day are rated D or D plus in
this country. So if you really uh no baby, So
if you if you realized how much uh we're crumbling
(26:46):
as a nation. Our roads are bridges, we we know
it now. Our water systems are destroyed. You got all
these It used to be just Front Michigan and now
there's so many different cities and states. Have the grid
failed us? And it was That's what I'm saying. There's
not the drinking water is affected, electricity is affected, Our
roads and bridges are affected. So please watch the documentary.
(27:07):
And you narrated it to the narration was a whole
different experience. It's my voice talking about we gotta fix it, guys.
And now I rest a little easier. I used to
talk about be prepared to stop all the time, and
now I can rest a little bit because help is
on the way with the infrastructure bill. So yeah, that's great,
that's so great. Thank you so much. Oh well, thank
you so much for joining us. This has been I
(27:29):
mean again, we know that he also so busy that
we thank you so much for fitting us. It's my pleasure.
It's I love firebuds, and I love voiceover actors, and
so I love the idea of being on your podcast.
So thanks for having me. This is so great. Thank
you very much for joining us. And go again, just
turn on the TV or the radio or anything just
(27:50):
to find out what is doing because passing out some
some delicious Oreo cookie. You appreciate it. Thank you guys.
Bye bye. Wow. Talk about somebody who's also just uh
doing amazing work you know, on camera off camera, just
an incredible person who's just trying to spread love and joy.
(28:13):
I mean, I mean, I have never I mean the
audacity of her to be like, you know, like so
opposite to what people think of as you know, an
actor act a famous actor at that, an accomplished actor
who people know by name and face, and you know
she is obviously when I when I heard her voice,
I was like, oh, she's a voice of actor. Yeah.
It's like there was people in my life that I've
(28:35):
heard and I'm like, you should do voice over, and
then later in their careers they ended up doing some
really big voice you know, in something, and um, I
take pleasure in in in hearing that, in that potential
in people's voices. And so when she came on, I
was like, immediately, just what is beautiful? Yeah, that that
you know, very um detailed, very very deep, very um.
(28:59):
I don't textured kind of voice, but it's a smooth texture.
It's hard, it's hard to describe. It was a kind
voice that that came from her soul. And so it
is so interesting how a voice over actors will find
a lot of inspiration and doing voices that may not
sound like them, but it's it's great when their voice
can sound just great being what it is, right, Yeah, exactly, Yeah,
(29:21):
just that that the rich texture of the voice. Right away. Well,
do you ever just do your voice and anything that
you've ever done? I do, sure, Yeah, I mean there's
certain things where I'll do I'll do just my voice.
I mean like character commercial stuff. I mean, star Lord
from Guardians of the Galaxy was kind of just me
really um yeah, he was, It's just hey, come on, come, rockets,
(29:41):
what are you doing. I mean it was kind of
it's just more or less me um, but you know,
it's going up higher in the register, are going deeper
for Terry was was kind of in the middle. And
and then there's different versions of those kind of two voices. Again,
we've talked about how it runs the gamut and voice
in the voice over world. And I'm not one of
those actors that can do fifty voices. I'm just not.
And that's okay, um, which which leads me a beautiful
(30:05):
segue into our jeez, I forget what was any of
our contest again? Oh you stuff it. It's the very good,
very amazing contest to find the famous person that will
become you. I'm just gonna get worse with it. That
was the best one. It's the super awesome contest to
become the next voice, next big voice actor. I just
(30:25):
wish that when we said that we would do like
super like we have to stop in the podcast and
make it again. Even when you just did it there,
you didn't get the first two words right, I'll see
myself out. No. So, but it's that's a perfect example
if you if you are a fan of the show
and you are thinking about joining the contest, the super
awesome contest to become the next big voice actor, and
(30:47):
you're thinking yourself, I can't do fifty voices. We can't either,
and a lot of voiceover actors can't. A lot of
voiceover actors find great careers with the one or two
voices they can do, or in reading commercial copy or narrating.
You know, a YouTube video like like uh that was
just talking about how she did her be prepared to stop.
(31:08):
There are people that that will go out there and narrate,
narrate different things, the movie trailers, all the things. You know,
it might not be might not be somebody that can
do a hundred voices. So if you're thinking yourself, man,
this would be a fun thing to enter, but I
can't do a hundred voices. Don't ever forget neither can we. Uh?
And we are going to come out obviously with more
details very soon. Uh. The details. I can't build this
(31:31):
up enough. They are so cool. Wait to hear all
the stuff that you're gonna win. Uh, and it's like
new stuff. There's like new stuff all the time to like, yeah, people,
we're adding onto this because a lot of people are
really supportive of us in this community that we're in. Um,
some really big names are are are really being very
supportive and we wish that we could tell you guys more.
But you just need to stay tuned and don't worry
(31:52):
because if you are interested, you're learning things in every episode.
I feel like I'm taking away lessons from each of
these you know guests that we get to have. They
all have very different approaches. You know, You've got Alan, Tutic,
Taj Morey and and then now Yvette and they are
very different but all very good people. So thank you
for for your support in our podcast. Thank you for
(32:14):
listening and hopefully, um, if you feel like you know
hitting us up on socials, I always look at them
and it's great to connect with you guys, so UM,
feel free to to connect that way. It's what it's
it's I hear I hear voices podcast Yeah, I hear
voices podcasts on Instagram TikTok. Yeah, and we love to
see Christie's in charge of all that stuff because again.
I don't know the internets and the strangeness, um, but
(32:37):
thank you again for joining us. Thank you so much.
Event Nicole Brown, who took some time out from just
the you heard the most ridiculously busy schedule to join
us and talk about firebuds and all the other stuff.
She's done. What an awesome guest, and join us next time.
We're gonna have a ton of fun, more information about
the what was the name? I can't can't remember the
name of the contest. What was it? What was it?
(32:58):
Absolutely not? Um, your mom. I think that's just pretty
much where we have to leave it. So don't ever
forget if you think you've got what it takes to
step up to the microphone, put your voices where your
mouth is. Thanks everybody, and thanks mom. I hear Voices
(33:18):
as hosted by Wilfred l and Christy Carlson Romano. Executive
produced by Wilfredel, Brendan Rooney, Amy Sugarman and Vicki Ernst Chang.
Our executive in charge of production is Danielle Romo. Our
producer is Lorraine Vera Wez and our editor slash engineer
is Brian Burton. And that was my announcer voice. Some
side effects of listening to I Hear Voices are sore
abs from hilarity, falling down the cocomelon rabbit hole, sneezing
(33:39):
due to mass nostalgia, and hugs. Follow I Hear Voices
wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss any
of the amazing voices. Be sure to follow us on
Instagram and TikTok at I Hear Voices podcast. To see
the video stream, subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can
also check us out on my space omeigal Vine, lime Wire.
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