We were lucky to catch up with Brittany Cox recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I feel like this is such a key word for artists…resilience. I know I’m not alone when I say that I’ve encountered people in my life who didn’t believe in me, who said being an actor/moving to LA is too difficult and I’d never make it. Or even have one of those teachers who said you weren’t good enough (anyone seen Whiplash?! It’s all too real!). Pouring your heart and soul into an audition that you would do anything to book and then not even get a callback – it can be heartbreaking. Resilience, or our ability to bounce back from the constant rejection we as actors and artists go through, is an attribute to foster.
As an actor, I was never the best one in the class, rarely got leading roles, and honestly didn’t have that special something that a lot of my peers seemed to have. But what I did have was a thirst for learning, the drive to prove people wrong, and a hunger for something more than small town living. I’ve been lucky enough to have grown up with people who grew careers from nothing and who had to work for everything. So it wasn’t a huge stretch for me to incorporate that into my own life. Start from the bottom and work my way up.
Other than my background, something that really helped me be resilient in this business was surrounding myself with people who supported me and understood the journey I was on. Not everyone understands what it is to be an actor, the constant ups and downs, and the emotional resiliency we have to have. Surrounding myself with other artists, even freelance business owners who went through similar challenges, helped me feel seen and understood. They gave me the support to carry on.
You got this and can accomplish anything. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
For so long I was just an actor – you may have heard me in some of your favorite video games (Genshin Impact or Fortnite) or anime shows (Pokémon) or seen me in a few commercials. In addition to being an actor, I’ve always loved helping actors and was interested in voice directing, so 10 years ago my husband and I started a voice-over demo business called Next Level Voice Demos.
Having come from a theater and on-camera background myself, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to shift your acting behind a microphone; how to separate volume from energy, how to act in a scene when there’s no one to act off of, how to translate corporate commercial breakdowns into something useful to an actor. Exploring your acting superpower and translating it into the booth is one of my favorite parts of the process. All while creating a tool that you can use to open doors and get working.
We collaborate with stage and screen actors who want to expand their craft into voice-over – anything from commercials and promos to animation and video games. Our goal is to craft voice-over demo reels that are as unique as the actors themselves. We don’t believe in a cookie-cutter approach, so everything we do is from scratch. Recently we’ve also started offering coaching and classes where we work with actors on how they can take their on-camera/theater training and use it most effectively behind the microphone.
Working alongside my husband Ryan is a dream. Our clients get the benefit of working with both of us: exploring the acting perspective with me, and getting a casting, audio engineer, and composer perspective/ear from Ryan. We’ve worked with Emmy winners, Broadway actors, TV series regulars, and everyone in between from all over the world. The majority of our clients have been referred to us by casting directors, agents, and other actors.
If you’re interested in listening to some of our demos or setting up a free, no-obligation phone consultation, check out our website: https://www.nextlevelvoicedemos.com/
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Learning to enjoy the journey is the number one thing that helped my career. Everyone’s artistic and professional journey is so different – you may audition for years and finally book your first role after a decade. You may book your first audition. There are so many factors outside of our control, but the one thing you can do is learn to enjoy every moment of it. Find ways to enjoy auditioning and then let it go. It took me years to learn to do that and I can tell you, not only did it make my mental health better, but my career has been more personally meaningful.
Surround yourself with people who are smarter and more successful than you. It’s great to have a group of people that you are on the journey with, who you meet in a class, or work on a short film with. But it’s also important to be around people who are where you want to be artistically and professionally. Just being around them will push you and give you some different insights that may help you reach your next goal. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up becoming friends with one of your heroes.
And finally, don’t forget to live outside of work. This is something I still struggle with. Finding activities or hobbies that have nothing to do with your chosen profession is so needed. It will refill your creativity and help avoid burnout. Also for me, it’s a reminder that there’s a bigger world outside of acting and I don’t have to take things so seriously.
How would you describe your ideal client?
I love this question – it makes me feel like we’re speed dating! Our ideal client for Next Level Voice Demos are actors who are interested in getting started in voice over (for animation, video games, commercials, etc) or voice actors who are looking to create new voice demos.
Each of our clients gets our full attention and we love collaborating. Anyone who wants something tailor-made for them, while also coming to the table with creative ideas are our favorite to work with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nextlevelvoicedemos.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanyccox
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brittanyccox
- Other: https://www.brittanycoxvo.com/ http://www.imdb.me/brittanycox
Image Credits
Mark Kaiklian Ashley Lenz Photography
