We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nathan Dinh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nathan, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Throughout most of my life, I had no idea what I wanted to do as a future career. I was floating around several jobs when I was in grade school such as a teacher, engineer, and even a marine biologist at one point, but I believe it was the summer of 2022 when it kind of clicked that I wanted to be a voice actor. My friends and I were doing a real-time fandub of some random anime, and while doing silly voices and improv, I felt a passion I had never felt before, even if it was a silly fandub, that was mostly for fun, that realistically didn’t matter that much I found so much joy in just breathing life into these characters with my voice. Eventually, I started scouring the internet for some auditions; around early 2023 stumbled upon an audition for a YouTube channel called RG33, and jumped the gun on buying a Rode NT1. This was my first audition, my first time really trying voice acting, and I got the role. I still remember being on call, I was completely gob-smacked to see my name in the announcement, especially for my very first audition! That moment, that audition, gave me the confidence to pursue this dream. It made me think “Maybe I do have a real shot at this,” and allowed me to find a community full of voice actors from several stages of their careers, who are so passionate and inspiring. I’m lucky to call a lot of the people I met from that channel close friends who are chasing the same dream as me.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m currently a remote voice actor who loves to yell from Louisville, Kentucky, but I plan to move to LA in 3 years or so! For now, I’m currently focused on beginner voice acting stuff, such as building a resume and getting a demo reel put together so I can apply for agencies in the next couple of years. I’m currently having my demo reel put together, and I’m super excited to see how that turns out! But after that, I have to take some more classes/workshops and try to nail some roles for original projects. Original projects are extremely competitive right now, but it’s something I have to try and stand out in because fan projects are a big NO on resumes, but I still love doing fan projects. They’re great practice, you get to meet so many other aspiring VAs and content creators, and I’ve had a couple of clips blow up on TikTok and have been in a lot of relatively big parody videos on YouTube which were a blast to record. But, for now, I need to focus on original stuff, so I’m constantly on the lookout for casting calls with my friends! I was actually lucky enough to do some additional voices for the official comic dub for a Webtoon called Flip-Heads! so I’m super excited to see how that project turns out, the art is absolutely gorgeous. I’m also planning to take more classes/workshops from Red Scythe Studio! I remember getting lucky enough to get an actor spot at the last minute on a workshop with Michael Allan Schneider, and I absolutely adored the welcoming and supportive environment that June and his team created. But my main goal is to be able to do voice acting full-time. I would love to have the opportunity to have a main role in an anime or video game, those are the two fields I have my eyes set on. I’ve joked with my friends that I want my own parking spot at BangZoom one day, so I’m extremely excited to see what fate has in store for me!
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?
Something that I’ve always been grateful for was my ability to yell constantly, and not have my voice give out. I would be on call with my friends playing video games or doing bits, and they’d constantly ask me “How do you keep yelling like that?!”, and I was told during a voice acting workshop that I was good at going all-out. I’m very thankful for my energy! Another thing that’s been just as important is adaptability. Voice acting involves a lot of direction, so being able to switch gears and adjust your delivery on the spot is super handy. And honestly, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of a director enjoying your improv, moments like that are hard to beat. But the most impactful part of this journey has been the people I’ve met along the way. So many of the opportunities I’ve had wouldn’t have happened without the friends I’ve made in this space. As cheesy as it might sound, I truly wouldn’t be where I am today without my peers pushing me, supporting me, and inspiring me to grow both as a voice actor and as a person. I’m incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such passionate, talented people who want to see each other succeed. I still think about my friend group all auditioning together for this video game, and the vibe felt like something straight out of a movie. We were all pushing, helping, and supporting each other with the same goal on the horizon, and honestly, it was just beautiful. That kind of energy, that sense of community it’s something I’ll never forget. And the best piece of advice that I can give is to never give up. Keep climbing! People can say “Statistically this is super unlikely” or “The odds are stacked against you” and I say who cares? I’m not going to give up on this dream, and I don’t think anyone else should give up on theirs either. Life is too short to play things safe, at least to me, so I’m gonna give this goal my all!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Oh for sure! I’m always on the lookout for casting calls and auditions, so if you ever need a male voice for a video game, animation, or any original project I would love to have that opportunity! I bring a lot of energy to recording sessions, I take direction very well, and I’m always up for experimenting to find the best take. I love working with creators, their imagination is always so cool to see, I always catch myself thinking “Woah what a neat idea!” or “That’s hilarious! How do you even come up with that??” whenever my friends who are YouTubers show me scripts for parodies or skit videos. I should have my demo reel ready to go by around the end of May, and I’ll upload that to my Bluesky or Twitter (or X) account. If ya want to have me on board, you can always email me or shoot me a DM on my socials! 😀
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bsky.app/profile/nathandinhva.bsky.social
- Twitter: https://x.com/NathanD_820
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Headshot: Gianna Nguyen
@UltiB247
RG33
June Yoon
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
