We recently connected with Maria Pendolino and have shared our conversation below.
Maria , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
I know that I hustled really hard to build my career and business and get to where I am today. I think it’s really important to give back – to look behind me and see who may need a hand or a boost in leveling up their career and business. I currently mentor a couple of talents – for free, not for a coaching fee – and I find that’s a really meaningful way to give back 1:1. It’s like mutual aid – you can see the impact to that one person and their business, their family, etc.
I’ve always been of the mindset that there are enough opportunities and enough work to go around. There’s no reason to be a gatekeeper.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I work every day as a voice actor – using my voice for clients and brands around the world. It’s kind of a strange career – I’m essentially an actor who works from home!
I regularly voice commercials, promos, animation, video games, corporate videos, documentaries, and more, like telephone systems! I might be that voice when you call your bank that says “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that…” while you are screaming representative into the phone.
I record audio from my home studio – I have several microphones, audio equipment, and a StudioBricks sound isolation booth.
What I love about my job is that every day is different – some days I’m voicing commercials for insurance and the next day I am narrating a pop culture documentary about Mariah Carey or the British Royal Family. My job is never not interesting!
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?
It’s definitely a marathon and not a sprint.
The thing that has made me successful is that I worked really hard to be a great actor. The acting skill and the ability to bring words to life, be a storyteller – that’s what really makes me competitive. Anyone can pick up a microphone to read and speak, but only actors can really make the words sing.
So – if you’re thinking about getting into voice acting or voiceover, my first recommendation is to take an acting class or a storytelling, stand-up comedy, or improv class.
Our business is very, very, competitive – only those who have mastered the craft will be able to succeed.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
As with many creative industries, we are seeing lots of splashy news stories about new artificial intelligence models that can produce voice content.
There are certain instances where it makes sense to use an AI voice model – for instance, when a newspaper is put to bed and printed overnight, it would be impossible for one person to record an audio version of that newspaper by the time folks are waking up the next day to consume the content. Having the newspaper articles read by an AI voice allows them to be accessible to folks that want to consume the news and articles via audio.
But, in the creation of AI voice models, we want to ensure that the actors’ whose voices are utilized for their creation provide consent, are compensated for their work fairly, and have control over how their voice is used.
I’m proud to serve on the Board of Directors of NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors (navavoices.org) which is advocating in the media and on capitol hill about protection voice likeness as AI continues to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.voicebymaria.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariapendo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariapendolino/
Image Credits
Destiny Rogowski Dennis Kwan Justin Clynes
