Voice Actors People Shows Messages Eslpod Describing People's

A "voice actor" is a person who provides a voice on a TV show, radio program, or "automated recording" (a computer that speaks, often over the phone). A voice actor must have a pleasant voice that is easy for people to understand. A voice actor must also "enunciate" (pronounce words very clearly) very well and speak slowly.

Many voice actors are used for "animated" (drawn) TV shows and movies, where each animated "character" (one person or animal) in a "cartoon" (a show made of only drawings, with no real people) has a different voice. Radio "soap operas" (dramatic shows that have the same characters and story line each week) also use voice actors, although these shows are not as popular as they used to be.

Most commercials have "voice-overs," or "segments" (parts) where a voice speaks while images are being shown, perhaps telling listeners about the reasons to buy a product or service.

Voice actors are also hired to record the messages heard on "telephone answering services," or the messages that people hear when calling many large companies. Sometimes these messages are "interactive," meaning that the computer will use the voice actor's words to ask the caller to provide information.

People who always work as voice actors are usually not well known. However, sometimes famous actors or singers begin to do voice-over work, and they can become very popular. For example, when the animated movie Shrek was made, it used many "celebrity" (famous, especially related to actors or singers) voices, such as those of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy.