We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee Alvis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

If I could go back in time, I would certainly have become a voice actor sooner. In 2009 I gave some serious thought to becoming a voice actor. In my broadcast days, I had recorded hundreds of commercials from 2004-2014. I had also obtained a lot of side work doing commercial voice over for clients locally and regionally.

Instead, I invested in a live music venue. I played in bands for years, booked many shows, and was always going to concerts. Music is one of my biggest passions. So, when the opportunity arose in 2009 to become part owner of a club in which I hosted events and often DJed, I took it. That money could have gone to build an amazing home studio.

But everything happens for a reason. Ther many lessons I learned as a club owner which have proved valuable for my voice acting and audio production business. And honestly I am not sure I was mature enough nor had the discipline at 30 to have made VO work for me. With age comes experience and thus wisdom. So perhaps all is how it should be for my path.

Dee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I was a kid I had a stutter, so speaking for a living was the last thing most would have expected of me. Also being born with Spina-bifida in Sri-Lanka in the late 70s, my family and I were told that I would not live past childhood, nor ever walk. It seemed like everything would be near impossible for me. So I guess I developed a certain persistent and rather stubborn attitude.

Upon moving to the States in the mid 80s, I was learned to deal with further adversity in the form of bullying from my fellow students and even some teachers who felt that I wasn’t worth their efforts. So I would rely on my imagination and creativity to overcome challenges. Also I found art, writing and music to be healing. I started writing poetry and prose at a young age. Music became my refuge. I would sing along to songs before I could talk, so I guess the seed was planted by my father in that regard from our days in Sri-Lanka when he was a writer for the big newspaper there, The Island. He was the music editor so he was always listening to records and had a strong passion for music. My mother was the one that encouraged me to be a normal kid and never give up nor stand down. Basically to take no sh*t. She also encouraged my creative side.

I was also a big sports fan and even played in rec leagues despite my disability. And in my neighborhood all of us would play baseball, basketball, tennis and even tackle football in parking lots haha. So needless to say, by the time I was a teenager, I had “toughened up.” I watched a lot of sports and always thought it would be a dream to be a sportscaster.

By Jr High, I was also playing in bands being a guitar player, singer or both. It was around 14 when I was listening to my favorite radio station WIYY 98 Rock, when I said to myself, “One day I’m going to be on the radio.” My obsession with music and sports led me to pursue a career in broadcast journalism when I was applying to colleges.

Before I graduated from Towson University I was already working as copy writer for a marketing company and working for a radio station. At 25, I got a job working at, you guessed it, 98 Rock. Part of my job as a personality, besides talking on air and reading cold copy, was to record and produce commercials. I had fun doing it and i was damn good at it. To the point where many clients started requesting our sales staff get me to be the voice of their businesses.

Fast forward a decade or so later. Radio was dying and I needed to find a “real job” to be a better husband and stepfather. I was selling insurance for a few years then I worked to help people get out of debt at financial company. But my orthopedic issues from spina-bifida had grown worse. I could not be driving around all over nor chained to a desk. Physically it was hurting me, but emotionally it was killing me.

My wife encouraged me to look into voice over more deeply. So with her support and encouragement along with my Ma’s support both emotionally and financially I started to build a studio in our Baltimore rowhome. Unfortunately that did work as well as I would like so I did a bunch of odd freelance jobs until we moved to Florida where i could build a proper studio.

I trained with top coaches for acting and voice over and began building a client base and resume. Throught networking, auditioning, taking classes. Now I have voiced for clients in over 60 countries; been in TV Shows, video games and films; won top awards; and am currently represented by one of the top firms for voice actors. And in 2025 I will even be a speaker at VO Atlanta, the largest VO Conference in the world.

I think what sets me apart from others in my industry as well as what I am most proud of is that I NEVER GIVE UP on my goals and dreams. And I encourage others to do the same.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think we as a society have devalued artists. Technology and social media have led to an age of instant gratification. If one doesn’t succeed almost overnight in the creative world, they often give up. Most voice actors for example quit within a year. Musicians don’t really make a good living from their music anymore unless they were already well established before the age of streaming and file sharing. The same goes for filmmakers, designers, game devs etc.
Many companies feel like they can get the “art” created by tech such as AI. It has made life difficult for many folks in creative fields. And I can’t think of anything more depressing than a world without art. That would be a world lacking a soul. After all, you can’t spell EARTH without “ART.”

So I hope more people recognize, appreciate and PAY artists what they are worth. A robot could replicate the Van Gogh’s Starry Night, but could never dream it into existence. Myself and many others have lost jobs to cheaper, less effective AI models. And voice actors have even signed deals to let companies clone their voice and image. Not only is that disheartening to me, but also scary.

So I encourage people to just be mindful of where you devote your time, resources and money.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The Freedom. I realized from my insurance and finance days that, the 9 to 5 desk life isn’t for me. Also with my health, running my own VO business allows me to work on my schedule. Granted that is why you’ll often find me in the studio in the middle of the night. Not only does having clients across the world require it, but I find my mind and body are sharpest after hours. Plus you can’t beat the commute haha. And working from my home studio gives me more time to spend with my wife and fur babies. Sure it’s scary never really knowing when your next job is coming or where your next check is coming from, day to day, week to week, but it sure beats anything else I have experienced.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deealvisvo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deealvisvo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tattoovo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deealvisvo/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Tattoo_VO
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deealvisVO
• Other: Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@deealvisvo