We recently connected with Emma Sherr-Ziarko and have shared our conversation below.

Emma, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The short answer is: as long as I remember. I’m quite fortunate- as a creative person- that I am the child of creative people. Both of my parents are classical musicians, and, while there was some expectation that I might go into academics, I’ve always had the support and example of my parents to follow. I was raised doing all sorts of artistic pursuits: music, visual art, dance, creative writing, and- my personal favorite- theater. I pursued all these endeavors to varying degrees, but it was always acting that compelled me most.

I remember being 5 or 6 years old and doing children’s improv, and I did something that made everyone laugh. Oh I loved that feeling- bringing spontaneous joy to an unexpecting audience (yes, I was 6, but I’m sure I was brilliant)- and have been chasing it most of my life. My mom sent me to Shakespeare camp when I was 9 (I was the youngest kid there my first year), and I was cast as the Nurse in Romeo & Juliet. From then on, I was sure that acting was my calling, and Shakespeare is still my anchor when I feel lost.

This is not to say I haven’t faced difficulty or doubt in my career. I didn’t have much acting mentorship in high school, and I thought I might pursue dance or writing more at one point. But then, I had immense support and success from my truly wonderful professors at Wesleyan University, where I was a theater major, and they reinvigorated my sense of purpose. I sank back into some doubt when I moved to NYC after college and realized how competitive this world was and how unprepared I felt. Then I rediscovered my passion when I began doing voice acting. I’m so grateful to all the people- collaborators, mentors, fellow actors, friends, family- who kept me going through the hard times.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an actor, and at this point in my life primarily a voice actor and coach. I began performing onstage as a child, have a BA in Theater from Wesleyan University, and happily fell into voice acting almost 11 years ago when I was cast as Renée Minkowski on the sci-fi Audio Drama Wolf 359 (wolf359.fm), which is still the role I’m best known for. At this point, I have worked in almost every area of the voiceover industry, though I’m best known for my character work in Audio Drama, Video Games, Animation, and more. Maybe it’s my background in Shakespeare (or the fact that I’m quite small in real life and I’m compensating for something) but I’m known for my commanding presence, whether it’s on stage, film, or just my voice.

I have a professional home studio, which allows me to work with people all over the world. I pride myself that at this point I’ve worked with clients on every continent except Antarctica (if you live in Antarctica and need a voice actor- get in touch!) I love the flexibility that being a remote-capable voice actor provides, and the vast and diverse stories I’ve been able to be a part of- from tiny projects and indie game devs to major studios like Sony and Marvel. I love collaboration, so if I can hop on a plane and be in studio recording, I absolutely will be, but having a home studio has opened up my whole world.

If I had to boil down my philosophy and my approach to performing, it would be that I take my work very seriously, but I don’t take myself very seriously. I’m a storyteller, I’m a listener, and I’m here to provide my perspective to the work at hand. Not to be too grandiose, but I believe actors have a sacred purpose of reflecting the world we live in, and I find that immensely fulfilling to participate in. I believe the best actors- as well as the best educators- are great listeners, so I like to listen.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I often lament that if I had known what I know now about the *business* of being an actor when I was just starting out, my career would look totally different. But, everything happens for a reason! I went to a Liberal Arts school for Theater, and I don’t regret it for a second, but the focus was almost exclusively on the craft, not on the business. So, when I moved to New York to be a Broadway star, I had no idea where to start. And my greatest fault is that I’m afraid to seem ignorant, so I didn’t ask for help.

One of the great gifts of being a voice actor is that while it is an extremely competitive industry, it’s also a very supportive community with a ton of resources. There are so many pros offering guidance and online studios offering classes and mentorship, making building a career as a voice actor more viable than ever (though of course you have to be wary of scams and people looking to take advantage of you).

My number one resource that I wish I’d had when I was starting out is the site SkillsHub (acting.skillshub.life), founded by voice acting legend Jennifer Hale, Carren Dujela, and Bill Reid. I was lucky enough to join the platform when it was just starting a few years ago, and it has totally changed the trajectory of my career. I’m absolutely blessed to have worked with Jennifer and many of the other amazing coaches on SkillsHub, who have helped me make demos, level up my auditions, and find representation with one of the best agencies in the country. It has helped me more than any other resource to get over my fear of looking ignorant, because the whole point of the site is to guide you through aspects of the industry and the craft that you may not know about. There are lots of great studios that teach about voice acting, but what sets SkillsHub apart for me is the structure and the community.

Now, my career has come full circle because I also coach on SkillsHub! I coach acting in all different areas of voice work, but I also coach new voice actors on how to build their business, and provide them with resources and answers that I wish I’d had when I was starting out.

I’m also so grateful for NAVA- the National Association of Voice Actors (navavoices.org). NAVA is a new organization providing support, education, healthcare, and resources to voice actors regardless of union status. These people are true heroes and advocates, fighting for protection and legislation for performers in the age of AI.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I love this question, and I love talking to non-creatives about this. There are a few myths I’d like to debunk:

1) We are artists, but we are also laborers. We work hard to do what we do, and it’s not easy. Most creative people that I know have a second- or third- job to help make it possible for them to pursue their passion. But even those who work full time in their creative field? It’s not all glamorous. It’s a lot of emails, marketing, social media, taking classes, going to networking events, making spreadsheets and schedules, seeking auditions, doing auditions, never hearing back about the auditions, filling the void left by the silence… I think a lot of people view artists as “less-than” or “lazy” for pursuing a creative career, but we. work. hard.

2) We are not all one type of person. There’s the stereotype of the “tortured genius,” and I think this is a really harmful one to ingrain in young creatives. You can be an artist and live a very happy and fulfilled life! You can also be an actor and be good at math! Just in terms of our personalities, we’re all different. I’m fairly introverted, actually, but I love performing. We come from all different backgrounds and upbringings. We’ve got different abilities, disabilities, personalities and proclivities. The best actors are the ones who bring themselves and all their uniqueness to each role, and if we were all the same then entertainment would be quite boring.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emmasherrziarko.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegreatdilemma/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmasherrziarko/
• Twitter: https://x.com/thegreatdilemma
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Emma-Sherr-Ziarko
• Other: IMDb: imdb.me/emmasherrziarko

Image Credits

Mark Peery, Gabriel Urbina, Laya Hoffman