We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcus Rothenberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcus below.

Hi Marcus, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

As far as the unexpected problems, it’s really the things you need that nobody ever tells you about or that you don’t think about. The admin stuff. When I started this, no part of me had any thoughts of building a website, getting headshots done (as a voice actor), cold emails to potential clients, marketing yourself online, etc. One of the biggest hurdles however was learning audio. My FIRST voiceover job was an audiobook. I genuinely thought “oh yeah, I can read a book and deliver a compelling story!” I had no idea about recording software, how to edit audio, how to make sure I’m recording audio correctly to make sure it sounds good out of the gate, or how to master and render audio correctly. I was also on a very tight deadline, so it was stress upon stress. I spent so many late nights recording, and re-recording, scrapping what I had done and doing it over. A lot of time with tutorials, trial and error, reaching out to folks who knew better, and just all around frantically trying to figure this thing out. I BARELY made the deadline for the audiobook, but it was literally me working down to the wire! It’s the things that you don’t realize are a problem or a threat until they are right in your face that sometimes hit you the hardest! But, I was thankfully able to make it work, and I learned A LOT in the process!

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

I am a biracial (Black, Jewish), non-binary voice actor. I’ve always wanted to get into voice acting, but I always made excuses for why I couldn’t. Whether it be not having money for gear, not having time for classes/coaching, saying I was too busy to really get started, etc. At one point, I was working in child support enforcement, and I looked around my office and thought “I’ve really gotta get out of here.” From there I bought a mic, converted a closet into a sound booth, and hopped right in! I’ve been doing this since 2018 and haven’t looked back. I was actually able to take this full-time earlier in 2024 and this is my primary source of income now.

I started in audiobooks, but have since branched out to just about every genre. I’ve done video games, anime, original animation, commercials, promos, e-learning, corporate narration, live action dubbing, and audio description. I take pride in every moment I step into the booth, hit that record button, and start really making something wonderful with my voice and it just absolutely fills me with joy every single time I get to do this. I’m at a point where I really can’t imagine doing anything else!

When it comes to working with clients, I really pride myself on my ability to take direction well and deliver exactly what the client is looking for. I may not get it exactly right on the first take, but I promise you we are going to nail it down shortly after. I also always try to maintain an upbeat attitude in the studio. If we are working together, I don’t want it to feel like only work. I want it to be an enjoyable experience where we enjoy each other’s company, and we look forward to working together in the future!

Believe it or not, I used to HATE my voice. I hated hearing recordings of myself, or hearing myself on video, but now I’ve grown to love the way I sound. One of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten is that my voice isn’t one note, and that it’s instead like a resonant wonderful chord being played that’s easy to listen to and really comforting. Every time I think of that I can’t help but get this goofy grin on my face and feel warm inside. I love the richness of my voice, I love my range, and I love sharing that with people. It’s especially fun when I can produce something that nobody expects to hear from me!

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

So so so so many. Starting out in this was daunting, cause unfortunately there is a lot of BAD information out there. Or people that offer help but really just want your money. Thankfully though, there are a bunch of wonderful people and organizations out there that actually DO want to help. Some of my favorites are NAVA (National Association of Voice Actors), QueerVox (a nonprofit geared towards helping LGBTQIA+ voice actors take classes, improve skills, and book work), and VOC (Voices of Color, similar to QueerVox, but geared towards helping voice actors of color and people of global majority). The Voice Over Resource Guide is also a wonderful tool/website that offers a lot of good knowledge!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I wouldn’t say there is one particular goal, but a few goals that I hold close to my heart. Personally, I would love to just in general deliver performances that people love and affect them. Something they think back on and it really just made that story impactful for them. Less personal, I am a huge advocate for authentic representation in voiceover. I want more voice actors of color to be able to play characters that reflect them, and I want more queer voice actors to be able to play characters that reflect them as well. If it’s our story to tell, I want one of us telling that story and not somebody (at best) doing their best impression of it or (at worst) doing a poor caricature. A lot of productions will still cast cis, straight, white actors to play characters of color and/or queer characters, and a lot of people are fine with that. Spouting “any actor should play any character.” Well that would be the end goal for sure, but currently a lot of actors from marginalized communities don’t even get the chance to tell their own stories or play the characters that they relate most to, and seeing that problem fixed is a huge goal and driving focus for me within this industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marcusrvoice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcusrvo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcusrvo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-rothenberg/
• Twitter: https://x.com/MarcusRVO