We were lucky to catch up with Trevor Garner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Trevor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Honestly, I think I’ve always kind of known that I wanted to follow a creative path in my life. It’s one of those “feel it in my bones” kind of things. But the moment that I knew it was possible was when I was 8 years and saw the film “Mrs. Doubtfire”. Growing up, I was absolutely enamored by the bright animation of cartoons on TV and in films and connected with the characters I saw every Saturday morning more than most people (I was a shy kid). I loved all the fun designs, wild personalities, and the voices behind them. I just hadn’t made the connection that there was a person behind the voice of the characters, and that doing that — bringing those shiny animated weirdos to life — was something you could do. Then “Mrs. Doubtfire” came out in 1993, and in one of the opening scenes Robin Williams’ character is recording voice over for a cartoon…and that was the moment that I realized real people were behind the characters that I loved, and that it was something I could do one day. Granted it took me many many years and set backs to get there, but that was the moment that started the journey for me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Trevor Garner, and I am a Voice Actor and entertainment creator currently based in LA. My journey getting into the entertainment industry has been a pretty wild ride, filled with all kinds of seemingly unrelated day jobs. I’ve been a host, server, bartender, hair stylist, blacksmith, support teacher, gymnastics coach, landscaper, personal trainer, martial arts instructor, musician, and the list goes on. When I was a kid, I fell in love with animation and animated characters, and eventually figured out that was a thing you could do. For money. Then life happened, I got derailed, and ended up falling onto a path that was leading me towards veterinary medicine (animals are the best, right?). I knew it wasn’t right for me and I belonged somewhere else, and eventually I got the courage to swerve back onto the path I wanted to walk, though I was still straying a bit from becoming those awesome animated characters I loved so much growing up. I say a bit, but I was honestly terrified to put myself out there and didn’t really have the support to push me past the stumbling blocks I made for myself, so instead I pursued special effects make up and went to college for sculpture. I started officially working in the entertainment industry when I was 19 years old as an intern to a special effects make up artist in Atlanta, GA. From there, I made the jump to independent films, and when I was 21 I was asked to perform a few minor stunts and fight scenes on a short due to my experience in martial arts. That was the first time I stepped in front of the camera, and that reignited my desire to perform. From there, I went into on camera acting, and then finally made the leap into voice over. It took me nearly a decade in the industry to find my way to the place I always wanted to be, and it has most certainly been worth it — though there’s still a long way to go! There’s no such thing as too late when it comes to following your dreams, and sometimes the wait is part of the process to get you ready for what you’re meant to be doing.

Sometimes the sidetracking can also help you find other passions, too; I’m a big believer in the fact that no experience is a waisted experience, and everything we learn serves some kind of purpose. In the course of my journey, I spent a lot of time as an on camera actor in Atlanta, GA. It was…interesting, to say the least. My best friend, also an actor, and I would often lament about how all of the roles we were cast in were not the ones we really wanted, and eventually we thought “what if we made things ourselves?” We realized that if we created and produced our own shorts and features, we could not only cast ourselves in the roles we wanted to play but also cast other actors who were struggling to find meaningful work in a super competitive marked. So we did. I drew from all of my previous experiences in the ten thousand pay-the-bills jobs I had and put everything I had learned into practice. We created an independent production company called Bean Dip Productions, and since we launched it in 2012 we’ve created our own shorts and features, won several awards for our work, and been contracted as producers for commercials, shorts, features, documentaries, audio dramas, and even worked briefly for Stan Lee’s YouTube channel. Our current project is a partnership with an amazing creator and one of my best friends David Haddad on a Dungeons & Dragons actual play show called Big Bad Dungeon that starts shooting in February on the east coast.

When you put yourself out there and take the leap to follow your dreams, some really fantastic and unexpected things can happen that change the course of your life in wild and amazing ways. Risk and reward definitely go hand in hand, and failure is just another stair step to climb.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Oh boy. As almost anybody who pursues a career in a creative field can attest to, there are so many moments that test your resolve along the journey. I’ve been told hundreds of times that I’m not good enough, that the industry I’m in is too hard, that I’ll never make it, that it’s not a real job…it can definitely be difficult. When I first moved to LA and starting meeting people, I can’t tell you how many times I had this conversation:

Person: So what do you do?

Me: Oh, I’m a voice actor!

Person (looking dubious): …and where do you wait tables at?

There are so many people out there that don’t think creative fields are viable, and they’re not afraid to tell you that. The funny thing is a lot of those people that don’t think you can make it are the same people that voraciously consume the product you’re making.

All that said, I think the thing that illustrates my resilience is the fact that I’m still here. The fact that I took the risk, made the move to LA to pursue my dream, and haven’t given up yet. I struggle with some pretty severe anxiety, which can be a nightmare in a career based on the word “no”, but I love what I do and I’m not going to let anything get in my way. It took a lot for me to get where I am as a creator and as a voice actor, and now that I’m moving forward I’m going to keep moving.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When you put yourself into your art — not matter what that art might be — the very best feeling in the world is having somebody appreciate it. For me it’s never been about money or commercial success, though those things are definitely nice. I got into this whole crazy entertainment industry because I wanted to inspire people. Film and TV were the things that inspired me growing up, and I want to make content and characters that do that for the next generations to come. I want to help tell stories that mean something to someone, that reach them and change them in some small or large way. Doing that is the most rewarding thing in the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thistrevorgarner

Image Credits
Big Bad Dungeon logo design by Nova Nordstrom