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

Hi Veronica, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I think I was 6 or 7 and it started when I saw the movie “Aladdin”, I was literally hooked from watching Robin Williams. Whatever he was doing I wanted to be just like him. I would parade around the house doing his voices and making my family laugh. I knew I had hit something special, but didn’t really know until later. I would watch that movie over and over to get the accents right and his inflections right – even before I knew what that was. Then the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” came out and it was like candy for me. I would pretend that I was Robin again, doing his voices and entertaining my family. I had this uncanny ability to mimic his voices – but didn’t know that was a job until later in my life.

In addition to doing voices, I was always drawing and playing with Legos. I would build ideas from my head and could create fun projects. My parents knew that for Christmas and Birthdays all I wanted was Legos. When I couldn’t build it from my head, I would turn to drawing to get my ideas out. If I could see it, I could draw it – but didn’t think anything of it. As I got older and was approaching middle school, my parents saw that I had a gift – just like my sister – and sent me to SASA – Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy in our hometown. It was like a DASH magnet “Public” school for students who had abilities. I remember walking into the school to test and I was nervous. Her name was Mrs. Sullivan and she said to a bunch of us, “Okay now draw this still life and it should take an hour or so.” So I drew what I saw and finished. A few days later I got word that I passed and started attending SASA and South Middle School. It was a half day program, so I would attend regular middle school in the morning and Mrs. Sullivan’s class in the afternoons. She really inspired me to follow my dreams.

Fast forward to my Senior Year at SASA – I switched to full time there, because they also had an academic program as well. I was choosing Art Schools at the time and it was down to University of Michigan and College for Creative Studies. I went with CCS and never looked back. Their program was exactly what I was looking for. I majored in Industrial Design and had a rock solid foundation for designing products.

After I graduated from College, I loved working for Design Companies, but knew there something bringing back to voices. It didn’t really start until I moved to Los Angeles. People kept telling me that I needed to do Voice Acting. I finally took a voice class after so many people at my job kept telling me to try it. That was it and I was hooked like from all those times I would watch “Mrs. Doubtfire and Aladdin” my childhood came flooding back in waves. I have been working as a Voice Actor since 2016 and I love every minute of it. So to answer your question, it was culmination of things that lead me to be a creative person.

Veronica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Voice Actor and have been doing voice acting since 2016. It started when I worked at the Pantages Theater. Several people there would tell me to do voice acting. They kept telling me my sound is so unique. I finally took my very first voice acting class – it was an audiobook class and it was so much fun. I have learned so many things from amazing coaches, teachers, and workshops. Back in 2019, I created a Voice Acting Podcast to give back to VO Community, of all the things I have learned. My podcast is called Voice Acting with Veronica Barrera and it’s on all the podcasting platforms. It’s an Interview style show and we bring on the biggest names in the industry. I bring my down to earth personality and I think sets me apart from most shows, because it’s like we are just chilling and talking if we were sitting on the couch.

I think I’m most proud of the Podcast because I literally started from nothing and now it’s being recognized by some industry websites. I’m also proud of some things I’ve voiced too. I’m under NDA for some projects, but in the meantime I can talk about a past one. I was cast as a Lead Singer/Actor for an Animation Pilot on YouTube. I had to sing and was terrified of doing that, because I didn’t think I was good enough. However, the creator of the show was really happy with my auditions. We used my Old Bosses booth at the time because I didn’t have one and we recorded the project. It was such a fun project.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I moved to Los Angeles, I had my design degree for a few years and was ready for a change. I moved for love and couldn’t be happier with my Husband. Now lots of people told me that LA wasn’t the place for product design. So I had to flip my thinking and start from scratch. I found design jobs for sure, but once I kept hearing that I need to do something with Voice Acting, I paid attention. I wasn’t thinking about being an actor at all, but it kind of worked out.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I would definitely say Deep Work by Cal Newport and Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. These books really changed my focus to what it is now.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.veronicabarrera.com, www.vbarrera.libsyn.com
• Instagram: @voiceactingwithvb
• Twitter: @vlbarrera_vo

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Joe Funk Photography