[Interview] Jon Cartwright | Breaking into the Voice Acting Scene

Hey Everyone, Jon Here!

For pretty much anyone in the Nintendo gaming community, it would be very difficult to not know who Jon Cartwright is. He was part of the team at GameXplain, Nintendo Life, and has returned to Good Vibes Gaming. Jon is probably most recognized for his deep iconic voice and it is because of that voice, we are having this little interview today as Jon has recently revealed that he has done voice work for not one but THREE upcoming video games set to release this year.

We have been meaning to interview Jon for a number of years but with his recent news, it seems like the most opportune time to do so with a special three part interview. So without further ado, its time to learn more about Jon Cartwright the voice actor:

Jon Cartwright | Breaking into the Voice Acting Scene

Miketendo64: Firstly, thanks to agreeing to this Interview Jon. We know you have a lot of fans and friends in the Gaming Community who are sure to be psyched to learn about your break into the voice acting world of video games. The purpose of this interview is to shine some light on that so it may inspire others who may also wish to pursue Voice acting in the video game industry.

Jon: It’s a bit surreal to be the one being interviewed – thank you for having me on!

 

Miketendo64: So let’s start at the beginning. What was your first VA gig and how did you get the role?

Jon: At the beginning of 2023 it finally clicked with me that I wanted to be acting so I signed up to a bunch of different sites like Backstage & Voices.com. I did a lot of auditions that generally fell flat but they worked in getting me less rusty. One day I received a private message from someone on the Philips casting crew saying they liked my voice and wanted me to read for TV & Online commercials – that was a pretty wild get. As for traditional acting my debut recording actually hasn’t been revealed yet, my first public role was for Cat Quest 3. They found me through a voice demo posted to Twitter.

 

Miketendo64: How did the recording sessions work? Did you have to record lines in a studio booth or did you record them at home?

Jon: My first recording with Philips was at a professional studio in London. I was definitely out of my comfort zone but soon got into the flow pretty well. It’s initially very nerve wracking to have people listening in both locally and remotely. As for video game performances they’ve all been done from home so far. I reinvested some of the money I made from Philips into enhancing my current equipment. I now have an industry standard Neumann TLM 103 Microphone and put together a makeshift booth where I record everything.

 

Miketendo64: In regards to developing the character vocally, how did you prepare for the role? Did you base the character off of your own personality or did you take the character on a different route?

Jon: I try to get rid of Jon for most of my performances. I take a moment to look at concept art for the character and try to imagine different aspects of how they would talk. From recording myself over the years I’m extremely aware of my own mannerisms and cadences – I don’t think these usually make it into my characters.

For Cat Quest III,they approached me and asked if I could do a pirate voice and to be honest I didn’t fully know if I could haha. I used that as an excuse to watch the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy with my wife and paid close attention to the way Captain Barbosa spoke. My original test for them sounded too sinister so I needed to reevaluate it with a higher pitch and more whimsical outlook. I don’t think much of Barbosa remained but it was a great reference all the same.

 

Miketendo64: Did you have a lot of fun voicing the character? What moment did you enjoy the most?

Jon: Finding the voice is a collaborative process and I think that’s what I enjoy the most. The game/casting director usually has a preconceived idea of how the character should sound and finding a middle ground between my own creative perspective and theirs usually gives the best result. There’s not room for much improvisation in games but it’s creatively fulfilling to negotiate line deliveries and sometimes have my own ideas make it into the game.

 

Miketendo64: Having worked with GameXplain and Nintendo Life in the past on a variety of videos, the internet has had plenty of time to get used to your definitive voice. From your previous experiences, how has it helped you to make the leap to voice acting and were there any transferable skills?

Jon: I see all audio presentation as a form of performance. Anyone in a video has to pretend they’re actually talking to someone despite usually being in a room on their own and that can be quite difficult to pull off convincingly. Recording myself over the years has helped a ton in understanding my own speech. I definitely had a problem where I’d spoke too fast and tripped up on my words – YouTube videos helped a lot to remedy that.

 

Miketendo64: Was voice acting always something you wanted to do or something that fortunately happened along the way?

Jon: I always had an appreciation for acting and the voice medium. In school I got the highest grade for Drama and even met my wife in an after school drama club. I started to fixate on voice actors after playing Metal Gear Solid; David Hayter was a bit of an idol for a while. Despite getting frequent comments on my videos saying I should be a voice actor, I never really considered it. I guess we don’t always see the same strengths others see.

I think what made me finally give it a shot was the explosion of games dubbed within the UK. Growing up almost everything I played had American voices but now we’ve got games like Xenoblade, Final Fantasy 16, Metaphor and Expedition 33. It’s a very exciting time and the styles of performances are more varied than ever.

 

Miketendo64: As for your next role, tell us a little bit about that and how it differs from your previous role?

Jon: After Cat Quest III came Run From Mummies, a really cool co-op game about a crew of tourists that stun mummies with their cameras. I’m one of the playable characters for this one and while there aren’t many spoken lines I had to do hundreds of different efforts (grunts).

I got to play an early version of the game to get a feel for the general tone and then worked through a giant spreadsheet detailing ultra specific screams and noises. Some of these had to be timed to cutscenes too so I had to do some real time dubbing from home to fit the timings. My character Nate Jones is American, it’s pretty funny how you can still convey an accent when mostly just screaming. Some directions would say “say what you think the character would say in this scenario” so there are a few in-game voice clips improvised by me.

Miketendo64: During your announcement on Social Media, you also mentioned athird role. Please tell us more about that?

Jon: Yes! I’m very excited about this one; Project Tides. This comes from Fabraz who previously released Slime-San and Demon Turf. I’m a huge fan of their work! This is an “expressive platformer” which means you can divert off the clear path and use the  versatile platforming mechanics to craft your own direction. Tides is very different to anything else in the genre being set in a huge open world. I can’t really say much more until the team is ready to fully reveal the game but I’ve played it and it’s very good. My character appears at the end of the teaser, he’s much angrier than me.

 

Miketendo64: What’s next for you? Do you currently have other projects in the works?

Jon: I have some work that’s still waiting to be announced but I definitely don’t want to slow down. I’m hoping to build my portfolio to a point where I’ll start appearing in even larger games but I’m never going to leave the indie scene.

 

Miketendo64: If you were given the opportunity to voice a character in any game, past, present or upcoming, who would it be?

Jon: Xenoblade! I don’t care if I’m just a screech for a random Nopon merchant, it
would be a huge achievement to make it into the series or whatever Monolith Soft’s
next game is. Without Xenoblade I don’t think this many Japanese games would be
recorded outside America and it would be an honour to join that legacy.

 

Miketendo64: Are there any voice actors in video games that you look up to? Who most inspires you and who would you love to work with in the near future?

Jon: There’s almost too many to name. The entire cast of Balder’s Gate 3 are phenomenal and how they kept that energy up for a script as large as this is unbelievable. Each and every one of them deserved the accolades they got whether it’s Neil Newbon, Samantha Béart, Jennifer English or literally anyone else in that game. Skye Bennett’s a good friend of mine, she voiced Pyra & Mythra in XenobladeChronicles 2, her journey is a big inspiration to me. If I ever had the chance to be in the same project as her I’d take it in a heartbeat. Maybe if Xenoblade Warriors ever happens I could get involved.

 

Miketendo64: Seeing as we can’t have the good without the bad, what has been the most difficult or challenging thing you have faced in the pursuit of voice acting?

Jon: The most difficult part is simply getting a chance! It’s extremely competitive out
there, you need to be in an established place to be put forward for big unannounced
projects and public casting calls get flooded with what’s often over 1000 responses.
Sites like Voices.com tell you if the casting director even listened to your audition –
half of mine have gone ignored. It’s a career where you’re never guaranteed stability
but of course the more you land, the more chances you get.

 

Miketendo64: Do you have any pointers you would like to share with aspiring Voice Actors who may be looking to score their first gig?

Jon: If you’ve done 300 auditions and haven’t landed a single thing – don’t be discouraged. There are many people in your exact position and most are incredibly talented. In such a competitive field I think it’s good to give each audition an aspect that makes the casting director remember you.

Maybe don’t always think up the most obvious voice, maybe read a line in a way that’s different to how most others would approach it. There’s projects out there every day shared on Twitter or sites like Casting Call Club and each failure is practice. You’ll probably find you can do some voices you really like through auditioning and one day that refined style will land you a role.

Thank you for joining us for part one of our interview with Jon Cartwright. We still have more to talk about so stay tuned for part 2 of our interview as we dive into more about the man himself and his other exploits. As for part three, it is our M64 Focus Interview that consists of a number of ice breaker questions to get to know more about Jon and his interests. Links will be added here as soon as they are live.