@a!: Is having a vocal range, like being able to do several voices, as important as being able to act? Spike: Yeah. I think it's all-encompassing, really. For Shinji, I have to raise my voice. For other ones, I have to make it gravelly. There's a lot of ranges in voice acting that you don't get in regular acting. Mostly, regular acting is expressing, emoting, and there's physicality and there's scenery; you've got surroundings. Here, you've got a mike and you. So everything comes out of your voice. So you've got to learn how to talk from the front of your month, from the back of your throat, from the sides, put your tongue this way, jut your chin out--there are so many ways, very subtle, you can't hear the inflections here because hands are going, there are things in the background, but you put it in the microphone and you hear every pop, every little smack of the lips, every breath. If you ever get a chance, go into a studio, put on the headphones, and just talk, read something, da-da-da-da-da, and have them play it back for you. "Damn, that was me?!" It's an intricate art, and natural ability will take you a long way, but the rest is training. I say the very best training is actually doing it, and if you get a job and you get it and you do it--the first time I did anime, I was, "What the hell am I doing? I have no clue! I know how to act, I know how to do voice-overs, but this is totally different!" And once I did it, it was pretty natural for me once I figured it out--"Oh, okay, I get it--this is fun! And I get paid!" I think anybody can fall into it if they've got the talent. Talent will take you pretty far, but there's the business side you have to hit too, drive and marketing. That's not Acting 101, that's later on--that's survival, that's business. Acting is an art, but there's a business to it. If you don't know the business side to it, you'll probably not make it very big. Swartzenegger, that guy is business. He is not a great actor--I think we all will agree on that--but he's one of the top, top, top biggest stars in the entire world, and that's business; he knew how to market himself. I don't want to hear him tap-dance, but...! @a!: When did you start anime voice-acting? Spike: About three years, I guess. Around '96. @a!: You mentioned teaching voice-actors--have you offered courses, or have people just come to you? Spike: I've offered courses. And I taught a financial workshop and marketing workshop for actors. Somebody will come to me and ask me questions about the marketing aspect, I'll be happy to sit down and talk to them. I've taught some one-on-one voice-overs, one-on-one acting lessons, that sort of thing, but nothing on a big scale; if someone wants some help, I'm more than happy to help. I can teach it, but I'd rather do it. @a!: Do some actors just think they're going to be a star and not think beyond that? Spike: 99 percent don't look at the long term. 99 percent don't have a clue about how to do money. An actor goes "I'm going to be a star!", run out to L.A. with no money, and come back in six months--"well, I tried it." No you didn't! You make a plan, get everything figured out; then you go out there. When we go out to L.A., we're not coming back. We don't want to go back to Houston, it's too damn hot! But they just go willy-nilly, just go freak out and think they're going to make it big. I don't know if I'm going to make it big or not. I plan to. But things change. @a!: Is that advice someone else gave you? Or is it common sense? Spike: I don't want to sound cliche, but the school of hard knocks--I mean, I've been broke. Had a little money in the ‘80s, and the oil business went kaputsky; we lost everything. I knew what it was like to live with a little bit of money--nothing big--but I saw it all go away like that, and totally destroyed my family. Everything just went crazy. So since then I've always managed money very well, and whenever I hit something I hit it very, very hard. I've gone after every way to make money there is. I've finally found one. I've done everything. You probably can't name something I have not tried, read about, looked into. If you have a little bit of money--I don't have that much right now--but I'm set to be fine, and it gives me time to play, it gives me time to act. You can't be an actor if you've got an audition that you can't go to because you're bar-tending, and you can't lose that job so you can't work around it. If you're stuck in this job and you can't go to this audition, you're not an actor; you're a bar-tender. There's a big difference. @a!: Are there any particular actors you admire? Spike: Gary Oldman. I'm a huge Gary Oldman fan. If you haven't seen "Sid And Nancy," watch that one! I respect all of the ones that went from comedy to acting--Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin; they're heroes of mine. And DeNiro, Pachino, Hoffman--as far as acting, they're all winners. But once again, Swartzenegger, business side. There are many actors who are very good businessmen as well. There are so many success stories out there. And I'd like to be one too.