Potential replacement actors (especially for FUNimation)?

[huzaifa_ahmed]

To keep it short...

-anime isn't treated well by foreign-licensors (aside from Miyazaki, who has a very different outlook)

-many of FUNimation's actors have become professionals often unavailable to work on a non-lucrative project such as an anime dub

-I'm not sure how Laura Bailey, Dameon Clarke, & Travis Wilingham work on the property as they are all likely fully-registered SAG-AFTRA actors, & FUNimation specifically stays in Texas to avoid SAG-AFTRA rules (Texas is a conservative, less-union state than the hippie capital that is Los Angeles).

Ironically, as Dameon Clarke left Texas to do live-action in LA, Travis Willingham took up the role...Willingham himself is now a B-list VO actor - he's a major character in Halo 5 alongside Laura Bailey, to illustrate my point. & let it not be forgotten that Troy Baker, himself, once recorded extras in Dragon Ball material, having come out of Texas as well. Also ironic is how the 4 of them all meet in Telltales' new Borderlands games that are recorded in LA.

Even Sean Schemmel himself, having moved to LA, has not taken part in anime dubs over there, somehow getting 2 major US cartoon gigs in Sofia the First (alongside Travis) & Scooby-flippin-Doo

I honestly wonder what the endgame of anime dubbing is, what with these non-budgets. I mean, do you sabotage actors by holding them to anime dubs?

Do you simply go down a laundry list of the shittiest actors, as they all move up & on & out?

Anyone familiar with FUNimation's talent pool have an idea of suitable replacement actors?

[precita]

Don't they bring them all back anyway? Aside from the ones they replaced in Kai?

Sean Schemmel flies down to Texas all the time whenever FUNi wants to use him again.

[TheBlackPaladin]

As a union actor myself (though nobody you or anyone on this forum would know), allow me to clear up confusion on SAG-AFTRA, the actor's union in the United States.

Once you become a member of SAG-AFTRA, there is a rule--called Global Rule One--which states that actors who join the union are not allowed to take non-union work. If you break Global Rule One and are caught, you are subject to antyhing from fines to expulsion from the union (depending on how high-profile the non-union work is that you took). In spite of this, many actors still take non-union work, an expression referred to as "working off the card." Usually it's one of five scenarios.

1) Union actors will take non-union work under a pseudonym (fake name). That's why, if you go to a union voice actor's IMDb page, you will occasionally see things like, "Sometimes does anime work under the name (insert pseudonym here)." We can't completely confirm this, but the general consensus is that Dameon Clarke did indeed come back to voice Cell for Kai, and used the pseudoynm, "Dartanian Nickleback." Doing non-union work under a pseudonym is still breaking Global Rule One, but an actor is less likely to get caught if they use a pseudonym. There aren't a lot of actors doing this nowadays though, because fans on the internet have become very good at spotting a particular actor's voice.

2) Union actors will just flat out use their real name and hope they won't get caught. Voice actors are far, far less likely to get caught than on-camera actors, and the lower the budget on a particular project, the less likely the union is to look into the matter. The number of union actors outnumber the number of union staff members by a very, very, very large margin. Pursuing actors working off the card on an anime dub ranks very low on their priority list, if it even shows up on the priority list at all.

3) Pretty much every big-name movie and TV celebrity is a union actor, and--while this is not particularly common--they can usually take non-union work without fear of reprisal from the union, because celebrities are the biggest bargaining chip that SAG-AFTRA has to prevent production companies from going non-union. The union is afraid to piss off celebrities for fear of them making a big fuss about it and leaving the union, which lessens the union's bargaining power. Not every celebrity actor who works on a non-union project is aware of the fact that the project is non-union, though. The creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a non-union show, said that they've run into a number of instances where celebrity actors made cameos, found out after the fact that it was a non-union show, and made panicked phone calls demanding that their work not be used. Actors who become celebrities usually don't bother to ask if a project is union or non-union, because they assume it has to be a union project if celebrities are involved. That's why you had a few celebrity cameos in South Park, another non-union show. Their manager simply called them and said, "Hey, I got you a role on South Park," to which the clebrity actor simply said, "OK, cool," and that was that.

4) Normally, when you do X amount of union work, you are legally obligated to join the union...however, in a right-to-work state, like Texas, the law is such that you can take all the union work you want, and you never have to join. If you join SAG-AFTRA, you have to follow their rules no matter where you live, but people living in right-to-work states are not obligated to join at any point, as opposed to a union security state, like Claifornia or New York, where you are obligated to join after taking a certain amount of union work.

5) And finally....we come to what is by far the most controversial thing on this list, which you have to be very careful bringing up in the company of other actors, because you'll get passionate--and often, heated--opinions on both sides: "Financial Core." Financial core, more commonly known by its shorthand nickname, "fi-core," is a legal status you can apply for. Basically, a few decades ago a guy in the AT&T union found out that part of his union dues (a bill that union members are required to pay for staying in the union consisting of a small percentage of their union job earnings) were partially going towards the election campaign of then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a candidate that the AT&T union supported. This guy sued his union, saying that he did not want his money going towards electing somebody that he did not support.

He took his case to the Supreme Court, and won.

However, despite opposing his dues going towards Humphrey's election campaign, he otherwise had no objection to what his union was doing and still wanted to be a part of it. In response, fi-core was created. If you apply to become a fi-core member, your dues are slightly reduced so that you are only paying towards efforts that directly help union members...you only pay the "financial core" of what you must pay, hence the name of the status. It was created solely for the purpose of making sure that a union member's dues don't go towards political causes they don't support.

However...it created a loophole.

If you go financial core, you are technically not paying the full amount of what other union members are paying, and thus, not fully participating in the union, which means that if you go fi-core, you technically become non-union. However, you are still paying dues, even if it's not quite as much as what other, full members are paying. So, since you are a dues-paying non-member, this allows you to participate in both union and non-union work. The union can't punish you, since you're technically not a member. You're a fees-paying non-member. So, a decent amount of actors have gone fi-core so that they can take both union and non-union work.

The usual follow-up question is, "Well, why doesn't everybody do that?"

For a number of reasons. Firstly, if you go fi-core, you loose access to a lot of union benefits. You still get health insurance and a pension (assuming you make enough earnings in union jobs in order to qualify for those), but that's it. You can't vote on anything (awards, contract negotiations, whether to strike, etc.), you can't go to the union's free workshops, you can't attend bargaining meetings, and you're not allowed to say that you're a union actor. It also loosens the union's bargaining power. Finally--depending on where you are--it can be a huge social stigma among pro-union people. One that can cost you work. It's illegal to fire or not hire somebody because they're a fi-core actor, but it's very easy to cover up: the producer can just say, "We didn't like their audition."

Fi-core actors say that they're just trying to find work and that the union is holding them back from trying to make an honest living, and full union members say that fi-core actors only make it easier for producers to go non-union, and the general consensus--even among non-union actors--is that the non-union rates are generally bad and have only gotten worse as time has gone on.

So, my guess is, in the case of Schemmel, Willingham, and Bailey, that they're either working under their real names and hoping they won't get caught, or that they're fi-core actors.

[EXBadguy]

Schemmel voicing characters in Scooby Doo? Schemmel OF ALL PEOPLE?! Wow, that is a shocker. I'm always under the impression that those type of voice actors don't do cartoons and solely anime.

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

Schemmel always comes back for Goku, Laura Bailey always comes back for Kid Trunks, Dameon Clarke came back for Kai and Xenoverse and Willingham is currently still doing Ace in One Piece. I would assume they're all fi-core.

[B]

I don't want to sound mean or dismissive, but as mentioned, Bailey, Willingham, and Baker are all B-list video game VO artists. They probably don't use pseudonyms when doing FUNimation work because, well, they're rarely if ever on camera and who would really care? I can only speculate that with Clarke, he has a lot of on-camera work under his belt, so that's how you get "Dartanian Nickelback."

I also recall reading or hearing that Laura Bailey has a recording booth in her own home, so if FUNi needs her for Dragon Ball(or Soul Eater) she doesn't even have to leave her house; it's as simple as emailing the audio files. And, considering Bailey and Willingham are married, the same would probably apply to him.

(It's also not a mystery or ironic all these people show up in the Borderlands game; Chris Sabat is the voice director for those)

[TheBlackPaladin]

Schemmel voicing characters in Scooby Doo? Schemmel OF ALL PEOPLE?! Wow, that is a shocker. I'm always under the impression that those type of voice actors don't do cartoons and solely anime.

While this is often true, it's not intentional. Tons of voice actors who regularly do anime dubbing work would love to do cartoons, but cartoons are, by far, the most difficult area of the VO biz to break into. There is a sort of "inner circle" of voice actors who get called to do that work on a regular basis, and they get the lion's share of the work. Many voice actors would love to do cartoons because it's more creatively liberating and pays far more than anime dubbing does, and the voice actors who do cartoons on a regular basis tend to stay away from anime because they don't want to be thought of as an "anime actor." To give you an idea, in the U.S., talent agents work off of a commission, which is to say that they get 10% of whatever their actors make, and talent agents (in California, at least) tell their clients to not even bother involving them with anime dubs because the 10% commission is too small for them to care.

There are exceptions here and there, like the Miyazaki films, but that's because there's more money in those. One of my mentors had a small role in Ponyo, and I was told that in that case, dub director John Lasseter had Disney pay actors the domestic animation rate, residuals included.

I also recall reading or hearing that Laura Bailey has a recording booth in her own home, so if FUNi needs her for Dragon Ball(or Soul Eater) she doesn't even have to leave her house; it's as simple as emailing the audio files.

Well, while this is theoretically possible, it isn't likely. The voice acting business is such nowadays that everybody is expected to have a home studio, even if it's just for auditions. Of course, the quality of home studios varies from voice actor to voice actor...for some, it just means throwing a blanket over their head and recording into a USB mic, others have portable booths with decent equipment, and others (who have a lot of experience and money) go to town with their home studio and create something that's comparable in sound and appearance to a high-end professional studio. Those who can afford to do that are in the minority, but they do exist.

In any event, while it is true that a lot of VO work can be done from one's home studio nowadays, dubbing and ADR is a different story. In that case, you need to watch footage and time the delivery of your lines to sync with the lip movements of the character on screen. In addition, for animation (both pre-lay and anime) projects, producers like to have actors come in and record on the same mic and in the same space, so that way the audio quality is consistent between the actors. Kyle Hebert did mention that he was able to "cheat" an Ox King line here and there from his home studio, but my guess is that it was probably something like a missing grunt or laugh. He lives in LA, and he said he still has to fly to Texas to record anything Dragon Ball-related.

[Nightmare Wheel]

In any event, while it is true that a lot of VO work can be done from one's home studio nowadays, dubbing and ADR is a different story. In that case, you need to watch footage and time the delivery of your lines to sync with the lip movements of the character on screen. In addition, for animation (both pre-lay and anime) projects, producers like to have actors come in and record on the same mic and in the same space, so that way the audio quality is consistent between the actors. Kyle Hebert did mention that he was able to "cheat" an Ox King line here and there from his home studio, but my guess is that it was probably something like a missing grunt or laugh. He lives in LA, and he said he still has to fly to Texas to record anything Dragon Ball-related.

I'm not entirely sure on this, but I've heard that when Dameon Clarke couldn't fly down to Texas Chris Sabat would dub Cell's lines and then have Dameon match the time on his recordings and that they may have done something similar with Alexis Tipton recording for Trunks in Xenoverse. So they still cheat with ADR sometimes. Although I suppose video game work is a little easier to get the timing right than with animation.

[TheBlackPaladin]

In any event, while it is true that a lot of VO work can be done from one's home studio nowadays, dubbing and ADR is a different story. In that case, you need to watch footage and time the delivery of your lines to sync with the lip movements of the character on screen. In addition, for animation (both pre-lay and anime) projects, producers like to have actors come in and record on the same mic and in the same space, so that way the audio quality is consistent between the actors. Kyle Hebert did mention that he was able to "cheat" an Ox King line here and there from his home studio, but my guess is that it was probably something like a missing grunt or laugh. He lives in LA, and he said he still has to fly to Texas to record anything Dragon Ball-related.

I'm not entirely sure on this, but I've heard that when Dameon Clarke couldn't fly down to Texas Chris Sabat would dub Cell's lines and then have Dameon match the time on his recordings and that they may have done something similar with Alexis Tipton recording for Trunks in Xenoverse. So they still cheat with ADR sometimes. Although I suppose video game work is a little easier to get the timing right than with animation.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I suppose that's doable...it does make me wonder what they did on Clarke's end in terms of equipment and setup, though. Regardless, you'e right, matching the timing on video games is not quite as big a deal as it is for anime. Still, kudos to Chris Sabat for going the extra mile like that for the fans. The vast majority of video game producers would (understandably) say that if you don't live in a particular area, you can't get the job.

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

I'm still sure that they're going to use the union actors when they need to because it seems like Laura Bailey will be in Buu Kai.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I'm still sure that they're going to use the union actors when they need to because it seems like Laura Bailey will be in Buu Kai.

Well, it's like you said earlier, a lot of those actors (sans Clarke) are probably not union actors, they're probably fi-core actors. Or just using their real names and figuring they won't get caught...and considering it's just an anime dub, chances are they wouldn't, anyway.

[Nightmare Wheel]

Ah, I see. Yeah, I suppose that's doable...it does make me wonder what they did on Clarke's end in terms of equipment and setup, though.

I'm not really sure, but there seemed to have been a couple of hiccups since some games would have Cell speak lines of dialogue in the wrong voice for whatever form he was in. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have a visual reference all of the time.

[ShadowDude112]

As much as I get that Eric Vale has been in the role for so long, his Trunks was awful in Xenoverse. Like, man, it was terrible, and he's basically been like that for a while now. It's all raspy and just doesn't sound good. They should either ask Vale to make his voice less raspy, or just replace him.

[NitroEX]

There's a perfectly good established cast in Canada...

Plus with the Canadian loonie apparently dropping in value as of late it might end up costing Funimation even less to hire them now than the in house cast.

As much as I get that Eric Vale has been in the role for so long, his Trunks was awful in Xenoverse. Like, man, it was terrible, and he's basically been like that for a while now. It's all raspy and just doesn't sound good. They should either ask Vale to make his voice less raspy, or just replace him.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed.

[songohan619]

Ah, I see. Yeah, I suppose that's doable...it does make me wonder what they did on Clarke's end in terms of equipment and setup, though.

I'm not really sure, but there seemed to have been a couple of hiccups since some games would have Cell speak lines of dialogue in the wrong voice for whatever form he was in. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have a visual reference all of the time.

They almost never have visuals when they dub the games, I believe. Just the Japanese lines.

[Zenith]

I'm pretty sure Funimation covers their travel costs when they fly out to Texas to record. They always seem to make sure they keep consistency in their casting, with a few exceptions. Stephanie Nadolny-to-Colleen Clinkenbeard is probably the biggest casting change we've seen from them, and I think that was over some sort of internal dispute or disagreement. So unless a falling out happens between Funi and one of the actors, I don't really see many casting changes happening in the near future.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I'm pretty sure Funimation covers their travel costs when they fly out to Texas to record.

They do for Schemmel, at least. I don't know about the other actors.

[Gyt Kaliba]

I'm pretty sure Funimation covers their travel costs when they fly out to Texas to record.

They do for Schemmel, at least. I don't know about the other actors.

As far as I know, that's purely for Schemmel. They made no such offer towards Jeff Nimoy (and presumably Doroty Fahn as well but I never saw a comment from her on it) when it came time for the Trigun movie, instead offering the chance to keep his role if he paid his own cost to get to Texas and stay for a while, all for a paycheck far less than what he would have gotten for a session of recording for the show before.

Now, that's not to say for sure that they don't extend the offer towards actors like Kyle Hebert, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, etc. that they've worked with a number of times in the past - people they know, versus someone they don't, like Nimoy - but I wouldn't be surprised if they had to pay their own way as well, or send recordings from a home studio.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Exactly. Schemmel said that an anime dubbing company paying for an actor's travel costs pretty much never happens, and that they made an exception for Schemmel only because he plays the lead character in their most financially successful property...FUNimation knew that re-casting the lead character--yet again--might translate to financial losses that they didn't want to deal with.

Heck, for a while they weren't even doing that. Schemmel said that when he told (then producer and director) Barry Watson that he was moving to New York, Watson said that they'd have to re-cast the role again, to which Schemmel insisted that he'd fly back on his own money. Eventually, FUNimation started paying him a little extra to reduce his travel costs, and now (or at least as of Kai) they pay for his travel entirely.