Otakon 2017 Interview

Interview with Kyle Hebert, read or watch below.

To starts things off, how did you get into Voice Acting?

Kyle: I came from radio, I'm one of those rare birds as a lot of folks cross over from theater or on camera. I was the shy kid, I can't memorize lines yet I wanted to perform so I was interested in radio and broadcasting. I got a degree in broadcasting from North Texas in the early 90's and had a radio career. Come along 2000 I did some auditions at Funimation and tried out for Dragon Ball Z, it's been history ever since. I started out as a fan when it came to the States. They moved operations to Texas and I've been a part of the universe ever since, even living in Los Angeles and I get to record on Dragon Ball Super. Been very lucky, with the new series starting September 1st (2017). It's fantastic to go for 17 years and doing something I've always wanted to do.

How do compare doing voice acting in shows as in opposed to the video games?

Kyle: Since a lot of the shows I do are Anime. You're doing a dubbing which means you're matching lip syncing whereas as games aren't finished so it isn't final yet. More so if it's a Japanese game where we're dubbing we have to match the timing of the dialogue. If it is an American game they'll say deliver this line faster or slower though there are no specific time constraints. They are similar in that games and Anime dubs are also one actor at a time because of the technical constraints. When matching you have to call one actor at a time, where if it was a cartoon you'd have the whole cast together. Improv is a key skill that any actor needs to bring to a role even if they're reading lines from a script and this adds some sensibility to a flow for it sound natural. The goal is please the client or director to make a sentence seem like it's not just being read.

You had a podcast?

Kyle: We haven't done that in years, thinking about dabbling and bringing it back since we're in the video era with Youtube and Twitch. I do read promos for Kevin Smith's podcast which is fantastic and I love being a part of that as I'm a Kevin Smith fan. The podcast was just Geek News or Popculture and all stuff. Until we decide what format or what we're doing with the next generation of it. I kind of still go to the convention scene and I do a panel called Geek Talk. I encourage people to bring their opinions of things such as the latest Marvel film or the Nintendo Switch if it'll take of as examples.

With a Podcast, is it more to your radio roots and is it more free?

Kyle: Ya, once you bring in sponsors there are certain things to adjust and it is freeing ever since they hit mainstream media in 2005. That's when I started hearing about them and I wanted to start my own, why not. Anyone with internet can join up, exciting since I grew up in the days when you needed licenses and now with Youtube it's donate or subscribe. The ability to hit a button anywhere on the planet and hear a talk show so specific you wouldn't think there would be one it can be out there. It's nice that the people have a voice no matter how little.

Are you wrapping up Z?

Kyle: Well Z has been wrapped up but we continue to release new games. Hopefully we continue with that and the games aren't going away. Dragon Ball is a huge, huge hit and we're forging ahead with dubbing those into English. Since retro is in we have to re-dub Sailor Moon, Z and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure which is an old property, but new again. It's pretty exciting, it's very amazing to get to do something you love and be a part of something you're a fan of too.

What's on the horizon?

Kyle: Lots of NDA stuff that I can't talk about. We do have, we dubbed The Blue Exorcist which is the second season. About twelve episodes, the fans wanted it and its happening. Super is happening and we have more games in the pipeline. Follow me on social medias, mostly at Twitter @kylehebert.

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