Interview with Steve Blum: The Voice of Video Games
by VGChartz Staff, posted on 04 March 2011 / 2,283 Views
If you've turned on an anime or played a video game in the last 20 years, you've heard the voice of Steve Blum. With an IMDB history that contains dozens upon dozens of credits with many of those credits involving multiple characters, Blum is a nearly ubiquitous voice in the worlds of anime and video games.
Through Blum's work in video games, he has touched the lives and experiences of countless gamers. His voices have given life to many of the characters that gamers hold close to their hearts.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Blum and ask him about some of his work on video games, memorable roles, and trends in the industry. You can check out the full transcript below.
gamrFeed - You've had an incredible amount of work history in movies, anime, and video games. Whenever I play a game or watch an anime, I have a bet with myself if I can spot the Steve Blum in the cast. What do you think about that success? What do you feel you've contributed to the video game industry in particular with your seemingly ubiquitous voice acting?
Steve Blum - Wow, heavy question… I’m still humbled and astonished at the success I’ve had. Was just talking about that with my family the other day. I never intended to do this for a living! It just sort of happened naturally over the last 20 years. I suppose the best word I could use to express how I feel would be gratitude. I never take it for granted and I still love what I do every day – even on the crappy days.
Regarding the video game world: It’s hard to measure my impact there. I’m not a gamer, so my knowledge of the final product is through the eyes, mouths and nimble fingers of the players. What I do know is that gamers take their obsession very seriously. I simply do my best to give as honest a performance as I’m allowed in each situation to make the gaming experience as immersive as possible. As long as I’ve succeeded in that, I’m a happy guy.
gamrFeed - I'm watching some of the videos of you on YouTube interacting with fans. How important is interacting with the people who are at the receiving end of your work? Do you ever find it draining to slip into and out of several different voice personas as people ask you to do their favorite character? Do people sometimes overly project their favorite characters onto you at conventions and shows?
Steve Blum - I LOVE meeting the fans! Since I don’t have an opportunity to watch (or play) most of my work, it’s especially fun to hear the reaction of folks who really know it! Cons are a surreal experience. I’m anonymous most of my life, but on those weekends, after the first panel, it’s non stop human interface for days. It is extremely draining! I sleep harder at conventions than I do the rest of the year. I usually need a couple of days to recuperate after. And yes, people (way more than sometimes) project their characters on me, but being present and patient with them is more of an honor than a challenge, so I grin and bear it.
I have a deep love and profound appreciation for the fans, so if that’s what it takes to give them a good experience, it’s the least I can do.
gamrFeed - What voice have you done that was closest to your natural speaking voice? What voice strained you the most, and how?
Steve Blum - Hmm… Spike is probably closest of any to my natural speaking voice. Kind of hard to tell any more – got a lot of voices in my head. Not even sure which one is “natural” any more. You’d probably be a better judge of it than I.
Recently I played versions of Goblin and Vulture for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Both of those hurt my throat and lungs even more consistently than the previous winner, Wolverine. Anything projected, gravelly or shouted hurts. Kinda hard to choose a favorite there. I seem to scream more than most guys in the biz – except maybe Fred Tatasciore. We both seem to be in pain a lot these days.
gamrFeed - When you're preparing for different voice roles, especially those of main characters, do you practice method acting? Does a part of you become Spike Spiegel, Zaka, or Jack Cayman? On a related note, how often do you simply find the characters you're voicing a part of yourself?
Steve Blum - Not being a trained actor, I’m not exactly sure what “Method” really entails. I generally don’t prepare – usually don’t have that luxury. Definitely not for Spike, Zaka or Jack! Most of what I do tends to be a cold read. In recent years, I’ve spent some time online researching characters if they’ve existed before. If I’m hired for specific accents, I’ll research that too, time permitting. Occasionally I will get scripts the night before and do read them. I’m working on Transformers; Prime right now, and how I play Starscream is deeply affected by my interaction with the cast, so I do like to know what’s going on, especially for such an iconic character with such a long history.
I think an actor’s job is to bring little pieces of themselves to every performance, whether it’s conscious or not. I surprise myself all the time with the weirdness that comes out of me. It must have been in there somewhere all along.
gamrFeed - Following on the previous question, out of the characters you've voiced, which one has stood out to you most? Not only in terms of which one was the most popular or memorable to you, but also which character struck you as someone you really felt yourself becoming during recording?
Steve Blum - Goin’ deep here, dude! I immerse myself pretty heavily in all of the characters naturally, to the point that sometimes, I feel physically ill after if it was a particularly dark or rough world my character lived in. Can’t say that any one stands out more than any other. From Lucifer (Dante’s Inferno) to Guilmon (Digimon), when I play pretend, I try on that skin and emotionally live there until the job is done. Not because of any “method” method, but simply because it’s what I need to do to function in that environment.
gamrFeed - How is it working with other voice actors like Crispin Freeman and Johnny Yong Bosch? What's your favorite memory from working with one of them? Do you have anyone you'd like to work with in the future and haven't yet?
Steve Blum - Love those guys! I’ve known Crispin since he was just getting started out here in L.A. I have nothing but respect and love for him. One of my favorite people on the planet. I feel like I’ve watched Johnny grow up. I met him on his first anime, Trigun, shortly after he left the Power Rangers. He was brand new to voice acting at the time, but completely brought Vash to life for me and I’ve been a fan of his ever since. Hell of a musician too. His band is awesome! Unfortunately, I rarely get to work with either of them in the same room!
I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with so many great people. My favorites are usually not the celebs. The voice community is loaded with some of the most talented and high quality humans in the business. I’ve worked with so many of my heroes, I wouldn’t know who to name! Would love to do more original animation with anime actors. Seriously undervalued talent pool, but some of them are finally getting a break.
gamrFeed - You've had a lot of roles, so you've had to had some roles you've missed. What are some of the roles you didn't get that you really wish you had landed?
Steve Blum - Honestly, I’m so grateful for the roles I did book, I simply don’t think that way. Ok maybe another crack or two at Batman in a couple of his incarnations. And Stitch. I’m working on a Stitch anime as other characters. I always loved that voice. But after hearing Ben Diskin’s version, I very happily bowed and stepped aside. He’s freaking brilliant. If a person’s right for a role, they should do the job, period. I have no regrets ever. I cheer for my friends when they book something even if I really want it. Especially if I really want it. The only time I’m affected is when an unqualified celebrity is handed a role that I feel one of us grunts could handle better.
Chaps my hide big time.
gamrFeed - How much creative control do you have over characters when you're voicing them? Do you generally stick solidly to the script or do you sometimes ad-lib to throw some of your own ideas into the recording? Ever stop working with someone over creative differences?
Steve Blum - Most of the time I have very little creative control. I’m fine with that as long as the writing is good and the people in charge know what they’re doing. I try to check my ego at the door. I will make suggestions if I think it will help the piece. Sometimes they like it, sometimes they don’t. There’s a lot of trust and surrender involved with this work. Ya just can’t take it personally. A recent exception to the general rule of no control would be Super Hero Squad. They encouraged us to play in that room. Not everything was used, but we had a great time. It was an improv –fest. Tom Kenny sets a ridiculously high bar in that area. We just did our best to keep up.
I’ve never ended a job over creative differences. I respect that the powers that be know the big picture better than I ever could. Even if I hate their choices, it’s not my project. My place is to suggest and bring their vision to life. I don’t need to control.
The only time I’ve walked away is when I’ve been abused by the producers. They will sometimes push us beyond reasonable physical limits in screaming sections of games or expect us to clean up everything overpaid, inexperienced (in V/O) celebrities weren’t capable of delivering. I’m not afraid to speak up or walk out when that happens.
gamrFeed - You're very well known for voicing Spike in Cowboy Bebop. When you recorded the final segment of TOM with Toonami you ended the scene with a single word - one that ended both shows. It was a powerful moment for fans for that were familiar with both Toonami and Cowboy Bebop. Tell me about that word, and how it's defined your career, and even defined you personally.
Steve Blum - It moved me. It inspired me. It continues to. To the point that I had it tattooed (in WAV form) on my arm. The heart that the Toonami team had is something I miss every day. I miss the Bebop crew too. I keep in touch with many of them. I learned respect for the fans from the guys at Toonami. They were and still are fans and did everything to serve our people, the anime community. Ok, tearin’ up a little here…
gamrFeed - If you could sum up your personality with three of your voiced characters, who would you pick?
Steve Blum - I’m way too messed up to summarize that simply! I guess if I had to pick three, I’d have to say Spike, Yakky Doodle, and a character from Digimon called JP. You’ll have to look that one up.
gamrFeed - As someone involved in production, how do you see the world of video games changing? How have they changed since you became a voice actor? Where do you see the field going in regards to voice work?
Steve Blum - They’ve become incredibly cinematic since I started. Technically, there seems to be a trend toward more motion capture. The process of creating a game is becoming more and more like making a live action film. Scares me a little, I may need to learn how to memorize lines and wear makeup at some point! Yecch. I’ve done a little mocap, and I see the use for it, but I’m much happier to be in street clothes in front of a mic in a padded room. I hope there’s still a place for guys like me in the future of game production!
gamrFeed - Disregarding popularity or personal preference, does a project stand out in your mind that upon completion, you just felt really good about? Any projects you feel disappointment about?
Steve Blum - I think we were all pleasantly surprised at Bebop. The alchemy of all of the elements of that show was so brilliant before our voices were even recorded, that I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, but I can’t believe how good it really is - even after all these years.
I loved Wolverine and the X-Men too. It breaks my heart that we weren’t given the chance to really flesh it out to its full potential. Same for Spectacular Spider-Man and Megas XLR. Probably the only thing I was personally disappointed in was the animation for my character Oghren in Dragon Age. I know it’s impossible to heavily render every character in a project that huge, but it was some of the funniest recording sessions I’ve ever had and I’m not sure if it translated as well as it could have.
gamrFeed - Any projects you're working on right now you'd like to talk about?
Steve Blum - I’m not allowed to talk about most of the projects I’m currently working on. Assassins have their weapons trained on me as I speak, but Transformers: Prime is up and running and we’re having a great time with it. BIG love for that show. Also, Bulletstorm, Dawn of War: Retribution, Durarara, Super Hero Squad (season 2), Mari-Kari (sick online series!) and Avengers; Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Call of Duty: Black Ops are all out there and ready for consumption. Check in with IMDB or my website for the latest stuff.
gamrFeed - What's in store for the future? Any short or long-term goals you'd like to share?
Steve Blum - More games, more series, more commercials, movies, more everything! More time outdoors with my pets, family and friends.
I’d like to break the feature film animation wall at some point. Pixar is a lofty land I’d like to visit. Tell a friend.
gamrFeed - Anything else I might have missed that you'd like to add about working as a voice actor?
Steve Blum - Yup – the most common fan question I get is “How do I get into voice acting?" Well here ya go… click this…
Finally, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s ever watched a show, played a game, didn’t change the channel, or otherwise listened to my voice, whether intentionally or not. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. I am truly grateful. Stay gold.
Bang.
