There I was submitting for a voiceover job, which, IMHO, I would have been perfect for. Voice demo on point. Cover letter on point.
Then – ‘Upload headshot here’.
Noooooooooooo! I don’t want to play anymore.
Like pretty much everybody, except certain reality TV ‘stars’, I’m well aware of my physical imperfections. However I don’t dwell on them, having realised that there are, you know, actual problems in the world. Yes I could easily rattle off twenty things I’d change about my looks if they could be achieved without plastic surgery/ giving up chocolate but I’m generally ok with my appearance. What I’m not really ok with is, if somebody is hiring me for how I sound, what’s it matter how I look?
With voiceover agencies, casting sites and, of course, social media all requiring photos, being visually anonymous is not something one can avoid. So if I’m ok with how I look, why do I want to avoid including a headshot with my demo?
The best way I can illustrate my reluctance is to take you back to my radio days. Every time I mingled with listeners I would hear something along the lines of ‘Oh, I thought you’d be blonde/ tall/ insert descriptor’. Ouch! But, I soon turned the initial offence I’d taken into flattery. These people weren’t trying to be rude or hurtful. In their own special way, they were telling me I was doing a tremendous job. They were hearing my voice and imaging somebody attractive, and by ‘attractive’ I mean somebody with whatever physical attributes they considered attractive. I could have been the archetypal tall, blonde supermodel goddess but I still wouldn’t have been what they imagined based on my voice.
That ol’ expression a picture tells a thousand words is true. Trouble is, those thousand words might not actually describe the sound I’m offering, which hiring a voiceover is ultimately all about. A picture can hint at age, race and all sorts of other things that send the viewer’s mind into who knows what direction. But by just listening to a voice, the mind’s eye gives that voice’s owner whatever physical attributes it thinks it can hear. And that sound is either right for the project or not. The voice could be attached to somebody shorter/ older/ more ginger than you could imagine, but who cares? Because you, the listener, are quite likely imagining someone very different.
As a footnote… another reason I’m not a fan of the obligatory accompanying photo is, well I’m just not photogenic.
My school photos came back with an offer of a refund. This is a completely true story. Ask my Mum.
As one ages this becomes even more of an issue I think. I understand that a visual key is important even just marketing wise to jog people’s memory about who they’re listening to, and to that end I sometimes see VOs using a distinctive logo instead of a headshot, something that matches whatever they use on their website. Give it a go.
Tim, generally yes the world does tend to get more discriminatory the older-looking we get. But in terms of VO it can still go the other way… someone could decide you look too young for the voice they have in mind.
Using a sexy logo* instead is probably a good idea.
*Adds ‘get sexy logo’ to the to-do list.