German voice actors that make a living dubbing the voices of American celebrities in movies have for a long time been the unsung participants in films thanks to never getting the credit for their work. This stopped in 2014 when it was decided by Berlin court that these voice actors would be recognized in the credits following the movie. It seems only fair after all since a lot of these voice actors tend to dub the same actor over and over throughout their career as they’re used again and again to bring American movies to German ears. It’s only right that the people doing the work be appreciated for their efforts and given the due they’ve earned.
It’s not easy to voice someone else’s part, especially since fans normally want their favorite characters to sound the same as they do in English. This means that the voice actors have to study and mold their voices to the sounds of those that they’re being asked to dub so that German citizens can understand what’s being said onscreen. It’s a bit of an arduous process that can take a while and take up a good deal of an actor’s life if they so choose. Once voice actors pick a person to emulate they tend to stick with them for a while. Those that try more than one role are exceptionally talented, but it’s not a common practice since the range between characters can sometimes be too great to accomplish.
There are those voice actors that would like to remain anonymous simply because they don’t want to ruin the mystery of the act, but others would most definitely like to get the credit they’ve earned. These roles tend to take a lot of effort and a lot of time to perfect, and it’s only fitting that they be counted as the professionals they are.
Have you ever run across a clip of your favorite show or movie and suddenly realized, as you’re watching, that it’s in a different language? The tone and pitch of the character remains the same, but the words coming out of their mouths are something completely foreign. Obviously with some movies you can see the difference right away since the words don’t often match their mouths, but the voices will still be so close and sometimes so accurate that it’s kind of spooky.
This is how good voice actors can be. They can mimic the people they are dubbing to such a degree that there will be only a few people that could possibly tell that the voice actor is not the same actor simply dubbing the film in a different language. Some voice actors are not quite as skilled or motivated and will be pretty obvious, but those that are truly into their work and give it everything are good enough to fool just about anyone.
It’s about time that these folks got some true recognition, if they want it, to say thank you for a job well done.
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