The Voice - A Look At One Expat's (Awesome) Out-Of-The-Box Career

We chat with British-born expat MICHELLE FORD about what it’s like to work as a voice actress here in Singapore.

- Michelle Ford

How did you get started as a voice actress?

When I moved to the States over a decade ago, I happened to play tennis with a QVC shopping channel presenter who said I had a “cute accent”. She suggested a casting agent and then I was off and running; I trained in Philadelphia and New York. My early working background was in radio drama for the BBC, so I’ve always had an interest in production.

Do you split your time between Singapore and the US, or can you work from anywhere?

Our family is British, but we lived in America for 12 years before we came here so we split ourselves between the UK and the States during the summer. Work-wise, I have clients all over the world and, providing I can find a quiet place to record, I can work almost anywhere! In a pinch I’ve been known to record using a laptop and a USB microphone in a hotel closet. I remember trying to be really careful not to make the coat hangers jangle!

Is there a lot of work for voice actors here in Singapore?

Most of my work is for global clients but there is a fair amount of work here in Singapore. I’ve worked on Pan-Asian in-store video campaigns for Electrolux, Ponds and various software apps, plus animation and video voiceovers.

What does a typical day look like for you?