VOICED. with Zee Andrews on Gaming, Animation, and LGBTQIA+ Visibility in Voiceover
Continuing our celebration of Pride Month, we're sitting down with Zee Andrews: a professional voice actor who has spent the last ten years building an extensive career across gaming and animation. Proudly transgender, Zee is working to make real waves in representation for trans artists across both voiceover and motion capture.
It was a joy to sit down with Zee and delve into her journey into voiceover, discovering how she found her way into character driven work, and how her trans identity has helped shaped her artistry. Full of drive, passion, and generosity, Zee also shared her take on an industry that feels more open than ever to championing LGBTQIA+ voices, and why keeping that momentum means continuing to place LGBTQIA+ performers and their stories firmly at the forefront of visibility.
Zee is one of the voices not just performing, but moving this industry forward.
Zee Andrews
Thanks so much for joining us, Zee. Can you tell us what you do and how you found your way into voiceover?
I am a voiceover artist, primarily working within gaming and animation! You may know me from Forgotlings, My Pride, Watcher of Realms, New World, and the upcoming indie projects; Skobeloff Forest, and Rocketships & Rayguns! I got into voice acting 10 years ago, where I discovered VO Buzz Weekly on YouTube. For those who don't know, it started as a talk show where veteran voice actors would be invited on and talk about their lives and careers, and it really spoke to me, if you pardon the pun. The show sowed the seeds for me to research further into voice acting, and my mum actually got me a year's worth of training with Gary Terzza, a voiceover artist who offers his own coaching program. I then started auditioning on Casting Call Club and the rest is history!
You're a transgender voiceover artist, how has your identity informed your work?
Personally, I find that my trans identity is actually my secret weapon when it comes my character range. My natural speaking voice is fairly androgynous, leaning more on feminine, but can equally pull off characters from gravelly, masculine monsters, to sweet old ladies, to breathy femme fatales, to teenage boys. In short, my identity has taught me to use what I got and not to be ashamed or self-conscious about it.
How visible do you think LGBTQIA+ voices are in the voiceover industry right now and what could the industry be doing differently to support that visibility?
The visibility of LGBTQIA+ artists in general has never been better. Particularly in video game and animation voiceover, there is so much representation and demand to get the correct identities behind the mic. It's no longer necessarily a cis actor playing a trans role anymore. Casting calls are being very particular about this now in specifying trans, non-binary or agender actors, for example, being encouraged to audition for certain roles to ensure they're true to their characters. To keep this ball rolling, creators (indie and studio) should continue hiring us and being brave and proud about telling/amplifying our stories and our art.
Is there a strong LGBTQIA+ community within voiceover, and if so, is it more apparent in certain areas?
Yes, there's so many voiceover artists within the community. Speaking from personal experience, I tend to find most openly LGBTQIA+ talent specialise in character work and not as prominent in commercial, narration or corporate, etc. The whole voiceover industry, though, is majorly supportive and inclusive of LGBTQIA+ artists!
You've worked across some great projects, including a lot of games and animations. How did you find your way into character work?
Prior to focusing on voice acting, I was already training to be an actor. I was studying drama in college and attending my local Pauline Quirke Academy on Saturdays. I knew the character side of voiceover was going to be my niche. My first major character role was in an indie animated series called 'My Pride', where I voiced 'Moonstrike'. I had come across the project when researching animators to write to. I sent Maddi, the creator of MP, my demos, and she eventually invited me on to play Moonstrike! Moonstrike garnered quite the fanbase overnight, and she was certainly an ego boost in my career's infancy.
Moonstrike
Gaming across voiceover can in many respects be viewed as its own sub-sector and community. Does your approach to craft and using your voice change when working on games versus other areas of voiceover?
I find that there's a lot to consider in character work as opposed to your standard voiceover. I think more about the character; who/what they are, what their background is, what they like, how they carry themselves or breathe, where their jaw is positioned, etc. For me, there's certainly more physicality and emotional connection involved with voicing a character in a game than there would be providing a voiceover in a commercial, for example. I personally think that there's a lot more fun to be had in finding voicing a character.
Is there a specific character or project that's stayed with you?
Yes! Voicing Delilah in Forgotlings was an emotional rollercoaster. I had been brought on to the project in late 2022, and throughout the next 3 years, I'd have self-directed sessions where I'd record for Delilah, as well as other characters I was selected to voice. What makes Delilah stand out is that she was the first character I was cast as, and I spent the best part of 3 years working on her, the longest I ever voiced a character for, whereas most of my other characters were cast later into production. I remember how bittersweet my last day of recording Forgotlings was. It legitimately felt like I was saying goodbye to Delilah.
Forgotlings
What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone breaking into the industry right now?
Another artist's success is not indicative of how well you're doing. There are some voiceover artists who get AAA gigs, agency representation and/or award nominations within their first year of starting out. I'm 10 years in, I only scored a handful of AAA work and haven't been nominated for a single award, and that's okay. As long as you're auditioning, you're no longer aspiring, you ARE a voice actor. Don't compare yourself to others, because everyone's journey is different. The journey you're on and the roles/jobs you get are yours, and yours only.
Who is inspiring you right now?
How much time do you have? So many people have inspired me throughout my career; from the veterans, like Neil Kaplan, who inspired me to start, to the wonderfully talented people I've been privileged to work with and call friends. But I have to give a special mention to my Forgotlings co-star, Chris Tester, who has been so incredibly kind in giving me advice and guidance to finally take my career full-time!
Lastly, it's pride month, what does pride mean to you?
Pride, to me, is about being true to yourself. It's about showing the world who you are and you don't care who knows it. It's also about our allies exclaiming that they're proud to have us as family and friends, standing by us in solidarity, and speaking out against those trying to divide us. There's strength and community in acceptance of yourself and for others.