Every now and then an audition will come along that is so perfect, you can almost tell in advance that you’re going to book the job. At least, I’ve had this happen a few times. Most recently it involved an audition for someone looking for the sound of HAL, the computer in the classic Science Fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The reason that I was so confident about this one goes back to an audition I’d all ready booked for that voice quite a few years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh. At the time, the Pittsburgh Symphony was doing a series of concerts attempting to introduce classical music to a wider audience than the usual crowd. So the put together these events that featured an interesting mix of pop culture references and great orchestral music. One of them featured music from the Kubrick film, and also featured an appearance by Keir Dullea, the actor who starred in the film in the role of Dr. Dave Bowman. With Mr. Dullea there, they naturally needed someone to play the role of his nemesis, HAL. I won the audition for that part, and thus got the remarkable joy of taking part in a life performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
They’d created a wonderful image of the glowing red light that is the “face” of HAL for the performance, and at the end of the concert they actually gave me a pull over shirt with that light painted on, and then called me out for a bow. What an amazing, fun night that was.
So, when this audition came through a few weeks ago asking for that voice, I had it in my back pocket. And indeed, I booked the job.
How about you? Have you ever looked at an audition and knew that you would book?
congrats, Bob. I look forward to hearing your HAL when you come up for dinner.
I knew I nailed an audition when it called for a surfer dude, which I do really well. Sure enough, I got the gig. Great feeling, as you know.
I did an on-camera audition for a state tourism board the other day…they needed a “Mike Rowe” type who could travel the state, crack wise with the locals, and improvise some of the material along the way. Since I’ve been a smarta$$ for years, it seemed the perfect fit. And I nailed the scripted portion. And I nailed the “talking with the client” afterward.
They were blown away by the whole earprompter thing, which was a huge plus. THEN I told them I have a nice RV, and they said, “PERFECT! We’ve been trying to figure out how to get this character around the state, and a motor home would be PERFECT!”
They haven’t called. 🙂
It’s a testament to the fact that, as Jeff Daniels once put it, auditioning is our job…the gigs are just the gravy. Since I learned long ago to do the audition and forget about it, it makes the “nailed auditions for jobs I wasn’t hired” thing sting way less.
Craig,
Who knows? They might still call. But, yes, there are loads of times when I felt I was perfect for a job and didn’t book it. I just think it’s cool that at least sometimes that feeling is connected to actual sessions, too.
And Jeff, I can totally see you in the surfer dude mode. Good for you on that job, too.
Be well,
Bob
Bob, loved hearing about your Hal experiences. In years past I used to win all the George C. Scott “Patton” voice auditions, mainly patterned after parodies of the opening speech of the movie. Not too many requests for that these days, but I still love doing it – if the script works. It’s more than just the voice, as you know.
I have done many spots saying, as Patton, things like; “I’ll be proud to lead your favorite car dealer into the batte for the best price on a new Chevy … Any time … Anywhere”. That kind of thing.
BTW, no better actors on film, IMO, than GC Scott, Peter Sellers, Sterling Hayden and Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. My fav flick of all time.
All this aside, have you got a sample of your Hal voice you can share? I’m thinking, what an ear-catching open to your demo! I know … Against conventional wisdom … But it sure would catch my attention and make me wonder what this guy has next!
Charlie,
Thank you for that interesting suggestion about a new way to open my demo. I don’t know if I’m quite ready to go that direction, but I will play around with it.
And I remember hearing your “Patton” voice on the air when I lived in Virginia Beach many years ago. I’m not surprised that you were hired for that voice a number of times.
Be well,
Bob
Congrats on the HAL gig, Bob! I can kinda-sorta hear you in my head doing that voice, but I’ll echo Charlie’s request for a teaser clip. 🙂
When I worked at Big Idea several years ago, I practiced imitating a number of the lead VeggieTales character voices, and co-workers joked that if they ever needed a replacement for Phil (who voiced the characters that I could best mimic), they’d call me. Well, lo and behold I got a call a couple years after leaving the company. For various reasons Phil was unavailable for a certain project, and one of my former co-workers who was still there remembered my imitations, and I was invited to audition. I was very confident that I’d get a part, but was pleasantly surprised when they chose me for *two* parts. They flew me to Nashville for an all-day recording session where I had to speak and sing as both Pa Grape and Archibald Asparagus. It was an amazing experience!
Justin,
I suspect that when I find my audition clip and post it for you, you’ll all find that it’s not that great. I think the confidence factor was more important than the actual imitation of the original voice.
And thanks for the fabulous story of your Veggie Tales adventure, Justin. Very fun.
Be well,
Bob