For this issue it was great to catch up with voice actor Kieran Flitton to find how his story has progressed since February 2021.
What were your career ambitions growing up?
When I was a bairn, I wanted more than anything to be a sword-swinging knight, or a trap-dodging archaeologist. Big adventurous aspirations that reality couldn’t exactly accommodate; not without curbing my expectations significantly. Then, in secondary school, a mate of mine convinced me to pick up Drama with him for a laugh. I never expected to find that all those crazy things I wanted to be as a child existed in there, on the stage, and I could be them. All it took was imagination. Letting go. Expressing. I was hooked on acting immediately. The voice acting followed soon after.
Tell us about your current role.
This Season I voice the lead protagonist Zagan in the animated series An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride. It’s a beautifully charming show focusing on the romance between a sorcerer (my character) and an enslaved elf as they grow together to overcome the traumas of their respective pasts. It’s so much fun and requires a wild spectrum of acting, from cool aloofness to offthe-wall melodrama. We actually just wrapped on an amazing show that spanned across the Winter – Bucchigiri?! – in which I got to play a neon-punk martial artist gang leader.
What is your proudest career achievement so far?
Making the move from the UK to the USA, where I’m currently based! It took a lifetime of dreaming, year’s worth of work, and a lot of resources. I had opportunities lined up that made the move possible, but the explosion of roles I’ve received since arriving has been more validating than I could have ever dared hope.
What are your biggest challenges?
Building a new life in a different culture has been a big one. The US has been good to me, but it’s a different world that has required a fresh start. New identification, new taxes, new everything! Fortunately, the work has been abundant. Time? Less so.
What are you currently working on?
I have a few amazing shows that are in the recording phase right now but can’t yet announce. I’m incredibly excited to be able to talk about them soon, as they’re some pretty thrilling properties. Absolutely blessed by the confidence of some amazing directors out here. Things keep levelling up so fast!
What are the most enjoyable aspects of your role?
How fresh everything stays! There’re always new roles coming in from new shows and new video games and everything is so uniquely different. One month you’re portraying a grim, troubled soldier, and the next you’re voicing for an eccentric comic relief robot. And the people I work with? It’s an endless procession of the most charismatic and interesting people from all walks of life.
What is the best piece of business advice you have been given?
Don’t network. It’s not about aggressively selling yourself. It’s about being the kind of person people enjoy working with. Be confident and comfortable with who you are, and don’t force things. They’ll happen.
Who are your heroes inside and outside of business?
Any and everyone who can ford fame and success and stay down to earth.
How do you unwind outside of work?
I’m still working on that part! But good friends help ground you in good experience. Take you out of the fast lane for a bit.
Favourite Book and Boxset?
Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind and a toss up between Band of Brothers and HBO’s Rome – because what man isn’t obsessed with World War II and the Roman Empire?
www.kieranflitton.com