Every young man who’s thirsty for a great future is searching. Searching for a future that would set him apart. Darrell Brown was no exception, and he began his search at a very young age.
Here’s a fact. No one ever sets out to have a career in voiceover. Time was when we didn’t even wonder who the voice was behind the microphone. I remember clearly - never wondering who Bugs Bunny’s voice was, or Elmer Fudd or Popeye. To me, I was watching the cartoon. It never even occurred to me who the guy was doing the voice. Nor did it occur to me that the voice mattered so very much. Yet, we now know that it can make or break a production.
But now, unlike ever before in media history, the voice behind the mic is considered the ultimate importance. And it’s a full-on career accompanied by respect. To be the right voice takes, as we all know, a “lightning in a bottle” moment for you, the artist, to be selected. The competition is overwhelming.
There are no overnight success stories. And that’s the entire theme of the world, which is Darrell’s philosophy. www.dbvoiceover.com
Darrell himself is yet another one who tells the long and winding road story of how to achieve excellence in the profession of voiceover. A career he fought hard to gain, getting noticed in. Well, he got noticed, “and this piece I am especially proud of.”
Darrell grew up in San Antonio and attended the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated in 1996. And from that day forward, Darrell began searching for a fantastic and exciting professional life. He started at a now-defunct department store and worked there for three years, with a marketing degree under his belt in recruitment. He then went to Zales, the jewelry retailer, and worked in e-commerce. It wasn’t satisfying. He moved on to Gold’s gym. But nothing quite made Darrell feel complete.
But in 2008, Darrell learned how a beginner could enter voiceover by taking classes. And in the flash of a moment, Darrell saw the future. “Those classes sparked it,” he says. And while working his corporate job, the chief marketing officer of Gold’s Gym was looking to hire a voiceover actor. And in the whisk of a moment, the cliché “right time, right place” took place. “She let me do it, and all of a sudden, I had my first credit.”
Darrell’s experience was extra special to him. When he went into the studio to record, the engineer took an interest in Darrell and offered to help him produce a demo. That demo ended up in the hands of one of Dallas’ premier agents. And it was then that the smooth, buttery, relaxed style of Darrell Brown would bud and grow.
His hallmarks vary. But no one can argue he’s not a great voice for sports. And sports at the highest level. He’s not a screamer, has no inkling of a play-by-play announcer, and does not push his diaphragm down to get that very familiar “sports guy” delivery we all know. For the type of sound Darrell offers, his voice on its’ own is all right there naturally.
His turning point occurred in 2017 when he attended VO Atlanta. He decided to leave corporate life behind and pursue voiceover full-time in 2018. “Initially, things were very quiet,” says Darrell. “I got a few (vo jobs) but nothing right away.” And that’s when Darrell realized “there are no shortcuts.”
You’ve heard the phrase, “He’s got a great face for radio.” Well, Darrell didn’t. In fact, he had a great face for television.
And from that face and the buttery voice came on-camera work as well.
But amid the on-camera work, Darrell and his signature smooth sound and relaxed delivery would wind up earning him voicing for the NHL, NFL, WWE, and now even animation. A complete departure from sports.
A self-professed type B personality, Darrell’s daily work ethic is simple. The audition - “Hit it and forget it,” he says. He’s referring to his daily audition ritual, and after submitting, “just don’t give it another thought.”
And after having spent years in an office setting, Darrell’s appreciation for the art form extends to how voiceover jobs are predominately done nowadays. “You can do it from anywhere,” he says. He aligns his profession with the same way a gardener thinks. “All I’m doing by auditioning is planting seeds,” and from those seeds will come a harvest.
And so, in his relaxed fashion, Darrell just cuts his auditions each morning and then waits with no expectation. “From the beginning, it’s been pretty straightforward.”
For Darrell, it took him ten years of other professions to realize where he’d fit into the world. It was all in his voice. In voiceover, there are no shortcuts. And even Darrell’s beautiful voice is proof that there are no overnight successes. His boyhood dream of having a thirst for a bright future has been quenched.
