by: Austin Welch
Each voice actor I interview seems classier and more engaging than the last. Anybody that knows me, or at least listens to our podcasts here at the Realm, knows that I champion voice actors until the cows come home. They’re just plain great people. So extremely talented, yet so humble and apreciative of their fans.
Gregg Berger is certainly no exception to this rule. As a veteran of the industry for over thirty years, he’s voiced more classic characters than I have gray hairs. Cornfed, Spirit, Orson, Odie, Eeyore, Kingpin…ever hear of a guy name Grimlock?!? In addition to animation, he’s appeared in countless video games, including the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, and various Star Wars and Spider-Man games. He’s a veteran of the stage, and has appeared on-camera in productions like Police Academy 7: Mission To Moscow, the original Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes, and guest spots on zillions of sitcoms.
I’d met Gregg multiple times before, usually at BotCon, the official Transformers convention. But with the help of Tom Chen at Shout! Factory – the fantastic company that has been reissuing the classic episodes of G.I. Joe and Transformers, as well as their respective 80s feature films – we were able to arrange some time during Mr. Berger’s hectic Comic-Con schedule to sit down and reminisce about his career. He was more than generous, allowing a solid twenty minutes of face time, and as you’ll hear below, had plenty to say about his voiceover work, as well as what it takes to succeed in the entertainment business.
After listening to the interview, please take some time to visit Mr. Berger’s official site and the site for Talkshop LA, an educational facility in Los Angeles for the voiceover industry that Mr. Berger mentions in the interview.
[dewplayer:http://therealmtoys.com/podcasts/interviews/gregg_berger_cc2010.mp3]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (18.5MB)
