Sean Chiplock is a voice actor who has contributed to a number of anime series and video games, including shows such as Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, Coppelion, and Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. His voice has also been featured in games such as The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

So far in 2017, Chiplock’s voice can be heard in the roles of Revali, Teba and the Great Deku Tree in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and as Yuuki Mishima in Persona 5. Both games have received significant critical acclaim and are considered standouts in their genre. Scoop’s Carrie Wood recently chatted with him about the ups and downs of voice acting.

Scoop: First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you get interested or introduced to the voice acting business?
Sean Chiplock (SC): It turned out that long before I knew voiceover was a thing, I was already engaged in the art of producing voices for characters; my younger brother and I grew up right within the era of the Nintendo 64 and similar consoles - where text was common but voices were not - and so we'd often immerse ourselves in our games further by taking turns voicing the characters speaking onscreen. A huge example of this was Bomberman 64: The Second Attack, a game we played through more times than I can recall; the huge contrasts between each of the principal characters made it really fun to try and imagine how they'd sound different from one another.

I'm really lucky that I sort of "fell into" the discovery of voiceover as a career, because that discovery actually stemmed from annoyance; I had been bombarded with advertisements for Adult Swim's website during one late evening, and decided to actually check it out just to see if it was worth all the constant reminders. It was through that website that I found a clip of Troy Baker's recording session for Trinity Blood, and the moment where this whole "voiceover is a job" thing clicked in my head. From there, getting started was a natural transition; I was already a frequent member of the Newgrounds forums (where animators would often ask for volunteers to provide voices for their Flash projects), so getting more experience was as simple as putting myself out there and getting used to the recording process.

As for info about myself... I like swimming, good comedic timing, bacon bits, and Dungeon Crawlers (especially Dungeon Crawlers). I also enjoy any type of game that has you raising/evolving pets that fight alongside you in battle.

Scoop: So far, 2017 has been a pretty significant year for you, with Persona 5 and Breath of the Wild both releasing to universal critical praise. What’s it been like for you to be involved in these two series that have had such an impact on gaming at large?
SC: To be honest, I wasn't automatically ecstatic about being a part of two games with such universal appeal. Rather, I viewed them as a double-edged sword in regards to my voiceover - an excellent performance would ensure that I was put on the map of many different gamers and fans, but a sub-par one would have the exact opposite effect, and risk my reputation as well as my reliability in the ears of other studios/directors.

With that said, I am extremely happy that the reception has been so positive; the wide reach of the games (and their systems) combined with the ease of access to fandoms and communities via outlets like Tumblr and Twitter has made interacting with fans of the games easier than ever before. Playing off of their user-generated content and ideas, while also giving some insight into how the recording process works and my own personal involvement in the franchise, has really helped to bridge that oft-perceived gap between professionals and their fanbase. More importantly, I think it has given me the opportunity to show that you don't have to be removed from your passions and interests in order to work in an industry - being a massive fan while also being a competent professional is not only possible, but sometimes even encouraged.

I legitimately think my involvement in Persona 5 and Breath of the Wild - among other upcoming projects I am part of - will make 2017 a very important year for my development as an actor in the industry, and that the range I exhibited through those roles will go a long way towards opening up future opportunities for me in terms of auditions.

Scoop: When you took on those roles, did you have any inkling as to how special those games would turn out to be?
SC: I was already very familiar with how important both of these games were to their respective franchises, but the reasoning differed a little bit between the two. With Persona 5, the length of time that fans had been waiting for the game (due to the delays) meant that the game had a lot of hype to live up to; with Breath of the Wild, the fact that it would be the first canon entry in the series with non-SFX voiceover - and that its only comparison was a set of games for the Philips CDi system that are parodied to hell and back - signaled to me that the game was going to be scrutinized quite thoroughly. There wasn't really a point where I doubted I could bring a performance that was respectful toward those legacies, but I'd be lying if I said the importance of those projects to this generation of gamers (and kids) didn't weigh heavily on my mind.

Scoop: The games you’ve provided voice acting for have primarily been roleplaying titles. Are you drawn to auditioning for that style of game in particular?
SC: I should state that while I do enjoy the RPG genre a great deal, my focus as an actor is not limited to the types of games I myself would want to play; my main interest is in having the opportunity to audition for as many different projects as I could be well-suited for. This is a sentiment shared by many of my peers in this industry, and explains why so many of us dabble not just in videogames, but anime, commercials, promos, and other project types as well. In fact, there is a game I voice in coming out soon that is from a genre I have never had interest in, but genre has little effect on the concept of voiceover as a whole, and I still enjoyed getting to portray the character(s) that I was cast for.

With that being said, I am indeed shamelessly addicted to RPGs in general - namely Dungeon Crawlers or MonCol (Monster Collection) - and there are a number of franchises that I would be beyond ecstatic to audition for. Etrian Odyssey, Demon Gaze, Jade Cocoon, etc. are all titles that I have thoroughly enjoyed, and the idea of voicing one of your party members who sees you through the game is incredibly exciting to me. I used to daydream about being able to do a skill chant like the ones from Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss, and perhaps that immense passion is evident in my S-Craft callouts as Rean Schwarzer in Trails of Cold Steel.

Scoop: Do you often play the games that you provide voices for?
SC: I try to, but it doesn't often happen. It's not out of a fear of hearing my own voice, but rather that between my existing game backlog and the day-to-day obligations I need to take care of (including new auditions) it's quite rare that I'll have the proper time available to dedicate to a new release.

However, I do try to at least witness the finished product that I contributed to, and so Youtube has become a great friend in achieving that; I finished watching a full playthrough of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse a few weeks ago via JohneAwesome's Let's Play channel, and am very close to finishing 999/The Nonary Games in a same fashion via "justonegamr." These videos are also often my only way of accruing voice clips of my roles for use in my portfolio, so I want to give a special thanks to the content creators out there who indirectly help me further my career so I can continue to provide these performances!

Scoop: Besides video games, you also have some anime work under your belt. Can you describe the difference between recording for a video game and recording for an anime?
SC: Anime is actually considered by many to be the most ruthless genre of voiceover despite also being one of the lowest-paid. Because of the fact that you are essentially replacing the pre-existing (usually Japanese) voice in an otherwise finished product, you are extremely limited in what you can do with your performance; the character's emotions, lip flaps, and timing are already determined, and you are expected to match the original intent as closely as possible despite having no wiggle room in terms of nuance... which can be very difficult when patterns of speech vary between cultures.

Videogames tend to be a little more lax in comparison, but are also much rougher on the throat in general. Pretty much any game that has battling of any kind is going to require you to do 10-15 different sets of "effort noises," which can range from grunts, to weapon slashes, to taking damage, to violently dying. At a general rate of three takes per effort noise, the untrained/inexperienced can quickly find themselves nursing a torn throat for weeks without proper breath placement and preventive care. Outside of this, though, they are much more likely to be open for actors to "play around" with their line deliveries (often only needing to match a timestamp in the most restrictive cases), and many (if not all) of my current favorite performances in terms of quality come from videogame character roles.

Scoop: One of the anime series you’ve been involved with was Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. What was it like to be a part of a series with a near 40-year history like that?
SC: Harkening back to my earlier comment about seeking as much work as possible, I feel that while this answer might upset some people it is still an important learning opportunity; Gundam: IBO is one of those cases where I don't really have much personal investment in the series or familiarity with the franchise as a whole, but still needed to give my best effort and approach it - at minimum - as a professional performing his craft. Dante isn't really a character who falls within my usual vocal range, and so I find it harder to connect with him and find that zone of familiarity versus other roles I've more closely identified with.

I imagine there are plenty of people who are the same way towards games like Criminal Girls, where they consider it an "uninteresting fanservice RPG" even though I think it has one of the most unique battle systems/mechanics I've encounter in my gaming career. It's just a matter of respecting the series to the best of my ability, and hoping others can trust that I never aim to half-ass any project I am fortunate enough to become a part of.

Scoop: Do you have any particular role that you’ve really identified with on a higher level?
SC: Zenke from Fairy Fencer F was the first time I was really allowed to just go completely off-the-rails with my performance, as well as emulate one of my biggest inspirations in regards to voiceover; I often cited Liam O'Brien's performance as Dist the Rose in Tales of the Abyss as an example of the "eccentric crazy" I knew I'd have a blast with, and Zenke finally allowed me to live that daydream to its fullest. The crazier I became, the more the director loved it, and I don't believe there were more than one or two cases in the entire recording session where we needed to retake a line to tweak the emphasis or delivery.

Revali from Breath of the Wild is also one of the characters I've grown closest to, but it's more on a level of professional development as an actor than anything to do with the performance itself. Revali was a character I thought would be extremely easy for me to connect with vocally, but turned out to be excruciatingly difficult because of the contrasts between my views on his "sound" and those of the higher-ups in charge of the project. Tackling his role taught me a great deal about myself and applied a lot of the phrases and lessons I'd heard time after time after time at voiceover panels and workshops, and even simply completing my job of performing as him required me to grow as an individual in the middle of the recording sessions. I detailed this experience on my Facebook shortly after the game was released, to hopefully give people a good insight on what really goes on behind the scenes. 

Scoop: Between your Twitter and your Tumblr, you seem to be very involved with your fans, doing goofy voice requests for characters and so on. What kind of role has social media played in your career?
SC: My career only exists because the audience for it exists; if companies were confident they could exclude voiceover from a game and still reach the profit level they were hoping for, they would already have written it off of the budget. So, I try to always keep humble by acknowledging that it is the entertainment of others that allows me to make my living income, and maintain this self-reminder by interacting with these folks who make what I do so fulfilling. I feel like there is often this unspoken gap between professionals and their fanbase, where many feel like the people performing for their games/shows are "above them" and too important for their time or attention. I try to combat this by reminding others that I am still a human being like them, who just so happens to have chosen a particular path for his career whereas they may be focusing on something different. Closing that gap helps to foster a more positive, inclusive community as a whole.

Even on just a personal level, engaging with fans via social media makes it incredibly easy to make new friends; I'm already sharing something I'm passionate about with members of that same fandom, helping to contribute to the plethora of creative and/or original content being produced, and exploring additional character developments (unofficial or otherwise) while exercising my imagination and challenging myself to stay silly and young-at-heart. Performing the character may be what pays the bills, but helping others further cement their admiration of that character is where the real fun lies. 

Scoop: Is there anything coming down the pipeline for you later this year (that you’re allowed to discuss)?
SC: As is a common response to this question on my social media, I am someone who is already extremely eager to discuss any roles they are allowed to talk about, usually as soon as they are allowed to talk about it; thus, anything I haven't brought up can be safely assumed to be off the table until further notice. I invite people to follow me on my social media accounts (Sean Chiplock via Facebook, or @sonicmega for Twitter/Tumblr), as those will be your most reliable sources for any new announcements. There are indeed already several more projects within my portfolio that are just waiting for the greenlight to go public, so I hope folks will have plenty to get excited about over the course of the year. 

Scoop: Will you be attending any conventions or events this year where fans can meet you?
SC: I generally always try to attend Anime Expo and Anime Los Angeles as a general attendee, as they're both close enough (and relate closely enough to my own interests) that taking part is quite doable within my schedule. This holds true for AX 2017 - where I intend on trying out some different cosplay - so I hope to run into some fans along the way!

As for guest appearances, while I can't release any information at this time, I am happy to say that the 1-2-Punch of major videogame roles has indeed started a (currently small) snowball of fan interest, and I am in the process of negotiating contracts for possible convention appearances within the next year. Like my voiceover roles, I plan on announcing anything specific as soon as I am given the OK, so keep tabs on my social media accounts. And most importantly, if you would like me to come to your convention, make sure you contact them and let them know your interest! Guests are chosen primarily because of fan demand (the convention wants to maximize their star power towards selling tickets), so your voices definitely count towards influencing who gets invited year by year.