Marc Graue has been a major force in the Los Angeles voiceover market for the last forty years. As a performer Marc can be heard daily on Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean ride and countless Commercials, Video Games, Cartoons and as the narrator of Nat Geo’s Alaska State Troopers.
As the owner of Marc Graue Voice Over and Post, a Burbank Landmark for the last 35 years, Marc has cast and directed 1000’s of Commercials, recorded ADR for numerous films and TV shows, Cartoons and Video Games and has produced Voiceover Demos and Coached many of Hollywood’s elite!
FMM: What led you to voiceover?
I was raised on the Channel 5 (KTLA) lot where my dad, Ken Graue started in 1948 with Stan Chambers.
I remember as a kid watching Stan Freberg and Daws Butler do a live puppet show called “Time For Beanie” and I was completely enamored by the puppets but even more so by the voices. After graduating from college I went into radio and realized pretty quickly that the audience loved hearing all kinds of politically incorrect characters but management…not so much so I started doing voiceovers in my bedroom and it took off from there!
FMM: What do you look for in a project? Do you have a favorite project?
I do a lot of character driven projects even though I do commercials and Narration. I had a show on National Geographic for 7 seasons called Alaska State Troopers, but Animation and Video Game characters is what I enjoy the most…with one of my favorite’s being the “Pirates Of The Caribbean” ride at Disneyland/Disney World where I play the blue pirate heckler on the bridge!
FMM: Tell us about Marc Graue Voice Over and Post.
I started my studios, Marc Graue Voice Over & Post, in East Hollywood, in a guest house behind a landlord that couldn’t understand what all these voice over people and Celebs were doing, coming and going. I’m sure he was convinced I was selling drugs or something. Half the house was a recording studio, complete with booth and I did well enough there to move into a commercial building in Hollywood that eventually tripled in size and when the area got a little too rough, I moved the studios to Burbank where they’ve been for the past 40 plus years!
FMM: You have produced voiceover demos and coached many of Hollywood’s elite. What are the key points to voiceover success?
The voiceover business has changed dramatically both as a business model and with technology advances but at its core, voice talent needs to connect on an emotional level with whoever the audience is. Whether it’s commercials, animation, video games or narrating a reality show you your voice is what’s driving the project so again you need to connect!
FMM: Who have you been most proud of during your career?
There’s lots of little milestones in a fifty plus year career. From Coaching a voiceover student and getting an email saying they booked a new project or signed with an Agent using what you had given them to watching a newbies career start to really take off. On a personal level receiving the Society Of Voice Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 presented by my pal Joe Mantegna at the Gugennheim in New York was certainly at the top!
FMM: What would people be surprised to know about you?
Most people aren’t aware that on a professional level I voiced a game back in 1994 called “Hotel Mario” where I played all three lead characters, Mario, Luigi & Bowser and it was considered one of the top10 worst Video Games ever! On a personal note, I coach Special Needs sports teams and that’s incredibly heartwarming and fulfilling!