24 Apr Busting Bias: Portia Scott

Hear Our Voices

Voiceover is everywhere: animated TV shows and movies, radio, gaming, advertising, and audiobooks. Promos and trailers teasing forthcoming products and content. Elegant voices, bold voices, deep voices, funny voices.

Despite the fact that voiceover serves a wide range of functions and genres, with voice actors providing the audio for characters of all backgrounds, the industry’s history of diversity is sparse, and historically, many characters of color have been voiced by white actors. It may seem obvious that an actor who comes from the same culture as the character they are vocalizing can bring more authenticity to the role. But the broadening of opportunity for voices of different ethnicities and races has increased only in the last few years, the direct result of the social and racial justice awakening. In response, studios and production companies opened their ears to the possibilities of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ talent; in fact, some prominent studios took this racial reckoning as a mandate to meet and hire BIPOC and LGBTQ+ talent, including in voiceover.

As an agent in the voiceover division at Coast to Coast Talent Group, I have never before seen the diversity we are experiencing today. I estimate that in 2019 about 40 percent of my BIPOC clients (both youth and adults) were consistently working, on animated series, commercials, promos, and video games; today that percentage seems to have more than doubled. For instance, we can see shows like the computer-animated Transformers: EarthSpark on Nickelodeon, which features a family with Black and Filipino parents and mixed-race children, characters voiced by people of color.

But we have to continue to hold the networks accountable. Sadly, there is still a lack of diversity at the executive level of the entertainment and media industry, where voiceover decisions are made. There simply isn’t much representation in voice directors, voice casting directors, animators, and studio executives. 

One way we can continue to diversify the industry is for talent agencies to introduce exploratory programs—say, curriculum or internships—at historically black colleges or other colleges with a large BIPOC student body, efforts that would invite equity and introduce voiceover professions to the next generation. With that in mind, I codeveloped a university curriculum, Method on the Mic: The Actors Toolkit/Art of the Pivot.

Studios will discover that when they provide opportunities for diverse voiceover talent, their programming will attract a larger audience, and the industry will truly represent viewership—and everyone will flourish. DW

Portia Scott is a pioneer in the voiceover arena in Hollywood. She has over 25 years of experience as a voiceover agent and is the only African American woman leading one of the top divisions as director of voiceover at Coast to Coast Talent Group in Los Angeles. Along with her talented team, she represents both adult and youth talent in all areas of voiceover.