The Actors Volume

Ali Hillis has brought some of gaming's most loved characters to life, from Liara T'Soni in Mass Effect to Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII and Scout Harding in Dragon Age.In this episode of The Actors Volume, Ali gets into how a fearless stage kid ended up in the voiceover booth, and years later, in the volume.We talk about giving herself ten days to make it in New York, walking into a voiceover agency with no reel and reading copy out of the recycling box, finding Lightning's voice, building Liara from a single paragraph and a blue wireframe, and finally playing Harding head to toe in performance capture.But we also get into the part of the work that comes back to her at conventions. The fans who played through military service, an illness in the family, or Covid, and what they've taught her about why this work matters.For actors, there's a lot here about making strong choices, bringing yourself to every role, and holding on to your own voice instead of trying to fit someone else's box.For gamers, it's a chance to meet the actor behind Liara, Lightning and Harding, and hear how those performances were actually built.Our full conversation with Ali Hillis is live now.Captured at @rougestudiosSubscribe for more conversations with the actors, directors, and creatives behind performance capture.See you in The Volume.

Subscribe for more conversations with the actors, directors, and creatives behind performance capture.

0:00 A thank you to BioWare1:33 Intro3:41 Welcome Ali Hillis5:01 Growing up on stage8:15 From opera to the theater department9:33 Ten days to make it in New York11:02 West Side Story and her first agent12:13 From Off-Broadway to Law & Order13:13 How she got into video games16:57 No reel, just copy from the recycling box18:09 What agents heard in her22:03 The business of acting22:34 Rejection and the audition grind23:25 Auditioning for Lightning25:35 The agent who told her to be herself27:44 Don't guess what they want29:03 How she booked Lightning30:50 Working with Caroline on Dragon Age32:42 Building Liara in Mass Effect36:31 Taking Harding from VO to pcap38:43 Shooting Veilguard during Covid41:07 Acting is all about relationships42:28 Creating Scout Harding43:12 Physicality in the booth44:36 The fans who wanted to romance Harding45:16 Dressing the part, down to the shoes46:21 Pcap vs. the VO booth49:59 Should props be scaled for a dwarf?53:00 Recording banter together53:43 A look at the head-mounted camera58:43 Four years on Dragon Age: The Veilguard59:55 Her nervous first day on Dragon Age1:03:12 Playing every Rook1:05:18 Big group scenes1:06:39 Taking the leap1:10:38 The character most like Ali1:13:30 How big franchises changed her life1:15:15 What fans tell her at conventions1:18:56 Why entertainment matters1:21:12 A full circle Mass Effect moment1:22:34 When people recognize Liara1:24:15 Advice to young Ali1:27:42 Don't get the job, be the job1:29:41 How motherhood changed the work1:30:46 Social media is a full-time job1:33:42 What kids teach you about acting1:35:40 Final thoughts1:36:28 A message to the fans1:39:39 Where to find Ali

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Shelby Young has built a career across on-camera acting, voiceover, and performance capture, bringing an incredible range of characters to life along the way.

In this episode of The Actors Volume, Shelby gets into how she actually built that range.

We talk about finding your own voice, making bold character choices, using imagination as part of the work, and why curiosity and play still matter no matter how long you’ve been doing this.

But we also get into the part of an acting career people don’t always see.

Rejection. Burnout. Staying sharp when you’re not working. Taking care of yourself when you are. And figuring out how to build a career you can actually sustain.

For actors, there’s a lot here about developing your craft and staying open to where it can take you.

For gamers, it’s a chance to meet the actor behind the characters and see how those performances are actually built.

Our full conversation with Shelby Young is now live.

Captured at @rougestudios

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0:00 Intro

2:10 Welcome Shelby Young

3:50 Shelby's pcap and mocap credits

5:07 Starting out as a child actor

9:30 Dead Rising 3 and the move into voice acting

11:46 Dry spells and staying in the game

13:11 Pcap vs. the VO booth

16:08 What questions to ask in a session

18:09 Connecting with characters through play

20:41 Breaking down voices and impressions

23:40 How to learn impressions

25:18 Building a VO demo reel

26:33 TikTok and social media

29:26 Showing people what's behind the curtain

31:38 Balancing VO work and content

32:55 Misconceptions about VO and pcap

36:59 Using your imagination on set

38:40 Is voice acting real acting?

40:03 Shelby's audition routine

42:07 Franken takes

42:38 What previs is

44:52 Why productions use previs

49:45 Accents and dialect coaches

53:06 Handling burnout

55:29 Vocal health

58:29 Stepping away from on-camera work

1:01:19 Reps, relationships, and networking

1:06:47 The home studio question

1:09:19 A basic home recording setup

1:12:17 Knowing when an audition is done

1:14:40 Building a character with limited info

1:19:24 Ad-libs and changing line order

1:21:13 What a slate is

1:22:25 How much to prepare

1:23:40 Playing Princess Leia and Batgirl

1:28:02 Big franchises and fan bases

1:31:07 When to ask for another take

1:35:05 Longevity and AI

1:37:13 Advice to young Shelby

1:38:13 Final thoughts

1:39:41 Where to find Shelby

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Tom Keegan has directed performances across some of the biggest games in the video gameindustry, including Battlefield 1, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. In this episode of The Actors Volume, Tom takes us inside the work behind those performances. We talk about what performance capture really asks of an actor, why movement matters just as much as voice, how directors create the conditions for great work, and what it takes to make a character feel real inside a highly technical process. Tom also shares what he has learned from decades of working with actors, how technology has changed the craft, and why connection is still at the center of all of it.

If you love games and have ever wondered how these performances actually come together, this conversation pulls back the curtain. Watch the full episode now. Subscribe for more conversations with the actors, directors, and creatives behind performance capture. See you in The Volume. Subscribe to our Patreon Watch on YouTube

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Nick Apostolides didn't plan on becoming an actor.

He grew up building with Legos and Lincoln Logs, learned carpentry from his dad, and by 24 had a comfortable job as a concierge at a four star hotel in Boston. But guests kept asking him the same thing, forty or fifty times over: are you an actor? He lives by a saying, if three strangers tell you something, that's the universe nudging you. So he took the nudge.

From no budget student films in Boston, where nobody could afford a stunt coordinator so he learned to do it himself, to playing Leon Kennedy across Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4, Infinite Darkness, and now Requiem, plus Togusa in The Ghost in the Shell, Nick has built a career on trusting his gut and leading with gratitude.

In this episode, we talk about the audition he lived and breathed for two weeks, how to find the truth in an empty volume, and the night he passed out in the VO booth and Capcom liked the take so much they put it in the game. Nick also shares what he calls finding your flame, and why he showed up with Oreos.

Please enjoy.

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Cissy Jones’ episode is now live on The Actors Volume.From Silicon Valley, to building a career in voiceover and performance capture, to becoming a leading voice in protecting actors’ rights in the age of AI, this conversation covers a lot.We talk about the career pivot, the dry stretches, the pressure of tying your worth to the next booking, and the personal work it takes to keep showing up without losing yourself in the process.Cissy also gets into what this career really asks of an actor.Authenticity. Consistency. Community. Real relationships. And knowing how to adapt the work as the industry continues to change.Watch the full episode on YouTube.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.And if this work matters to you, subscribe, follow, and share it with another creative who cares about the future of our industry.Captured at @rougestudiosSee you in The Volume.

Jay Walker's episode is now live on The Actors Volume.

From speech and debate in Minnesota. To stepping away from the path he thought he was supposed to follow. To early momentum, long dry spells, and learning how to keep moving. To leading a major franchise as the player character in Battlefield.

This conversation gets into the part of the career people do not talk about enough.

How to keep believing. How to stay ready. How to protect your love for the work when the work gets quiet.

Watch + Listen now.

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Shot at Rouge Studios.

Gideon Emery joins us for the Season 2 premiere of The Actors Volume.

Born in England and raised largely in Johannesburg, Gideon spent years building a life in the work before moving to LA. He trained in theater, worked professionally in South Africa for a decade, and eventually found his way into voiceover, video games, and performance capture.

This conversation is about the long game.

We talk about growing up between cultures, choosing drama school, building a career before changing markets, and what it means to keep adapting without losing the foundation of your craft.

Gideon shares why performance capture felt like theater when he first stepped into it, why he sees it as one of the most challenging forms of performance, and how acceptance sits at the center of his work.

We also get into voiceover, character, BD-1, the infamous nose whistle, and the strange, specific alchemy of bringing emotional life to something that technically only beeps.

No shortcuts in this one. Just craft, patience, and the slow work of finding where you belong.

Please enjoy.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Captured at Rouge Studios.

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Somewhere between teaching math in Miami and doing student films off Craigslist, this week’s guest, Zach Mendez, realized he wasn’t going back to a traditional career.

He just wasn’t built for it.

What followed wasn’t a clear plan, filled with stand-up gigs, improv classes, sketch comedy, philosophy books, long stretches of doubt, and a few lucky breaks.

Now he’s working in AAA games, bringing real humanity into roles that live inside the most fantastical worlds.

In this episode, Zach talks about the shift that changed everything:

Not trying to win.

Not trying to impress.

Just showing up, telling the truth, and having fun.

This one’s for anyone who’s realizing that there’s no “right” way to build a career.

Zach’s episode is out now.

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Matthew Brezina didn’t take a traditional path into performance capture.

He studied politics. Fell into acting. Picked up martial arts. Shot indie films with friends. And somewhere along the way, realized he wanted to build a career that brought all of it together.

Today, he’s a producer and AD on some of the most technically demanding PCAP shoots in the industry, and a co-founder of The Actors Volume.

In this episode, Matthew reflects on what it means to grow in the middle of the work. We talk about early pivots, tough calls, leadership on set, and how community keeps you grounded when the pressure kicks in.

It’s about learning on your feet, staying open, and building something that actually fits who you are.

Please enjoy.

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Richard Dorton didn’t grow up thinking performance was where he’d land. He was a mixed Asian American kid in D.C., drawn to monsters, makeup, and movement. But something kept pulling him toward the industry and he kept finding ways in.

He managed a costume shop in D.C., studied stage makeup, and launched his own SFX company, Gore-tastic, so he could bring his love of horror to life.

Eventually, he stepped into the suit himself…and something clicked.

In this episode of The Actors Volume, Richard shares how that first mocap job opened a door he never expected.

Since then, he’s performed in hundreds of games and brought characters like Darth Vader, Kratos, and Wolverine to life.

We talk about the grind, the pivot points, and the moments that nearly broke him.

We also dive into what kept him going and why collaboration is still at the center of the work.

Please enjoy.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

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