Meet Jim Foronda | Voice Actor & Maybe Sometimes Ad Copywriter/ACD

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jim Foronda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jim, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
It wasn’t a conscious decision, really. I think we all move toward what we think, we *hope*, we’ll enjoy, although my brain would always throw a practical “will I be able to make a living?” wrench into the works.

For example, I originally wanted to be a filmmaker and, while going down that path, I diverted into advertising because I figured the work may be more stable. And stable it was… until we lost Hasbro Toys, our tentpole client, and an agency-wide layoff brought 17 years of copy and concepting to an end.

There were different avenues I could have taken but, from that point on, the voice-acting side gig I’d started in 2003 became my new career.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Over the early part of my career, I became known for having a versatile voice range, and that’s great in the sense that you’re always being called in for walla (crowd) work, multiple bits in the same show, monsters, robots, villains, and more… but that also typecast me as “character guy” for a really long time. However, over the last 5-6 years, I’m landing more grounded, human roles in everything from dramas to comedies, so I’m happy to be finally shaking that old typecast loose! To give an example: the anime One Piece, which has been running for over 1000 episodes, is a gift for character actors; I’ve performed several unique creature roles for the show over the years like a shark-man pirate, a top hat-wearing monkey, and giant sentient blob of candy, to name a few. Then, in 2022, I was cast as Gordon in the theatrical release One Piece: Film Red, a human king weighed down with unbearable loss and guilt. It was the first time for me to be entrusted with a role like that and I’m very proud of the work!

As for whether voice acting is easy? It isn’t… When people ask me what it’s like, I tell them, “voice acting is a never-ending stream of failure punctuated with the occasional success.” It may sound harsh or exaggerated, but it’s true. While technology has made it easier to get into voice acting, it’s also made the actor pool incredibly large and more competitive than ever. However, as you gain more experience and your skills develop, your auditions to landed roles ratio improves. You *will* still be failing all the time, but failing a little less is always good. Always keep learning and honing your acting abilities and delivery styles. Never stagnate!

There are countless lessons I’ve learned along the way, too many to share here: How sound energy bounces around within fiberglass until it dissipates, which helps reduce room noise in a home studio. Different ways to convey emotion when reading a line within the constraint of existing Japanese language mouth animation. Learning the limits of my voice and how far I can push it without causing injury. But perhaps the most important is when I finally came to the realization that there is so much in this line of work that is out of your control. I mean, it’s the same as in any independent creative line of work, whether it be written, visual, sung, or spoken. The one thing you *do* have control of is the art you express, so always give everything your best, no matter the role.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It’d probably be an incredibly unorganized extravaganza… I’d definitely take them to the National Video Game Museum in Frisco! Then to the Perot Museum Of Nature And Science in downtown Dallas. Maybe to the Modern and Kimbell in Fort Worth, too? There are a lot of good nature trails in the area as well, like the John Bunker Sands Wetlands Center and both the Trinity River and Dogwood Canyon Audubon Centers! We’d go to the Asian market area on Old Denton road in Carrollton and visit Kinokuniya, Daiso, and Teso Life, then eat at any of the great restaurants around there. I’d see what fun movies are playing at the Texas Theater and take them to one of the Free Play locations around town. Finally, I’d take them to Sunny Thai in Arlington (their Crispy Beef is a favorite!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It goes without saying that my wife Karin and both our families have always been supportive, so I’d like to like to shoutout Kim Trusty of The Mary Collins Agency. I mean, the *whole agency* has been wonderful for 20 years, but when I was under the crushing anxiety of being laid off, Kim told me, in her very calm, matter-of-fact voice, “It’s okay. It’ll be okay. We can finally put you out there full time now and you’re going… To be… Okay.” That was what I needed to hear– a truth that, at the time, I was very unsure of. There was work to be done and she gave me the courage move forward.

Instagram: @jimforonda

Twitter: @jimforonda

Other: IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542420/ Talent Agency page: https://marycollins.com/talent/jim-foronda/