Kari Wahlgren

Kari Wahlgren was a guest of honor at Anime Expo this year. Kari stormed on the anime scene with the role as Haruko in “FLCL”. Since then she has acted in numerous anime and video game roles. Kari Wahlgren’s schedule was extremely busy during Anime Expo, but she made time to answer our questions!

You’ve been involved in many voice overs for anime and video games. What has been your favorite role?

Haruko in FLCL was my very first anime role, so she’s one of my sentimental favorites, but I love Saya in Blood+ and Fuu in Samurai Champloo, too.

What was your first ever voice over role?

I did a part in a national radio drama when I was eleven!

Do you have a background in acting? How did you get into Voice work?

I’ve been singing and acting since I was a child. I always knew I wanted to be involved in voiceovers to some degree–I did radio spots and industrials while I was getting my Theatre degree in college…when I moved to Los Angeles, I pursued both acting worlds (on-camera and voiceover) and found that my greatest success and satisfaction came on the voiceover side.

What is the audition process for a Voice over role typically like?

Sometimes I can record auditions from home or at my agent’s office. Usually, if you make it to a second audition or “callback”, you have to read for various directors, producers or clients…they may have you read the part a number of times and try it different ways.

Kari Whalgren

How do you come up with a voice for a particular character?

If I have a drawing, I’ll get ideas of what the character sounds like by what he/she looks like…if you don’t have a picture, you have to take cues from the script…does the character talk a lot? Do they seem snotty or shy? Things like that..

What advice do you have for people wanting to get into voice over work?

Look for local opportunities to get experience before spending big bucks on a demo. A bad demo is worse than no demo at all! Volunteer for student projects or at your local radio station…listen to your voice on tape….read out loud everyday…

What is it like when you come to an anime con to meet fans?

I don’t make it to many conventions, but when I do, I’m always amazed at how sweet the fans are! I really enjoy talking with them, and I try to meet as many people as possible when I’m at one. I recently went to Anime Expo, and I was shocked at how many people recognized me…it was a pretty nice feeling…

What are you working on next?

I’m working on a number of video games and new animation projects that I can’t talk about yet, unfortunately! But I can say that I’m in the upcoming FOX movie “Aliens in the Attic” which will be released in theatres July 31st. I’m the voice of the girl alien Razor. And I’ll have a recurring role as the Enchantress in the new “Avengers” cartoon!

Thank you Kari for an amazing interview! I’m sure you inspired the angels that want to get into voice over work! Good luck with the secret upcoming video game projects! Readers you can follow Kari Whalgren on her official site here.