“I don’t watch anime all that much,” Lauren Landa, who has voiced a number of anime characters, told ConnectiCon guests. For most of the audience — the average age of guests at this panel seemed to be 15 — this seemed implausible. Landa broke it down: “there’s never a time when I’m not doing anything.”
When not working as a voice-over actor for video games and anime, she is involved in “fitness and freelance photography,” but said she primarily pays attention to her own career, not following that of others.
That’s not a slam of other voice actors. Landa clarified that “everybody in the community is fantastic,” but she is serious about her career, saying she almost never turns down work. While some actors might be selective about the roles they play, she said that crossing an ethical line is “really not something I worry about. It’s all fiction. It doesn’t reflect on my life.”
With most characters she plays falling on the “sultry, sensual side,” she could not pick a favorite character but said Monster was her favorite personal storyline. The drama of this role was not the norm for her and she enjoyed it. In it, she had the challenge of voicing contractions and labor pains, despite having never given birth. She said she had faith that the director would have her redo the material if it were inaccurate.
Landa spoke to the value of a good director. Without one, she said, it is like sitting in the backseat of a car without a driver.
And while she said she does not obsess over the details of other actors’ careers, she did name a few with whom she would love to work: John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender on Futurama) and Jim Cummings.
During this year’s ConneciCon, Landa eventually had the opportunity to read a script with Cummings.
