March Voice Talent of the Month...
Linda Wang

Photo taken by Robert M. Putko

When you worked on Saturday Night Live, how was working with funnyman Will Ferrell?

The day that I arrived on the set, in order to break the ice, Will Ferrell informed me that his brother Patrick had told him that I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He shook both of my hands in a Chinese manner and told me that he had lived in Taiwan for many years back in the late 80's, and had great memories of the beautiful island. Then he started saying to me in broken Mandarin Chinese in a "Darth Vader" like voice: "Me, Will Ferrell, white devil giant from America, very, very hungry. I want to go to the toilet”! This made me laugh out loud. Will Ferrell treated everyone on the set just like a family member. He is so gifted with comedic talent and such a nice guy. I must thank Jim Pitt (Casting Director) and NBC -TV for giving me the golden opportunity to work on "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night with Conan O' Brien". I have been working on both shows as a sketch actor for several years.

Are you a professionally trained voice artist or did this come naturally or did you acquire skills such as delivery and tone from years as an actor?

As an actor, I had professional vocal training at HB studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City. As for the delivery, tone, and other vocal skill, yes that came from years as an actor.

I read that you always wanted to be a voice actor... always as in your whole life or once you got into the industry?

As a kid, I used to watch TV and have always mimicked the voices on television. It could be a commercial or even a cartoon show, whatever my parents allowed us to watch. I would repeat them out loud in my own special way and spoke to family and close friends with those "unique" voices. It got to a point where my Mom would say to me "It's OK to talk to yourself in those voices of yours, as long as you don't answer yourself back!" So one day, when the opportunity came for me to audition as a monster robot for a CD ROM game, all those voices that I had been practicing for years came to the rescue... (Laughter)

How long have you been in the voice-over business and what are your recent bookings?

About 10 years ago, my commercial agent back in New York City started sending me out for voice-over auditions and I was fortunate enough to book some of them.

My recent partial credits in voice-over include: Standard Federal Savings Bank, Western Union, AT&T, Magellan, IDT, Citibank, Holdcom, Bizfon, Ford Motor Company, Hepatitis B Foundation, The American Diabetes Foundation and the anti-smoking voice commercial.

Where have we heard or seen you?

My partial credits include:
Television:
Another World (1997-1999) Recurring (Lisa Wu),
Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan NBC-TV
The Conan O'Brien Show - NBC TV
Film:
Birds of Passage – Fu Ling (Starring) with Stacy Keach
The Violent Kind - Xiot Products
Stage:
Broadway Lincoln Center Theater – Rose Choy (Lead)
Commercial:
Principle roles ranging from Diet Coke to Pantene Pro V Shampoo – Over 12 national commercials.
Voice-over:
If you dial an automated CitiBank number or simply withdraw money at a CitiBank branch location. Just press “Mandarin Chinese” and you should be able to hear Linda Wang’s voice directing you to your banking needs.

Note: Linda would like to send her gratitude to CitiBank and everyone at The Great Voice Company. She is grateful to all of them for hiring her to work on the CitiBank voice projects.

I read that your first “gig” was at the age of 7 for a Kodak national commercial print ad. How did you get started?

It happened completely by chance, and I still have wonderful memories of it. One day, my Mom took my brother and I to go watch an audition that her friend's daughter was attending around 23rd street in Manhattan. We were simply curious little kids tagging along. The casting director for the project asked my Mom if she could take a Polaroid shot of me. A few days later, much to our surprise, I actually booked that Kodak print job.

I have heard that your parents were very strict, did they approve?

Since I was raised in a multiracial neighborhood in Queens, New York, my parents were always very protective of my brother and I, simply out of love for us. As for my start in the industry, yes, after a long night of discussions, my parents both agreed that it was OK for me to work on the Kodak print job. They just made sure that my Mom could be present during the photo session and that any photo shoots were scheduled after school hours, so it wouldn’t interfere with my schoolwork.

What is your favorite – stage, TV, film or voice-over?

Please don’t make me choose. I love them all!

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

A little bit of reading and to be able to travel. By the way, I am planning a trip to Hawaii soon. I will be attending one of my best friend’s wedding and celebrating my anniversary with a loved one.

Tell me more about your volunteer work.

For over 5 years in New York, I have been a yearly volunteer for the “Kids for Kids” New York City Pediatric AIDS foundation benefit.

Here in Los Angeles, I just finished participating on the VERB Campaigns for both Disney and Nickelodeon TV. It’s my second year participating in it. It is known to kids around the country that October 25th is the National VERB Extra Hour for Extra Action Day. The program is to encourage children to take the hour gained from the fall time change and to get up, get out and get moving!

Is there anything else that we need to know about you?

My survival as an actor depends on clean air, pure water and opportunities from people at top companies like you! And most importantly, I read and write fluently in Chinese. Please keep me in mind for upcoming voice-over projects!

To contact Linda Wang, please call The Great Voice Company at 800-333-8108.

To see Linda Wang in action, click here.
Clip provided by Dennis Amith www.nt2099.com

Photo provided by NBC TV

You can also see her at lindawang.50megs.com