Voice of the Month – June 2025

SHORT BIO

James Tourde is a voice actor, host, and model whose love for voiceovers began in childhood through mimicking characters and quoting lines. What started as fun soon grew into a purposeful pursuit, and today, he’s known for his bold delivery and creative range.

James brings depth, research, and intention to every role from voicing animated squirrels to embodying multiple characters in ongoing projects. He believes voice acting is a powerful art form and is passionate about helping the African voiceover industry gain global recognition.

Follow his journey on Instagram @james.tourde and TikTok @jay.tourde.

The Interview

1. Introduce yourself and tell us how you got started in voiceover work

To begin, I’ve been captivated by voice acting since I was little—mimicking characters, quoting lines, and slipping into voices without even realizing it. Though life took me down a different career path for a while, that pull toward voice work never left. It was something I did daily, voluntarily or not, simply because I loved it. Eventually, I realized it was more than a hobby—it was a passion worth pursuing. So I dove into voiceover work, determined to turn that childhood spark into something real. It’s had its rocky moments, but I believe in the process. With persistence and growth, I’m confident it will become everything I’ve envisioned and take me exactly where I want to go. 

2. What has been one of your most memorable projects or roles so far?

Voicing a squirrel on a client’s project, it was unique for me because although I’d say I have an arsenal of voices I had to figure out what would be perfect for it and the client’s vision.

3. Can you walk us through the process you typically follow when preparing for a new voiceover role?

First I do some research on the kind of role I want to portray, consume enough content on it( if I can find some) and then move forward to create something of my own that would be distinct however still holds the main representation.

4. What challenges have you faced in the voiceover industry, and how have you overcome them?

First challenge was even knowing there was a voiceover industry, however I got to find that out after consciously making an effort to appear at events related to what I do. Other challenges include getting recognition and jobs, actions I’ve taken so far and am still taking are to sign up to various platforms that offer roles for voiceover/voice acting, and more recently focusing on creating content that showcases my range/versatility and collaborating with other talents in the same or different spaces.

5. What skills do you believe are essential for success in voiceover work?

I personally believe the ability to adapt your voice to different characters, emotions, and tones, working on your pitch, your acting ability, pronunciation, your technical proficiency(like knowing how to use a microphone and other tools, and having basic editing and file formatting knowledge) are important to succeed and actually go far in voiceover work.

6. How do you approach character interpretation, especially for animation and audiobooks?

For animation, I look into the character’s personality, then I experiment with pitch, tone, and rhythm to find a voice that fits(which is actually quite the process for me because I’m a bit of a perfectionist). For audiobooks, I read the full story, map some information on the character, and use subtle vocal shifts to differentiate characters while keeping the narration emotionally engaging. Consistency and authenticity are key in both, and I always aim to serve the story, not just perform lines. I try to maintain the intention and connection of and in the story.  

7. Advice for Aspiring Voiceover Artists

Believe you can actually do whatever role, cause if you don’t you’d be shooting yourself in the foot and that shuts down your chance already for the role(as you don’t even fit in mentally it’ll definitely affect you and your performance). Even if you’re not conversant with the role or its style, you can always research and practice, there’s a whole lot of knowledge out there that can point you in the right frame of mind and direction.

8. How do you stay motivated and continue to improve your craft?

Although I would say this is quite the task for me because of where I’m coming from, I try to surround myself with people who believe in me and my results, and I go back to listen to those results from time to time to remind myself that I’m that good, and also I listen to find things that I can either fix and improve on for future roles or projects.

9. What do you do to relax and recharge when you’re not in the studio?

I listen to music, sometimes watch movies or anime and other times you could catch me watching the content of other voiceover artists/voice actors. 

10. Are there any upcoming projects that you’re particularly excited about? Give us the tea!

There’s currently a particular project that I’m excited about because I voice various characters in it and I was given the freedom to be creative with the voices I create for each one of them. 

11. Where can our readers find more of your work or follow you on social media?

You can find me on Instagram @james.tourde and on TikTok @jaytourde

12. Any final thoughts you’d like to share with the Voiceverse NG community?

I believe voiceovers/voice acting is viable career path and I know not a lot of people see that in nigeria at the moment, however I’ve come in contact with a number to talented people emerging into this and I believe with the right steps and more engagement in this sector, nigeria and africa at large would bring a lot into it globally.