This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Meyer, a 26-year-old voice actor living in Los Angeles. Business Insider has reviewed documents related to the audition and contacted the talent agency for comment.
I have been doing TV and film since I was 16.
I booked a film in Canada and was set to record it when the pandemic hit. I was talking to one of my agents and was like, "I'm tired of sitting back on it. I know the whole industry stopped, but what do you recommend?"
She was like, "Hey, you should try out voice acting."
I've been hearing since I was young that I sounded like a 40-year-old man. That has always been a head-turner and a bit of a joke among friends, family, and on-set with casting directors.
So, I met with a coach and spent a year and a half just taking classes.
In 2022, I started to take off on TikTok and Instagram. By early 2023, I had found Quinn, an audio storytelling app. I started working with them in 2023 and have been doing that ever since.
I refused to do an AI voice-over job
I joined my former talent agency around March 2024 but parted ways in February 2025.
My agency sent me to an audition in February. For this specific job, I took a step back and read the email, which mentioned machine learning, synthesized voice, and text-to-speech. I saw that the payout was listed as up high five figures, low six figures.
As soon as I saw that AI was involved, I was skeptical. As I reviewed further, they were casting 100 people, and if I had submitted to the audition, it would have been in tandem with an NDA. Even if they took my voice and melded it with 99 other people or used only my voice, I would not be able to publicly say that's my voice.
That was a huge red flag for me.
The biggest problem with machine learning and generative AI is they can't get the voices right when they're developing full movies or TV shows. So, to me, this project is what some companies are doing in response, and I didn't want to be a part of it.
I told my agency I didn't feel comfortable doing this job. It's an insane amount of money, and that is not lost on me. I did not make anywhere near enough to scoff at a hundred thousand dollars, so it was not an easy decision.
In response, they said this may not be the agency for you.
I understood in that moment. I was like, "Yeah, you know what? You're right. Maybe I'm not a good fit."
I'm still agentless, but I do have a manager now. I just signed with a big voice acting company early this week.
Actors are learning to navigate AI jobs
In casual conversations with colleagues and friends, some actors accept the inevitability — or at least believe in the inevitability — that there will come a time when actors will be auditioning against audio-generated voices. It adds a level of hopelessness.
But for the most part, the average voice actor is doing everything they can to stay far away from companies using AI, and they're doing their damndest, no matter the paycheck, to slow the roll.
When you think of the greatest actors, like Viola Davis, Christopher Walken, and Morgan Freeman, it's not just their acting ability. It's their voice. If you believe that your likeness is worth more than a paycheck, then you have to stick by that.
