Matt Mercer, the voice of McCree, had quite an inspirational message for a big fan during a meet up recently. The Reddit user that shared the experience written, “I was very lucky enough to score an amazing McCree pose…he looked like he was ready to take on the Madcap in a face off at any second, I had him pinned down and was able to get a few minutes of McCree questions in before he escapes my hold. He escaped after I ask about the Widowmaker animated short and he just laughed. Was not expecting that. He also talks about the Widowmaker video game and says it was the first time he’s seen her and it was fun…it was surprising.
When the interview was done, Mercer had several comments for anyone who was curious about his role as McCree. He talked about how excited he was to do the voice, but also that it was a lot of fun…a challenging and rewarding job! He talked about working with director Brett Ratner and his enthusiasm showed when he talked about the character. He also talked about the opportunity he has to voice other characters… Ratner is one of the most coveted names in Hollywood at the moment. But what exactly has it been like for Mercer to voice such a huge, iconic character like McCree?
Well, first of all he knows the character very well. He did voice the original McCree in the first movie, but did not do any re-voice work for the character. He got to know Michael Myers before he became the villain for the films. He has followed the footsteps of the villain and now he gets to voice the beloved hero, as well.
When asked if he got to voice the famous bad guy, merciled replied “I think so. It was interesting because I love the character, but the character itself… I’m not a monster! That’s something that you never get to do.” But he was careful to state the character was evil in the films…and not necessarily the same McCree. The actors actually play two different versions of the same character.
Another thing that impressed him was that he has a wide range of voices for the character of McCree. He went from having a deep, booming voice to a deeper, high-pitched voice, all while maintaining the same tone and cadence. He said he enjoys playing different characters, and especially the ones that are opposite of his own voice.
Being a voice artist comes with plenty of responsibilities. One of the main things is to get the job done. According to McCree, he has an assistant for the studios that handles all the administrative chores such as scheduling and call backs, so that he can focus on the quality of his work. Being able to listen to what other voice artists have to say about their voices is also important to McCree. He gives feedback to help other voice artists improve their work.
Another responsibility of a voice actor is working closely with his or her coach. The right voice actor needs a good teacher, someone who can tell them exactly what they need to do to improve their craft. Part of the education for a voice artist includes learning the craft of sound editing. This involves working with someone who can control the speed at which sounds are made, to make sure that every syllable is heard clearly. Sound editing is a very important part of achieving the right tone, pitch and consistency in the final product.
With plenty of responsibilities, it is no wonder why McCree says he loves being a voice actor. He is happy with his career and the challenges that he constantly meets on the way. Some of the challenges include working with established characters that he hasn’t portrayed before, while still finding new roles that he loves. Voice artists know that they will never be an actor mainstream audiences will ever recognize, but with the right attitude, they can go places and change the world with their voices.