Jim Conrad: Welcome to episode six.
My name is Jim Conrad, AKA Cono, and this is Conovision, the spirit of storytelling.
On this episode, we will have a conversation with two working actors.
In every actor there lives a tiger, a pig, an ass, and a nightingale.
You never know which one's gonna show up.
Garry Chalk and Ian James Corlett, who have been very, very successful in
a lot of different facets of acting.
That's a bit later.
We'll also hear another piece of word jazz, a color by Ken Nordine.
But first, let's talk about one of the most gifted storytellers
in all of human history.
We speak of, of
course, William Shakespeare.
If there were two sides of a coin marked comedy and tragedy, an inscription written
by a Shakespeare may very well have read, turn it over on both sides of the coin.
Ezra Pound once said that true literature is news that stays news.
And over 400 years after he first put quilled and inked pen to parchment,
Shakespeare still matters today because he was and is our only true Nostradamus.
Meaning, in contrast to that durable 16th century kreskin, the pet of cranks
and quacks of all form and volume, that Shakespeare has and was the
true prophetic and proleptic power.
In his lines, scarcely a situation we know or have come to know, has
not been anticipated, represented and expressed in consummate language.
We wanna read Shakespeare because he seems, already and
in advance, to have read us.
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and put a barren scepter in my grip,
could have been ascribed to presidents and prime ministers as well as Macbeth.
The first truth about the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon is that we are
fascinated by him because being human, we are fascinated by ourselves.
He is not so much a visionary or seer as he is the most gifted eavesdropper
in the history of the world.
With this exception, he heard all of our really important
conversations before we had them.
This is what Harold Bloom was on about in his seminal tome, Shakespeare: The
Invention of the Human, commenting that Shakespeare, the dramatist,
represented in his plays, the vast repertoire of the human condition.
And that Shakespeare, the poet, pioneered the language to articulate,
gave us the words to express the crises, joys, and pains, and the
every day of our human condition.
We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little
life is rounded with a sleep.
Shakespeare extended human consciousness.
The claim is no less bold than that.
So we are fascinated by him because, more or less, he has been everywhere before us.
Today for most of the world, the 30 something plays, the two narrative
poems and the sonnets are considered to be somewhat of a breviary.
We do not encounter Shakespeare as frequently and as feverishly firsthand,
as did perhaps earlier generations, nor are the great speeches and monologues.
To be or not to be?
That is the question.
Or the clutch of truly famous sonnets.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day.
Carried beyond the first line or two in the overamped living memory cards of the
thoroughly modern Gen X, Y, Z milieu.
Today we store Seinfeld taglines.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Recite Palmer Simpson catchphrases.
And quote, endlessly algorithmed memes.
Nothing beats a jet2 holiday.
But Shakespeare has burned through the literature and lives
of four whole centuries and far beyond the English tongue.
His words in citation, quotation, illusion, imitation, translation, parody,
on stage, in film, transposed to other forms, novel, opera, or musical suite,
as exercise, study, and meditation constitute or have built a vast and
inescapable present world of their own.
Shakespeare is everywhere.
Shakespeare is an environment.
All the worlds of stage, and all the men and women merely players.
The nature of his genius, the soul of a man that found those miracles
of language with such dexterity and sovereign purchase, is a major
clue to discovering ourselves more real, at least to our imagination,
than all the unraveling of DNA.
That is why Shakespeare matters because, and this has been a phenomenon noted by
everyone who has ever studied the bard, from Coleridge to Keats, Borges to Bloom.
When we stare into Shakespeare, we find ourselves staring back.
Whose end both at the first and now was and is to hold
as to a mirror up to nature.
Ecru
is
a
critic.
Loves to see the show.
Just doesn't know when to say yes and when to say no, but that's because of beige.
You see, beige has taught ecru a funny point of view.
That true is like false.
And false is like true.
Who could expect to get anything straight like that answer, I mean.
From an ecru that thinks, or thinks that it thinks, by the thought it was
taught that love is the same as hate.
That shouldn't, the same as should, that dumb is the same as smart,
that bad is the same as good.
A kind of critical confusion in ecru, the critic, could have
complications almost arithmetic.
Those of us, are there any?
Too many.
Who have to know exactly what to do, what to see, what to say, what to think, will
have to wait until ecru is ready with his double talking trade to make steady,
unsteady, calling crooked straight.
But what the fuck?
You know ecru, just a free loading critic who loves to see the show.
Just doesn't know when to say yes or when to say no.
I welcome to the Conovision podcast.
Mr. Garry Chalk.
Garry Chalk: Hello, how are you?
Jim Conrad: I'm good.
Very well.
Garry Chalk: Excellent.
Jim Conrad: Garry, we've known each other a long time, but for people just
listening in and wondering, who the hell is Garry Chalk, a 60 second bio.
Where were you born?
Garry Chalk: A 60 second bio.
I was born in the UK.
Southampton, England.
Now on, funnily enough, Canada Road.
Immigrated to Canada in 1957.
Been a lifelong Vancouver resident except for a two year stint in
Ottawa where I was, funnily enough, introduced into the, the voice world.
And, prior to that, I'd tried different careers.
I was, I worked in restaurants.
I was a stock trader at the stock exchange and, things like that.
And I, a social worker for a couple of years, and then I went back to university
to pursue English lit and, anthropology and funnily enough fell into theater.
Who thought?
Jim Conrad: That was my next question.
Is the spark to be an actor was there at what age?
And in university, yes?
Garry Chalk: No.
The idea of getting there was, I used to think it was just a game just for fun.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Garry Chalk: Because I played in high school musicals.
I was a singer and I still am.
And,
Jim Conrad: Musician?
Garry Chalk: Musician, yes.
I've always had a penchant for performing.
I loved performing.
It's great.
And,
Jim Conrad: It's fun.
Garry Chalk: Yeah, that's exactly right.
It's fun.
And then one day, well as I was saying, I was going to university,
one of my projects was to go down and see a play at Langara.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Garry Chalk: Studio 58.
So I went down to see this play.
It was of Mice and Men.
I went, oh, this is pretty good.
And the acting was fantastic.
The production values were great.
And I went, this is what I want to do.
So I auditioned for the program the next year.
And I was doing pretty well in the other program.
Jim Conrad: Studio 58.
Langara.
Garry Chalk: At Studio 58.
Langara.
Jim Conrad: So what year?
Garry Chalk: 1975.
So I, I went to The Cambrian Hall on 17th and Main.
Auditioned and, Anthony Holland was running the program at the time
and he was reading his newspaper as I was doing my audition.
And, I finished, you know, played the song, did the whole number.
And he, he rattles his paper and he looks up and he goes,
oh, you've got some talent.
Not much, but, but some.
Alright, off you go.
And I went, well, that was terrible.
But I went away and I got a call.
You have been accepted into the program.
And I thought, well, this is great.
Oh, good.
So they have 15 people in the term.
And I went in, I didn't realize they, they auditioned all over Canada,
Jim Conrad: Wow.
For Studio 58 in Langara?
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Now it's the world.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Garry Chalk: But, it was Canada then, so I thought, I had no idea.
I just thought I'll just do this.
And, I did very well and I've been working as an actor professionally since 1978.
Jim Conrad: Wow.
What was your first role, or maybe not just first role, but first big role?
Garry Chalk: My first big, professional role.
Jim Conrad: Theater, television, or movies.
Garry Chalk: Theater.
And, that was, pardon me, I cannot remember the name of
the character, Richie, I think.
No, not Richie, someone like that.
It was a play called Streamers and it was a David Rabe play,
and I did it at City Stage.
Jim Conrad: About the Vietnam War.
Garry Chalk: Yes.
And it was an incredible experience for me.
Taught me a lot.
And I, that was my first big role.
And then I went on to do, Parker and Dracula, and a few others and, Achilles
and, another show out in Ottawa and another show called Available Targets.
And that just kept coming, you know, so I got my, I dipped my foot into Shakespeare
with, As You Like It, and, and Henry IV, and, and Hamlet and things like that.
But what really kicked me into high gear as I, as I was doing all these
voiceover on camera for the government in Ottawa and learned a lot of lessons
and I got a valuable lesson out of it.
There was a guy, his name was Chuck Rubin.
I don't know if you ever known him.
Chuck Rubin was from Standard Broadcasting.
He was a DJ for CHEZ-FM.
Jim Conrad: Oh, in Ottawa.
Garry Chalk: In Ottawa, CHEZ 101.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Yeah.
Garry Chalk: Yes, that guy.
Jim Conrad: I'm that guy.
Garry Chalk: Huh?
You're that guy.
Jim Conrad: I'm that guy.
Garry Chalk: Oh, you're that guy.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
That guy.
Garry Chalk: That was a great imprint or a great brand.
Anyway, he also ran a company called Sound Ventures.
So I auditioned for him for a commercial for the Ottawa Citizen.
And at that time I was, you know, my Shakespearean and blah blah
blah, and the Ottawa Citizen for the latest of news, ,sports and
entertainment, like this ending.
Jim Conrad: You're very good.
Garry Chalk: That's not the voice we want.
So I got fired.
Jim Conrad: Oh, no.
Garry Chalk: And, because the voice they wanted was the Ottawa Citizen for the
latest in news, sports, and entertainment.
Remember that voice?
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Garry Chalk: That breathy sitting on the edge of your seat voice.
Jim Conrad: That's right.
Garry Chalk: So I've never been fired before.
Jim Conrad: Oh, no.
Garry Chalk: So I was quite shook up.
So I went to Chuck and I said, I'll tell you what, if you show me
what to do, what the various types of voices are and make me a demo,
I'll do your next spots for free.
Jim Conrad: Amazing.
That's a pretty good deal.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
And he said, sure.
Okay.
So he taught me about corporate, retail, man in the street.
You know, those sort of reads and,
Jim Conrad: All the variations.
Garry Chalk: All the variations, the breathy read, the excited
read, the man in the street read.
Made me a demo.
Which was a pretty good demo.
And, then he gave me these ads to do and I,
Jim Conrad: For free.
Garry Chalk: My, for free, and true to my word, I did these ads, like two
ads, and it was for Revenue Canada.
And it was commercials to do your income tax.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Yeah.
Garry Chalk: And I think the spots were about $300.
I don't know.
That was way back then.
But, I did 'em, did my demo.
Well, that first year, that demo made me a fortune.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
'Cause it was a union gig.
Garry Chalk: Because it was a union gig.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: And you got residuals.
Garry Chalk: Yes.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
And it was a national spot.
For the government of Canada.
Garry Chalk: That commercial, not just the commercial, but my tape that he
made me actually made me a fortune.
And then I came back to Vancouver and I did a commercial.
I think the first thing I did was for Ikea and it was death defying plants.
You know, when even your favorite dieffenbachia is pushing up the
daisies or something like that?
Well, that won an award, so all of a sudden I'm getting calls from all these
different places and I was bugging them down here all, forever and ever.
Jim Conrad: GGRP?
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
And they finally, and GGRP, and they finally let me have a commercial and,
which I thought was great, but then I, they started bringing me in more
and more often and working with Miles Ramsay, and Bill Reiter and Norm
Grohmann and Freddie Latremouille, and you, it was this amazing thing.
I was like, I was in the group, and I'll never forget.
Now you probably don't remember this.
But I'll never forget you walked up to me one day in the studio and
you goes, you know, it's amazing.
You've been here such a short time, but you're right in it.
And I said, I don't know.
I just am, I guess.
And he goes, and you said, no, this is incredible.
We, you've, gotten into this group, inside this group so quickly.
Jim Conrad: Well, that's why I keep telling my kids, all three are artists.
One's a writer, one's an actual artist, and another actor, trust your talent.
How much trust do you have in your talent?
Complete?
Garry Chalk: I have complete trust in my talent.
Now, I mean, I was always second guessing myself back then, but,
you know, the, you reach a stage,
Jim Conrad: Do you still have to tell yourself that when something is like
a television role or a movie role or a character is challenging, that you
don't think you maybe can do this?
Garry Chalk: Possibly, sometimes I've had daunting challenges where I go,
oh my God, will I be able to do this?
Jim Conrad: For example?
Garry Chalk: I did this mini series called Small Sacrifices
with Farrah Fawcett, right?
Where I played the part of her husband.
Come on, Diane, you were young.
Two kids in diapers we were fighting like cats and dogs.
You were stepping out on me.
That's what was going on.
I went and read for this miniseries and I was reading for the Detective,
and that was played by Gordy Clapp and the director, whose name was
David Green, he's an English fellow.
He did, Godspell and, Roots, the miniseries Roots.
Well, these guys are big and Lou Rudolph was the, Rudolph Productions
with Suzanne De Passe and all that.
And he goes, he looks at me and he goes, well, no, I'm, not that bad.
And that was good.
But you could do that in your sleep.
I mean, you played this before, but you sort of look like this fellow,
why don't you go read this, come back in an hour and we we'll have a go.
And I went, okay.
So I took the script and I'm going, fuck.
Oh no.
Jim Conrad: It's the part of the husband.
This is, you're gonna be in a lot of scenes.
Garry Chalk: I went, oh no, I'm dead.
I'm dead.
Oh, no, I'm dead.
But I'm reading it, and I'm reading it, I'm reading it.
And I thought, I can do this.
I can do this.
So I walked, I give it
a hundred percent.
I walk in, I do these scenes, I'm acting my face off.
I'm emoting, I'm, they were very emotional child dead scenes, right?
And the director looks at me and he goes, you know, something that was marvelous.
It was wonderful.
Absolutely beautiful.
It was completely wrong.
But you didn't know, you see, because this character's an arse.
And you didn't know that, but the way you played your instinct, it was lovely.
Thank you.
Wrong but nice.
And I went, ah, shit.
And I've blown it.
I've blown it to death.
So he looks at the producer and he goes, eh.
And the producer goes, eh.
And I walk away thinking I've lost a part.
I get a call the next day, okay, you're doing it.
And I said, what?
He said, the Farrah Fawcett thing.
Shut up.
They said I was wrong.
He said, no, no, they loved you, so you're gonna be there for a few months.
So I went, okay.
And that launched my film career.
Jim Conrad: That was a big miniseries.
Garry Chalk: Oh yeah.
Jim Conrad: They used to have miniseries events and Farrah Fawcett was a huge star.
Garry Chalk: Oh, I loved her.
Absolute professional.
Jim Conrad: What was she like to work with?
Garry Chalk: Absolute professional.
Just a wonderful human being.
I mean, like, she was there, she would work to death and she wasn't afraid
to get in, to just to mix it up.
And oh, we had a marvelous time.
Just great.
The only time that things went sorta haywire is when Ryan O'Neal came on set.
Jim Conrad: And she was married to Ryan at the time.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
And, he was not a very nice man.
I gotta say, I'm sorry, Ryan, but you're not a very nice man.
But he's passed away, so it doesn't matter.
I had my differences with him on set because, here I am, I'm
working with a media event.
I'm nervous as hell.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Garry Chalk: And this guy coming up and telling me what to do and telling me
how to do this and blah, blah, blah.
Jim Conrad: So was he a producer on the show?
Garry Chalk: No.
Nothing.
Jim Conrad: Nothing.
He just showed up because he was married to?
Garry Chalk: He showed up because he was married to her.
And,
Jim Conrad: But he's a big star.
And so they let him on set to do this thing.
Garry Chalk: So I went over to the director and I says,
I don't know what to do.
He's telling me to do all these things and I really don't want to.
And I, and the director goes, who is?
And I says, Ryan, he goes, is he?
Is he?
And he yells out on the side.
He goes, Ryan O'Neal, get off my fucking set.
And they kicked him off.
Jim Conrad: Good.
Well, and you stood up for yourself.
Garry Chalk: Oh yeah.
Well, and this is something that you have to do in this business
or they'll walk all over you.
That was a big launch.
The Fly 2 was my first big feature role.
The Fly 2.
Like father like son.
Where I was the villain.
After I did that role, all of a sudden things started happening.
And,
Jim Conrad: What's your most satisfying role in television or movies?
Satisfying or meaningful?
Garry Chalk: The most satisfying role I've ever had in television was, the role
of Inspector Pawlachuk in Cold Squad.
I was on there for seven years.
What the hell were you thinking, Lynn?
She's planning a hit on her fiancé.
It's a fishing trip.
She's planning a fishing trip for her fiancé and a few of
his buddies in lieu of a stack.
I got to run the gamut.
Jim Conrad: Lot of depth.
Garry Chalk: A lot of depth, lot of edges to this guy and,
I just loved that character.
He was just like a good guy, a bad guy.
He could be really mean to you or really nice to you and or
even handled delicate situations.
And I just found that it was the most satisfying work I'd ever done as an actor.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: When you're in a role like that, how much is your instinct in
play and how much direction is in play?
Obviously someone's written it and someone is now directing it,
but now you are playing the role.
So as you mentioned before, sometimes you gotta stand up for what you
believe in is right for this character.
Garry Chalk: Oh, sure.
But I, a lot times,
Jim Conrad: However, you have to be open to,
Garry Chalk: You have to be open to change or open to interpretation.
And a lot of times the interpretation is justified.
But sometimes, you know, you're, what I've found as an actor, if you
trust your instincts and be committed to that instinct and committed to
that choice that you make, a lot of times, that's the best choice.
And then you can adjust it accordingly.
And I've done that as well.
But usually your instinct is what drives you.
Because something in that script, I, it's hard to explain exactly how it is.
I know that with young actors when they first started, they take copious
notes, what is my motivation doing?
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
And I look at a script these days and I go, who do I love?
Who do I not?
Jim Conrad: Okay.
Garry Chalk: And basically I look at it that way.
What am I afraid of?
What am I not, what is the ultimate goal here?
And it just comes like, it's instinctive.
Jim Conrad: Is there a method, quote unquote, to your acting.
I know there are method actors.
Is there a Garry Chalk method?
Garry Chalk: Well, you know, there absolutely is.
My Garry Chalk method is this.
To me, every actor has this core of self, it's this immutable
crystal core that can't be broken or unchanged because that's you.
But then you put yourself in a set of circumstances like
you are afraid of water.
You love spaghetti.
You love this woman.
You don't like this woman, but you trust her more than you trust this one.
And you keep adding this with bits of clay until you come up with this character.
But the essential, the essence of every character is you in
a given set of circumstances.
So what happens is you build a natural performance because basically it's you.
What would you do given this set of circumstances?
And I've always held by that and it seems to work pretty well.
Jim Conrad: It certainly has.
Garry Chalk: Seems to work pretty well.
I mean, I've been doing this now, my first professional gig, 1978.
So we're looking at like almost, what, 44 years.
44 years of doing this stuff.
And, I just accept it.
I just go with the flow, man.
And,
Jim Conrad: And you love it.
Garry Chalk: And I love it.
Jim Conrad: And you have a passion for it, and so it's not work.
It's just fun.
Garry Chalk: And then, this whole, the whole other dimension that
I, we haven't even talked about.
Jim Conrad: And we're going to now.
Garry Chalk: Oh, we are?
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Garry Chalk: Okay.
Jim Conrad: What is the other dimension?
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
No, the animation world.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Let's talk about the animation world.
What was your first introduction to it?
What was your first role?
What was your first cartoon?
Garry Chalk: I actually have it on my phone.
My very first cartoon was Hiawatha for Kenner Classics out
of Atkinson Film Arts in Ottawa.
And I, my agent in Ottawa at the time says, there's these guys,
they're auditioning for this cartoon.
It's called Hiawatha.
You wanna go and have a read?
And I said, okay.
I've never, never read for a cartoon before, so sure, why not?
So I went and I read the voices and I got three or four voices on it.
Jim Conrad: Okay.
Garry Chalk: I got they voice of Hiawatha.
And his dad and a villain and, I think an old lady, I'm not sure.
Jim Conrad: Which is a unique, I don't know if it's tradition, but it's just a
mindset that was established by Mel Blanc.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: And others.
That when you are doing animation or cartoons, it was much better to hire
one actor to do many different voices.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: And the more you could do, the better It was.
Garry Chalk: Better it was, yeah.
Jim Conrad: For the producer and for the actor.
Yeah.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
So I got hired and one I, I looked at, I was just showing some, I was
at a convention, animation convention in Toronto, earlier this year.
And I just happened to mention about that thing that I did in Ottawa.
And so I showed him and what amazed me was my voice really
hasn't changed that much, you know?
I think I was like 30 years old or something then.
Yeah, so that was pretty incredible.
And, I thought, you know, I really like this.
Jim Conrad: So this is acting, but it's no 5:00 AM makeup calls.
Garry Chalk: No.
It's dress as you are.
Walk in the studio.
The script is right there.
Read, read, read, and away you go.
Jim Conrad: And then you became a part of, as I mentioned to you when
you saw me, you know, you only doing, this for a while, but you're in.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Then you became part of the animation group that got
called for everything in Vancouver.
Garry Chalk: It was amazing.
Jim Conrad: So, names Ian Corlett, of course is one.
Kathleen Barr is another.
Garry Chalk: Ian, Kathleen Barr.
Scott McNeil.
David Kaye.
Richard Newman.
Jim Conrad: Beast Wars.
ReBoot.
Garry Chalk: ReBoot was myself.
Long John Baldry, Michael Benyaer.
Jim Conrad: Any features?
Garry Chalk: Couple of features.
Rudolph and the Land of Lost Toys.
There are not a lot of features.
Features, the funny thing about features, and we did, you know, a few of them.
Jim Conrad: And that's more, I guess the features are more LA right?
Garry Chalk: Yeah, they're more LA and they're more stunt casting, so
you find very few, you know, like guys like myself and us, the blue collar
cartoon guys, very few of them make it.
Jim Conrad: That's what I don't like about I mean even, you know, the Lion King and
a few of the big Disney ones, they still cast actors, but not big name actors.
Garry Chalk: No.
Jim Conrad: But now if they don't have a marquee name on the animation.
Garry Chalk: You don't get it.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
And then there was one I saw where it was an animated thing where the
shark was, the voice of Will Smith and they made the character look
like Will Smith with the ears.
Yeah.
It was like, wait a minute, it's animation.
They're not supposed to know what you look like.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
And to tell you the truth, the kids don't really give a damn.
It's the parents who take the kids to the theater.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Yeah.
And to me it's the, Bugs Bunny was the star.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Not Mel Blanc.
Any great stories about being on set?
Let's talk about famous people that you've met.
Famous actors.
You can name names.
Who was super nice and who were real assholes?
Garry Chalk: Okay.
Super nice.
Farrah Fawcett.
Farrah Fawcett was super nice.
John Shea, absolutely wonderful.
James Coburn, absolutely marvelous.
Loved him.
Jim Conrad: Beautiful voice as well.
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Amazing voice.
Garry Chalk: First guy to do a commercial on television who was a celebrity.
And, and all he said was this Schlitz malt liquor.
He got paid very well.
Robert Mitchum.
Never worked with him.
Had a drink with him.
The greatest guy.
I liked him.
I, George Segal.
Fabulous fellow.
Jim Conrad: Okay.
And so who was, an absolute dick?
Garry Chalk: Sly.
Jim Conrad: Ooh.
Yeah, I heard about that.
Were you on First Blood?
Garry Chalk: I was,
yeah.
Jim Conrad: Richard Crenna?
Garry Chalk: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Nice guy?
Garry Chalk: Very nice guy.
Jim Conrad: So Sly.
Okay, what was wrong with Sly?
What, just thought he was kingship?
Garry Chalk: Yeah, he just had this, you know, don't talk to me, you know?
I have got body guards and whatnot and I just thought, you know, come on man.
Shit does.
Another one.
Steven Seagal.
That's the guy.
Oh my God.
Jim Conrad: Oh, okay.
Story?
Garry Chalk: Oh, my sister was craft service on a couple of his movies and she
told me these horror stories about this fellow and everybody I've met, as soon
as you say that name, they go, oh my God.
He was just not a very nice man.
And, he eventually got to the point where he couldn't make his own movies.
He couldn't be insured or something.
I don't know the exact, but he is now, he's a Russian citizen.
So good for him.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Byebye.
Garry Chalk: I just find that life is short and in this business,
the business that we work in, we have the best business.
We get paid well, we get treated like kings and there is no reason to be a
miserable and certainly no reason to treat people with disrespect or even abuse them.
And, whenever I see it, I get mad.
Jim Conrad: Do you stand up on set and say, Hey, don't.
I have, If a director is treating, let's say an actress in an abusive
manner, which can happen on set.
Garry Chalk: Can happen, it has never happened as far as I am concerned on set.
I've seen actors go after directors and I remember, standing
up against a fellow on set.
Look, if you've got a problem with a director, take it over there in private,
not in front of the entire cast and crew.
You just don't do that.
He was pretty upset.
And I said, I don't give a shit man.
You just go, you know, if you've got beef, sort it out.
You're a grownup.
Jim Conrad: Take it off set.
Garry Chalk: Yeah, take it off set.
Jim Conrad: Did you have any disagreements with directors?
Garry Chalk: No.
No.
I've never had a disagreement.
Jim Conrad: He wryly smiles while saying no.
Garry Chalk: Oh no.
I was just thinking about a producer.
Jim Conrad: Okay.
Or producer?
Garry Chalk: Yeah, this producer one time I was, I was doing a show and they were
four days overtime, over schedule, four days overtime, or three days overtime.
And, I got wrapped.
And, this was back in the eighties.
The casting lady goes, no, I'm sorry you're not wrapped.
I said, whatcha talking about?
And you just wrapped me.
She says, oh no, they need you.
And I says, well.
No, sorry, that doesn't work that way.
It's four o'clock in the morning, I'm gotta go.
I said, well, you have to come back tomorrow.
And I said, no, I can't come back tomorrow 'cause I'm doing something else.
Jim Conrad: Working on something else.
Garry Chalk: I'm working on a voice thing funnily enough at CBC radio.
So the producer comes up and he goes, what the hell is that?
You can't, what are you doing?
I says, I'm sorry, I'm booked on something else.
You went three days over on your schedule.
Not my fault pal.
You know, you do what you have to do.
Well, he says, well, we don't have to put up with the, we don't buy actors
who are booked on something else.
And I said, yeah, well figure it out.
And he walked away 'cause there was nothing he could do.
And then about 10 minutes later he comes back and he goes,
okay, where?
What are you doing tomorrow?
I says, I'm doing a radio play.
What time do you finish?
Noon.
How quickly can you make it up here?
I can be there at one.
One o'clock?
And I said, yes, one o'clock.
And he goes, okay, we can make that work.
He walked off and I'm not lying.
This is no exaggeration.
It's word for word.
Exactly how it went.
We can make that work.
Jim Conrad: We can make that work.
Gary, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you so much.
Garry Chalk: Oh, my pleasure entirely.
Jim Conrad: On the Conovision podcast.
My good friend Ian Corlett.
Ian, hello.
Ian Corlett: Hello.
Jim Conrad: Can you give me off the top of your head a 60 second bio starting
with where you were born and when?
Ian Corlett: I was born in sunny Burnaby, British Columbia, not far
from Vancouver, and my passions were puppets, ventriloquism, and
then filmmaking, in that order.
Jim Conrad: Wow.
What a nerdy kid.
Ian Corlett: Oh man.
I was a nerd of a different color.
Jim Conrad: Burnaby?
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And and as far as my career goes, I remember listening to the radio
as you did when we were in vacation places like California and Hawaii.
And recognizing that there were people on the radio from
my hometown doing commercials.
I said, that's our weatherman.
That's Norm Grohmann and I, and so after I, I had exhausted my filmmaking,
aspirations as a high schooler.
And realizing that there was no film business here then, none.
Jim Conrad: Nothing.
Ian Corlett: Because otherwise I probably would've gone into, you know,
just sweeping up and being a guy.
Jim Conrad: Other than the CBC.
Ian Corlett: Other than, exactly.
And if I decided that I wanted to pursue anything with a camera,
it's exactly what I thought.
I'll work for a TV station.
And that just didn't appeal to me.
And I didn't wanna be a starving independent filmmaker.
So, I worked with the family business for a while, but that, that radio
ear of mine, recognizing that there was actually a business in
Vancouver for making commercials.
It, was like, ooh, I think I can do that.
'Cause I had always been doing like, you know, the history was puppets,
ventriloquism, even, you know, my films, it was always something to do with voice.
Jim Conrad: So you were acting out in acting out?
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yes, I was.
Jim Conrad: And doing voices and entertaining your siblings
and your family or, and friends?
Ian Corlett: The siblings not so much.
Basically, I was a third of three boys.
Jim Conrad: They were just annoyed.
Ian Corlett: They were just annoyed.
It's like they'd have their friends over, you know, three years older or
six years older than me, and they, oh, there's my annoying little brother,
he's gonna bring out the dummy.
So I kept, I tried to keep that cool, and I realized after doing the ventriloquism
for a while, I went, know, I, I'm a nerd.
But I'm not that much of a nerd.
So I became a filmmaking nerd, but then, you know, fast forward
and I, started knocking on the door of companies like GGRP.
Because I said, hey.
That's sort of like the film business.
But not.
Jim Conrad: It's kind of acting.
So was that something that you formalized or, you know, visualized in
your head that you would be an actor?
Ian Corlett: Well, no, I mean, I did school plays.
I was never off book, ever.
Couldn't memorize a thing.
And, people say, oh yes you can.
You're, you just don't know how, and I don't think so.
I, think I'm missing a little circuit.
So when this voice thing came into my awareness, I went, oh, that's for me.
Jim Conrad: So you can get paid by actually reading a script.
You don't have to memorize it.
Ian Corlett: And I'm acting.
Jim Conrad: You just have to imagine or make it sound like you're not reading it.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Like my first, I wish I remembered exactly, but amongst the first commercials
that I did there was one in this building.
And there was one, actually, the very first one I did remember.
Ooh.
It was a place downtown, I think it was on Seymour Street.
Jim Conrad: Oh yeah.
Ian Corlett: Where Woodward's used to do all their production.
And it was like you walked into that place and it was a giant room.
It looked like a giant gym.
Jim Conrad: And it was a, like a museum.
Ian Corlett: Kind of.
Yeah.
It had the, those big RCA mixing boards with huge knobs.
And I felt like, it was like a set.
There was a, like a, an old kick drum and a standup base in the corner.
Is Elvis coming in here?
And I also, I'm getting these flashbacks now.
I remember what he recorded onto.
It was a leather bound, almost looked like a, portable recorder.
Jim Conrad: Reel to reel tape, like a Naga.
Ian Corlett: But it was, yeah, exactly like the ones they used to use in films.
And anyway, the, the first stuff that I would get hired on was
like the character young guy.
And that was like a Fast Times at Ridgemont High, kind of,
hey dudes, Woodward, just having a sale man, you know?
And that was the beginning of all of this.
Jim Conrad: So yeah, you started in it, you were good at it.
People recognized that you were good.
You started getting hired.
What point in time, and now you're now the commercial thing is happening.
You're making some money.
You're doing okay.
What was the family business?
Ian Corlett: The family business was a retail piano store.
Well, it was a music store.
Mostly pianos and organs though, so I grew up in that.
Our whole family did.
Like it was, an extension of how we lived.
But at the time that I was thinking about getting into, actually no I
still worked in that store in Burnaby.
But my brother and I went off and started a more contemporary
electronic music division.
It was called, the original store was called Music Man.
Music Man Piano and Organ.
And then the business that my brother and I went off to was called Music
Man's Annex, because it started sort of upstairs from the other piano store.
And then we moved downtown and I, I really loved that.
It was,
Jim Conrad: Which evolved into the Annex.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Now it's the Annex.
Still exists.
And they sell really high-end recording gear and animation
software, all sorts of stuff.
It's amazing.
Jim Conrad: Shout to Brian Lowe.
He built my last studio here.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Brian Lowe.
Yeah.
Let me get on that for you, you know?
Jim Conrad: Right.
Oh, hi Jim.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Anyway.
Yeah.
Brian's a wizard.
Absolute wizard.
So, so I, yeah.
Jim Conrad: The family business got you musically inclined
and you are still a musician.
Ian Corlett: Yes, I, played drums as well.
That was slightly less nerdy, but because of my weird background, you know, playing
in a band was not really in the cards.
Jim Conrad: You were the nerd drummer?
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
I was actually, 'cause I eschewed rock and roll.
Jim Conrad: Oh, okay.
Ian Corlett: Because I thought, you know, if you're gonna be a proper
musician, a drummer, you gotta play jazz.
Jim Conrad: Exactly.
Ian Corlett: Rock's too easy.
Yeah.
4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4. So I, you know, I was a nerd.
Yes.
A card carrying member.
Jim Conrad: And then the revolution for voice actors in
this town began with animation.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Jim Conrad: When, gimme a timeframe around that.
The early nineties?
Ian Corlett: No.
Jim Conrad: Earlier?
Ian Corlett: It was mid eighties when it started to trickle in, and
it was kind of mid, late eighties that it felt like it was solidifying.
Jim Conrad: First cartoon?
Ian Corlett: Oh, good question.
I think it was, that big hit Kissy Fur.
No one knows this.
No one knows this show.
Jim Conrad: I just like saying the word Kissy Fur.
Ian Corlett: It was really odd.
And I don't even remember the character I had.
Because right around the same time was another show called
Captain N: The Game Master.
And there were many luminaries in that cast.
And I remember the character of that one.
I played, it was all built around the Nintendo video games.
And I played Dr. Wily.
He was the German, because, you know, that's it.
These memories of Captain N's are all I need to bring my creation to life.
But I, put 'em back in my voice like this a little bit and, laughed like,
big hit with the kids NBC Saturday mornings.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Hey man, that's the big time.
Ian Corlett: It was the big time.
Jim Conrad: Holy shit.
Ian Corlett: 'Cause I remember going on a, it's always on a trip
to California and I was married, we were in a hotel Saturday morning.
I went, oh, I can watch this cartoon that just came out.
Because it's on NBC.
These, for those of you who don't know the history of television and Canada
and countries, we didn't really get NBC.
We would get NBC programming, but they would throw Canadian commercials in.
So it wasn't like the full NBC experience.
So down there I'm tuned in and I'm went, oh, this is so great.
I really got a charge from that.
Like amazing.
Jim Conrad: So the first cartoon on national NBC in the States, and then
you mentioned going into the studio who was up in front of the microphone,
in the cartoon array at that time.
Ian Corlett: There was Garry Chalk.
There was Michael Donovan.
There was Andrew Kavadas.
Matt Hill.
He was the Game Master.
He was the plucky teen.
Did somebody call my name?
I live to help beautiful princesses.
And then the star of that was, oh boy.
He was a guy from the States, Otis Rufuss, some famous singer from like the Four
Tops or the, you know, one of those.
And he played Mother Brain.
It was basically a,
Jim Conrad: What was that you just did?
Ian Corlett: It was a mother brain.
It was a really bad impersonation of whoever I'm trying to conjure up
in my memory, but it was kind of a, like a little shop of horrors thing.
I don't know.
They mashed all this stuff together.
Yeah.
Let's have all the video game characters and there'll be this mother
brain, it's a big plant who talks.
Meanwhile, a short distance from the palace.
Princess Lana is a fool to think I would accept peace on her terms.
The only peace I would accept is a peace of video land and very big piece.
It was a hit.
Jim Conrad: So now you're fully immersed in the animation world here in Vancouver.
What was the spark that made you want to create your own cartoon?
Ian Corlett: Well, it goes back to my filmmaking.
I really, truly wanted to be a director.
That was my thing.
And I just thought, I don't know how I can get there.
I just don't think this is gonna work.
'Cause what I wanted to do was kind of the Spielberg route, sweep up, work on sets.
Jim Conrad: Start at the bottom.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
So, fast forward, I'm now in this world of voicing cartoons.
And I go, wow, okay.
I'm reading a lot of scripts because I'm reading, like performing a lot
of scripts and go, I can do this.
This is like when I made films, then the wheels started turning.
I go, okay, I'm gonna start writing.
And I found my way into some productions and got a resume of a bunch of
Canadian companies that were hiring, and none of them were in Vancouver.
They were, Toronto and Montreal.
So,
Jim Conrad: But they were hiring writers?
Ian Corlett: Writers, yeah.
And at that time they, now there's so many restrictions provincially,
like they've got boxes to check.
Jim Conrad: Like hoops of fire to jump through.
Ian Corlett: Hoops of fire.
Exactly.
. So, you know, thank goodness I got hired.
Jim Conrad: Title of my third album.
Hoops of Fire.
Ian Corlett: That was one of your best actually.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Thank you.
Ian Corlett: Underrated.
Underrated.
Jim Conrad: I think so.
I think so.
I was in a good place then.
Ian Corlett: So anyway, I started writing and it was with
a mind to create my own stuff.
So that was the throwback to the filmmaking days and that was
why I, everything's calculated.
Jim Conrad: What made you believe that you could create and produce your own stuff?
Ian Corlett: I don't know.
I don't know.
I, you know, 'cause I always made stuff.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
And you started making stuff when you were a kid.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
So why not?
Why not make bigger things?
Had I known how difficult it is to get something made
anywhere, not just in Canada.
oh, I still would've done it.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: But it was, it's a, it's an ordeal.
Jim Conrad: So the series was Being Ian, how long did it run and where?
Ian Corlett: It ran On Y TV for, I just looked at the numbers
and I've already forgotten them.
I believe it's 65 episodes and three movies.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Wow.
Okay.
That's a pretty good cannon.
Yeah.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And funny, I do these convention appearances and personal appearances
down in 'Merica and no one knows Being Ian unless they were really
poor because it ran for a while on a strange early streamer called Kubo.
And I can always tell when someone you know was from a family that
could not afford cable, 'cause they go, I know Being Ian.
I go, okay.
Jim Conrad: Used to watch, you want Kubo.
Ian Corlett: Exactly.
But it's so nice.
Like I don't do many things in convention appearances in Canada,
but when I do, it really warms the old cockles, if you know what I mean.
Jim Conrad: Absolutely.
Ian Corlett: And they come up and they go, oh yeah.
Oh, I grew up on that stuff.
Oh, oh, thank you.
Thank you.
'cause I don't get a lot of that.
Lights.
Camera.
Action.
Why can't the world just see things my way.
Jim Conrad: What was the genesis of the move to Los Angeles?
What made you think, okay, it's time for me to uproot, get down there and start
working and really hitting it hard?
Ian Corlett: Well, that's a good one.
We, I'm using the royal we now 'cause I'm so important.
I, I had, I, I think I had missed three roles here in Vancouver
that I thought that I'm going to hit this out of the park.
And I didn't get cast.
Jim Conrad: You thought you nailed them.
Ian Corlett: Thought I nailed them.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: And I had, I had a long run of very good success.
And I was starting to realize, I went, okay, well there's a lot
of other people in this city.
Jim Conrad: And it's growing.
Ian Corlett: And it's growing.
Jim Conrad: The numbers are getting bigger.
Ian Corlett: And there's an odd Canadian thing.
I don't want to be a grumpy negative guy, but there is a Canadian thing
where you hit the glass ceiling.
Jim Conrad: There's only so far you can go in this country
before you think I need to go.
If I want to go further, I've gotta go to the States.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And that basically,
Jim Conrad: And that just comes with living right next door to
the giant mother that is America.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
So that encapsulates my thought.
And I said to myself, self, actually I phoned my friend Andrea Romano,
who is like the gold standard of voice director in Los Angeles.
And she would come up here to direct us kids up here.
Jim Conrad: So it was, it started with a relationship.
Ian Corlett: It started with a relationship.
So we became good friends.
Like work friends and then good friends.
And I called her up and I had this, you know, come to Andrea moment
and said, here's what's going on.
I'm like, do I have to go start selling real estate or something?
I don't know what to do.
And she said, well, you've worked down here.
'Cause I did.
I actually, my first foray into working in the US was around the year 2000.
And I got cast as basically a token Canadian for a Canada US
production called What's with Andy.
And they had points to check off, again.
And they wanted to keep the writing and the real creative core in LA.
Jim Conrad: You were a write off?
Ian Corlett: I was a write off.
So they needed to have this,
Jim Conrad: In the best sense possible.
Ian Corlett: Absolutely.
And I took it.
They needed the star, quote unquote, to be Canadian.
And then there was a certain amount of, because the animation
company was also Canadian.
So thank you very much.
I'll take that all day.
Any day.
Every day.
And so I had started back then, so I had my papers.
And Andrea knew that.
She goes, you've worked here.
You know, you can work here.
And I said, yeah, I guess so.
And she said, get your ass down here and restart.
You know, go to classes, go to, anyway, she was the one that
said, get your ass down here.
And I said to myself, self.
Well actually what I said was, Sandra, my wife, here's what I'm thinking.
I'm gonna take six months and give her a whirl in Los Angeles by myself.
'Cause I was not gonna uproot.
I just, no, I gotta test the waters.
So that's where it started.
Jim Conrad: So you got a year work visa?
Ian Corlett: Yes.
At that time I was, I had revolving 0-1 Visas, which are
aliens of extraordinary ability.
Jim Conrad: Yes, that's right.
Ian Corlett: And I think you might be one of those too.
Jim Conrad: I'm an alien with a very extraordinary ability.
But I can't mention.
Ian Corlett: No, I know.
There's a court order, isn't there?
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Yeah.
Ian Corlett: So I was ready.
And fortunately my long suffering wife said, yeah.
She didn't like the idea at all.
Jim Conrad: But she loves you.
Ian Corlett: She does.
Jim Conrad: And saw how much you wanted to do this.
And so she said, yeah.
That's love.
Ian Corlett: And we sold.
Jim Conrad: That's love.
Ian Corlett: That's true.
It's true.
What's love got to do with it?
Everything.
So we were in our big house in Kerrisdale and first step was we're gonna downsize.
We downsized to a 3,200 square foot house.
Okay.
Jim Conrad: Baby steps.
Ian Corlett: So we did that and that was a big deal.
You know, we've cashed out a little and did that.
So that happened all around the same time.
Sell the house.
I'm gonna go down there.
Jim Conrad: So this is a pretty big thing going on.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: A lot of anxiety.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
And the six months were very good.
Jim Conrad: Well that is very good.
If you go down there and it's crickets.
Dare I say, when you make a leap like that, you just gotta trust your talent.
Ian Corlett: You do.
You do.
Jim Conrad: Would you say that's probably one of the biggest
things that you've learned to do?
Ian Corlett: Yes.
And the other thing that was kind of my calling card was, I am the oldest
newcomer they ever met with this huge resume and a bunch of experience.
Jim Conrad: And brand new.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And where are you from?
Jim Conrad: Who, is this guy?
Ian Corlett: Who's this crazy kid?
With the graying beard, you know.
Well, it's me.
So, it worked out.
And I remember, not just cartoons, commercials, which I know you're, is
near and dear to our collective hearts.
After about a year, I went, I've made more in commercials and these were
not like hitting it out of the park.
But like I've made more in commercials in this year than I did in four in Vancouver.
Because the market just changed.
Jim Conrad: And if you can make it there, as they say, you can
make it, what did they say?
Ian Corlett: Underwear.
Underwear.
Jim Conrad: Underwear.
Yeah.
You can make it in someone else's underwear.
Ian Corlett: Underwear.
Yeah.
We are gonna get shut down.
Jim Conrad: So this has become a success.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Jim Conrad: And now you're working, doing commercials.
Doing animation.
And I know you're a big Disney fan.
When was the first time you worked for Disney?
Ian Corlett: Ooh, that's a good question.
Actually, it was the first series that I booked, Vampirina.
Whoa.
Vampirina.
It was a for a, you know, young girls series, and I got
cast as the French skeleton.
What else?
Presenting macaroni and cheese.
Cheese and noodles.
Where is the pizazz?
Where is the love.
That looks so boring.
I will not serve it.
And that, it's funny.
Yeah.
That was the first series I booked was Disney.
Jim Conrad: Did you drive on the lot?
Ian Corlett: No.
Jim Conrad: Oh, okay.
Ian Corlett: No, we did it at my friend Jamie Simone's studio.
Shout out to Jamie.
Called Studiopolis.
Man, he's a, he is a great guy.
And I knew him from the early days of when I worked in Los
Angeles the first time in 2000.
Jim Conrad: Another relationship.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
But that was just like by accident.
Oh, you own this studio.
Right.
Of course.
Yeah.
So that was pretty cool.
Jim Conrad: Been mentioning the word relationship.
How important is that in your career and in your life?
I mean, 360 degrees.
Relationships are everything.
Like love.
Ian Corlett: Huge.
Huge.
And, you know, I was just talking, I'm, this is all I'm doing is
referencing my dear wife today.
But this morning on our Sea Wall walk.
I was talking about how the relationship part of any business has changed so much
because, you know, our son is trying to plug his way into the London job market.
But the networking, like, I mean, we've experienced gatekeepers.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
Ian Corlett: But now there's these digital gatekeepers where
you submit through this link.
Jim Conrad: Digital firewalls.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Beep bop boop.
You never, ever deal with a human.
And part of the issue for me is when you go into audition for something, and
even if you don't have a relationship with the people on the other side of
the glass, at least you get to say hi.
They get some feeling like, okay, this guy's an asshole.
Jim Conrad: Or this is a real human being.
Ian Corlett: This is a real human being.
Maybe,
Jim Conrad: Who just asked me how my kids were.
Ian Corlett: Maybe we can spend time with him because it's
gonna be six months of this.
Jim Conrad: But when you're recording in your home studio and
submitting, you don't have that.
Ian Corlett: None.
None.
And I know, because I've been on the other side of it where they're getting hundreds.
And you know, if you are not, you know, guys of my ilk, my compadres
in LA who have got, you resumes equal and above mine, but, you know,
they're in my world, they're kind of household names in LA and I'm not.
So I become part of that gush of hundreds.
And it's kinda boom, next, next.
And it is tough to crack that, like really tough to crack that.
So it's a really interesting topic, the relationship topic, like, I
don't think, I'm not saying it's impossible, but the game has changed.
Jim Conrad: It's changed considerably.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And I would love to know who's cracking, you know, even outside of our industry.
Jim Conrad: Well, they have to make a choice and they have to choose someone.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: And, but I long ago stopped wondering what the
fuck goes through their mind.
Ian Corlett: Oh, absolutely.
Jim Conrad: When they're casting anything.
Ian Corlett: Absolutely.
Jim Conrad: I can't even go there.
I mean, you can try to do, this is something that Bryan Cranston I heard
say, you know, he said when he was auditioning and auditioning and finally
he just had to do it for himself.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Jim Conrad: He wasn't going in there to try and impress anybody or do this,
you know, even looking at the spec.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Oh, totally.
Jim Conrad: Even looking at the spec where they, this is what we're looking for.
Ian Corlett: No, they don't.
Jim Conrad: You know, and I said,
Ian Corlett: They don't want that.
Jim Conrad: If I see the word gravitas one more fucking time.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Yeah.
'cause I don't have any.
Jim Conrad: I don't, sorry.
I'm all outta gravitas today.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
I have no tas or grav.
Jim Conrad: I got nothing Latin in my repertoire.
Ian Corlett: I know.
And I don't even, I am with you a million percent.
I look at the, I of course you look at the specs.
But,
Jim Conrad: Funniest story about the spec is when the great
trailer voice, Don LaFontaine.
From flesh to steel, from blood to blade, from man to mutant.
But he tells the great story of getting a, an audition.
And in the spec, they wanted a Don LaFontaine sound alike.
Ian Corlett: I've, had that.
Jim Conrad: And he went, oh, well this is a slam dunk.
And did the audition and didn't get the gig.
Ian Corlett: He didn't get it.
No.
Jim Conrad: He wasn't, apparently he wasn't enough of him.
Wow.
Ian Corlett: That's crazy.
But I did, I wore that as a badge of honor.
It was up here.
And I saw in this, oh, Ian Corlett type.
Well, I'm right here.
I'm not expensive.
Jim Conrad: Make sure you get a copy of that and put it on your studio wall.
Ian Corlett: There is a guy, and you may have experienced this too, where
I now, occasionally it's, and it's one guy, I believe he's in New York.
He's an ad guy and he takes the time to not just write out a
spec, but he'll record something.
He goes, hey guys, thanks a lot.
This is so and so.
And this is what I'm looking for.
And you know, I don't wanna go too far this way.
I don't wanna, and I'm, it's a human.
Jim Conrad: It's a human being that's actually asking me what
to, you know how to do it.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And it's recorded, but it, but he's very respectful and like,
oh, thanks so much for, everyone.
Good luck in the audition, you know?
Jim Conrad: And then there's the actors that they want you to sound like.
Ian Corlett: Oh, I don't get me started.
I mean, what's his name?
Krasinski.
Jim Conrad: Oh, yeah.
Ian Corlett: Oh, I mean, not, I'm not seeing so many of those now.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Yeah.
Ian Corlett: But oh, we're looking for a Krasinski to, okay, fine.
So you want someone that's not announcing, you know?
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
You want an actor.
Ian Corlett: You want an actor.
Jim Conrad: That's, gosh, that's what I do.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
I absolutely, when I see those, I make sure I don't do it.
Especially in LA.
It's full of mimics.
Jim Conrad: Everybody can imitate somebody.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
And you just go, no, I'm not gonna do that.
Jim Conrad: My, an agent in LA told me that.
I said, what about specs?
And he goes, he says, ignore 'em.
He says, we want you, you know, you wanna sell Jim Conrad,
you wanna sell Ian Corlett.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: And getting to that point, that's tough.
You just gotta keep on working, keep on chopping wood.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
I haven't heard that one before.
That's good.
Jim Conrad: That's a Canadian, that's a Canadian.
Ian Corlett: Is it ever.
Jim Conrad: I tell my kids that.
I said, just keep chopping wood.
Ian Corlett: Keep chopping wood.
Jim Conrad: Get a big pile, you know, and then put it over there.
And make another pile.
Ian Corlett: Make another pile.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Jim Conrad: I wanted to ask you about, and, you've probably got some funny
stories, about all of the Cartoon fan things that you attend because
you've done a number of memorable characters from various series.
And, then the fans of those characters and those cartoons, they organize, they
pay you for an appearance, and then you come and sign stuff and posters and
talk with people sometimes and yeah.
And sign people and talk with real fans of, okay, Dragon Ball.
Ian Corlett: Dragon Ball.
Well, if your friend is stronger than you, I guess you're
the third strongest say now.
Goku, I was the original English voice of Goku.
So that's kind of like the number one fan favorite.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Gimme some Goku.
Ian Corlett: He sounds just like me.
Hey.
I'm Goku.
It's a real stretch.
Jim Conrad: What a stretch.
Ian Corlett: But anyway, so that's Goku.
And then the other tossup, and I'll tell you this, you, you need,
Jim Conrad: Does it get weird?
Ian Corlett: No.
But one must make their peace with oneself that you are now nostalgia.
You know, if you're hung up on age or like, get over it.
Because you know, you're my childhood and the guy is 40.
Jim Conrad: Ooh.
Yeah.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
So, okay.
I'll take that.
I, is there weird stories?
Yes.
There are some weird stories, there.
Jim Conrad: Can you possibly tell us one?
Ian Corlett: Is that what this is about?
Jim Conrad: I think so.
Ian Corlett: Okay.
I think mostly, you know what, I'm gonna keep, I'm gonna keep
it, keep it nice and friendly.
Broad strokes.
Jim Conrad: Broad strokes.
Ian Corlett: Broad strokes.
The heartwarming stories.
Jim Conrad: Yes.
You know what I want?
I love heartwarming.
Ian Corlett: Heartwarming is,
Jim Conrad: I love heartwarming.
Ian Corlett: When someone comes up, I had a guy just about two months
ago, and he comes up and, you know, like there's all flavors of fans.
You know, there's the hardcore, there's the fans on the spectrum
who, like, they don't really wanna make eye contact, but they're still,
you know, really into this stuff.
And then there's the, this guy who comes up and he goes, your
character Goku, saved my life.
And I'm thinking, metaphorically, you know?
Oh yeah.
Okay, great.
He really got into something.
No, no.
He was, he had a gun in his hand and it was probably near his head.
And he said, I looked over, it was the lowest part of my life.
I looked over and Dragon Ball was on the tv and Goku was powering up and getting
over like something, it's all fighting.
Goku is just fight, fight.
And he went put the gun down and went.
What the fuck are you doing?
And I went, are you kidding me?
And he was, and this guy, you know, he didn't have any of the outward,
oh, there's a troubled soul.
He, just looked like a normal dude.
And I went, I don't even know what to, he said, don't say anything.
Don't say anything.
I just wanted to tell you, you saved my life.
Literally.
I went, wow.
Jim Conrad: Wow.
That's amazing.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: I've asked this question to many people in the podcast, and I'll
ask you, what is the ratio of luck and chance in your career and in your life?
How much has luck and, or chance played a part?
Ian Corlett: I don't know if I could put a, number on it, but it's large.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: You know, what's the expression?
You need to be ready to have luck.
What?
Jim Conrad: We're gonna work on that
luck.
Ian Corlett: Luck is when,
Jim Conrad: We'll fix it in post.
Ian Corlett: When preparation meets opportunity.
Jim Conrad: Preparation meets opportunity.
Sure.
Ian Corlett: That's it.
Jim Conrad: No, it's, no.
Luck is when preparation meets nepotism.
Ian Corlett: Oh, that.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: That doesn't hurt.
Jim Conrad: That's, yeah.
My uncle got me the gig.
Welcome to
LA.
Ian Corlett: It is huge.
Yes.
You must be ready for luck, but you also gotta, like, I'm a, you know this.
I'm a hustler.
And, I'm,
Jim Conrad: You gotta be.
Ian Corlett: You are the same way.
I was always very impressed with you, 'cause you were like, you would go out
with your advertising and promo clients, like you'd go out places, but like I
just didn't have any appetite for that.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: Even though I'm a hustler, it was like, I, wanna do the gig and then go
Jim Conrad: Oh, the schmooze.
Ian Corlett: Oh yeah.
I was trying to avoid the schmooze 'cause it's, kinda like has a
derogatory, I, not to me but to others.
Like, oh, schmoozing.
Schmoozing is awesome.
Jim Conrad: I think someone once said, I schmooze, therefore I am.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Nietzsche's cousin.
So luck and chance.
Luck, you've been very lucky.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Jim Conrad: Extremely talented.
Ian Corlett: Yes.
Jim Conrad: And very lucky.
Ian Corlett: I'll take that.
It's all of the above, you know, and you gotta be ready for it.
Jim Conrad: Well, I mean, that's, I think Johnny Carson once said,
he said, it's not enough to be in the right place in the right time,
and it's not enough to be talented.
The question is are you ready?
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
Ian Corlett: Good point.
Jim Conrad: And I think it's the love of relationship.
I go, I keep going back to that as well, that has helped many successful
people in our business stay successful.
You gotta love the people.
And the fact that people are being a bit removed from the process
is, I think, kind of disturbing.
Ian Corlett: It is a little, and I want to know, I'm sure there
is a code to be cracked there.
I used to say this about music 'cause like I worked in, I sold digital stuff.
Everything was artificial.
And I, well of course, I'm an early adopter and I'm quick to project,
like I see where this is going.
And this is back in the eighties.
I went, you know, they're gonna revolt against all this digital stuff and
we're gonna be back to like acoustic instruments and real performance.
Well, I was wrong, but I still believe that there, even with like all the
AI and the sampling and you go to a fricking big concert today, Taylor Swift.
Don't at me Swifties.
But everything is recorded.
There are huge dance shows.
There's no breathing, there's no, I'm singing and I, because
I gotta do these moves.
No, it's perfect.
Jim Conrad: It's on a click track.
Ian Corlett: I wonder why.
And then you see something very real.
He's 150 years old, but I went to see Jeff Lynne and ELO.
And he was singing and he was,
Jim Conrad: You could hear him breathing.
Ian Corlett: He was behind the beat.
He was in front of it.
And he was kinda, but he was singing.
And I went, oh, this is nice.
Jim Conrad: Let's briefly touch on AI.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Jim Conrad: Where is that going to land our business?
Ian Corlett: Well, I think in the world of dubbing, so like anime lookout,
today's AI is the worst version of it.
It's only gonna get better.
But a real actor, a real musician, a real anything is gonna be, you know,
leaps and bounds ahead of anything.
And it's going to be the type of production, and I don't want to, you know,
paint anyone negatively, but there are exceedingly budget conscious productions.
Jim Conrad: Chintzy producers.
Ian Corlett: Yeah.
Be it, you know, bad commercials, bad tv, bad anything.
Jim Conrad: Hacks.
Ian Corlett: And they're gonna go perfect.
That's good enough.
No one's gonna know.
And you know what?
They probably won't.
Here's a question for you.
How often outside of professionals in our business have you been
recognized for your voice?
Jim Conrad: Almost never.
And I love it.
Ian Corlett: Isn't it the best?
Jim Conrad: Yeah.
I mean, I mean obviously the fame and the fortune of on-camera actors and
big stars and movie stars and TV stars.
But there is you're giving up a lot of stuff, like being able to go to the mall.
Ian Corlett: Can I tell you a story?
Jim Conrad: Sure.
Ian Corlett: Do you have your steel toe boots on?
'Cause I'm about to name drop.
Jim Conrad: Okay, here we go.
Ian Corlett: Okay, so we're in Hawaii.
And the kids went over to the pool and they came the, at the Four
Seasons, and they come back with their friends and they went, oh,
Adam Sandler is staying over there.
This is great.
So, the next day I went over and, and sure enough there's Adam Sandler
with his, it was holiday season and, you know, he's a pretty normal guy.
And I was sitting in the hot tub with this kid who noticed I had this
Transformers t-shirt on, and the kid, he's looking at my T-shirt, he goes,
oh, Transformers, I love Transformers.
And I went, oh, what's your favorite Transformers show?
Beast Wars.
Oh, get out.
Like that never happens.
Who's your favorite character?
Cheetor.
Robots in disguise.
Cheetor.
Maximize.
Neat.
One of my characters.
I go, okay, well now we gotta talk.
The kid goes and tells his dad and he runs up to the room and he
comes back with a shattered iPad.
He's got episodes loaded up.
Like he truly was a Beast Wars fan.
So I'm going, okay, well this is really fun.
We watched a couple of things.
Oh, watch this part, you know, oh, do the voice.
Okay.
So, I said, do you want me to sign something?
And I asked the dad and he goes, oh, that'd be great.
Sign this shirt or something.
So I walk over to the outdoor cafe looking for a Sharpie, and I walked past Adam
Sandler and he goes, what's going on?
'Cause he could see like, and I said, I'm gonna sign something.
He goes, why?
I said, oh, a voice actor.
And he goes, oh, that's the best fucking job in show biz.
And I went, you know, I think you're right.
Jim Conrad: Ian, thank you.
Ian Corlett: Thank you.
Jim Conrad: That's episode six of Conovision, the spirit of storytelling.
We began with the story of why Shakespeare matters today, from a
column in the National Post, written by the late Great Canadian and
Newfoundland native son, Rex Murphy.
Then another color from the palette of word jazz originator, Ken Nordine, ecru.
And then two wonderful conversations with two incredibly talented actors,
Garry Chalk and Ian James Cortlett.
I hope you enjoyed listening as much as I've enjoyed presenting another edition
of Conovision, the spirit of storytelling.
I am Jim Conrad, and remember, we are all stories to be told.