J. Michael Collins: Voice Actor & Demo Producer

J. Michael Collins has voiced national work for Boost Mobile, Helzberg Diamonds, and other brands people recognize on sound alone. He’s also built a reputation for demos that quietly set the bar across the industry. His background spans trailers, narration, political, and commercial work, where most of the real choices stay out of sight. We talked about authority, cadence, and the invisible decisions that decide whether a voice is believed.

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When you get a new script, what’s the first invisible cue that tells you how the voice should sit in the mix?

Typically, and depending on the genre, whether or not the script includes humor can go a long way toward informing vocal placement. Humorous reads often tend to be brighter, higher pitched, and quirkier, though not always. There’s also what I call the "big ironic announcer guy," like an old Don Pardo voice from Saturday Night Live, but humor is often a good first indicator of sound.

In commercial work, what tiny shift in tone separates a believable read from a performance that sounds “performed”?

I find that it’s less about tone than cadence. Many talent chase perfection, but in real life we rarely sound perfect. We speak with thought pauses, stutters, and we drag words or clip them. Reads sound performed when they’re too well executed, too flawless. That usually hits the ear as inauthentic.

You coach a lot of talent. What unseen habit shows you someone is ready for higher tier work before they think they are?

Talent who are ready for the big leagues can usually look at a piece of copy and almost immediately conceive of three or more very distinct ways to deliver the read. When they’re doing that consistently, I know they’re close to breaking through.

In demo production, what early decision ends up defining whether a reel lands with agents?

The best early decision a voice actor can make is not to do a demo until they’re truly ready. If agency representation is the goal, you need to absolutely nail five to seven different read styles with real range and be able to reproduce those reads on demand. Agents often ask for several fresh reads after they’ve approved someone for consideration. A great demo producer can make an average talent sound elite, which gets an agent’s attention, but if you can’t handle the "prove it" moment, you’re toast.

Across trailers, narration, and political spots, what recurring pattern in voice direction goes unnoticed but shapes the whole message?

Those are very different genres, but one thing they tend to have in common is that they come from a place of authority. These reads usually present with more confidence and certainty than others, and a more "perfect" read is often what’s desired in those spaces.

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When J. Michael talks about voice, he isn’t talking about microphones or plugins. He’s talking about the decisions you never hear but always feel. For him, the invisible work is the part that turns a read into a message people trust.

Learn more about J. Michael at:

• Website