Intro
Welcome to Alicyn’s Wonderland, I’m your host Alicyn Packard. Join us as we journey through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole into the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games.
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Alicyn
Welcome everyone to inside Alicyn's Wonderland. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. I know that everybody's just getting connected. I want to say thanks to everybody that's tuning in live. This is Alicyn's Wonderland. Hey guys. And toda y we have a special guest, I feel like every week it's special. But today, more so special because of the story that we're going to get into. Today's guest is Kellen Goff, and Kellen Goff is a voice actor. He's been doing this quite a while especially since Kellen started his pursuit of voice acting at the ripe age of 13 years old. And Kellen has just built such a really nice career, and has a lot of dedicated fans, and an amazing community. So I'm super excited to welcome Kellen to the show today. Let's see if he's here. He is. So ladies and gents, hands together for Kellen Goff. Hi!
Kellen
How's it going?
Alicyn
Good. I like your headband.
Kellen
Thank you. It's to keep the hair. I haven't gone to a barber in a while. How's it going?
Alicyn
It's going great. That is the story I hear a lot from people. I'm constantly saying just on my Instagram feed, everybody getting like their first haircut. It's like your kids, your baby's first haircut, you know?
Kellen
Right. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we just haven't really known if it's, you know, safe to do so yet. I guess soon it will be, I'm on shot one of two. So not gonna be long.
Alicyn
You know what? Kellenm I kind of like what you have going on. Maybe you just want to roll with it.
Kellen
Maybe. Maybe for as long as it stays this long.
Alicyn
Do you know what's funny? I think I have that same headband. Is that like a galaxy print?
Kellen
Yeah, it is.
Alicyn
Oh my god, I have that same headband.
Kellen
Really?
Alicyn
I could have worn it.
Kellen
Oh, yeah, absolutely. We could have been headband bros.
Alicyn
Next time. We'll coordinate outfits.
Kellen
Next time. Next time.
Alicyn
Next time. So you were just recording something. I'm sure you probably can't tell us what you were recording, but are you in your booth?
Kellen
No. I can get in my booth right now, actually. Now, I'm in my booth.
Alicyn
Ohh. Show us a little BTS.
Kellen
Yeah. Isn't it? It changes colors too. Yeah, a little bit. It changes colors as well.
Alicyn
Can we see?
Kellen
If I can find, if I can find the remote. It's around here somewhere.
Alicyn
And for anyone that's listening to the audio version of this podcast, Kellen has just entered his soundproof booth. It has some square acoustic paneling that looks kind of like, you know, he's in a 1970s discotheque.
Kellen
Is that what it looks like? I will take your word for it. I've always wanted to go, but I have never found. I don't think, Oh, I'm sorry. They're only this color for now. I don't know where the, where the remote went for them. But yeah, this is the setup. And it's not connected right now. But here's the, here's the booth computer right there. And here's all the inner workings. And this is where it all happens.
Alicyn
That's where the magic happens.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
Do you record on a Neumann TLM 103?
Kellen
That's the one.
Alicyn
Nice, and who's your little green guy?
Kellen
Oh, that's Treecko. That's a, I have a bunch of Poké plushies in here. I love Pokémon. Little Seedot keeping me company too.
Alicyn
Awe, fantastic.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
So how are you feeling? Was your session heavy on the screaming or was it pretty mild today?
Kellen
I mean, it was cartoony so it was very slapstick. So there's a lot of those cartoony screams but I placed them in a place where it never hurts me. So it was a-okay.
Alicyn
Nice.
Kellen
But those sessions that are like really gravelly screaming like, like Diavolo for instance, the, those took it out of me, man. But hey, that's what you got to do sometimes.
Alicyn
Absolutely. So can we tell, kind of tell everybody how we sort of met because I don't think, have we even met like in real life? I mean we've?
Kellen
I don't know if we've met in real life. Maybe? I could, I could have sworn we met for like one lunch once or something. So we definitely have had phone calls. My dad actually introduced us through, through a mutual friend. He sort of said, Hey, this is a working voice actress and she, she's really talented and stuff. And, you know, she's open to giving advice. So little, little baby Kellen was like, Alicyn, do you know how to get into this stuff?
Alicyn
Come here young man. Sit down. Come to the wonderland.
Kellen
And you were kind enough to, to, here I'm going to sit down, you were kind enough to have a phone call or two with me to tell me what I was doing right and wrong, and where to go from there. And it was invaluable, and now I'm here.
Alicyn
Yeah. Well, I gotta say, you know, over the 15 or so years that I've been doing VO very rarely do I have someone, I mean, I have people ask me for advice on how to break into voiceover every week. But very rarely do I have people that continue to check in, follow up, and then I get to see their career blossom. And there was even a year where I hadn't heard from you, and then I just was like, Oh, damn, check out Kellen. Like, it's so cool to see how your career has come about. And I was, it kind of start by chatting kind of about, like, what kind of kid you were as a child and what you were into?
Kellen
Well, I was, I have autism, I have Asperger's and growing up like that wasn't too easy, because I never really knew what everybody else like, I never really had a sense of normal. So it was a lot of guesswork back then. But I was, I found my community online, like so many people now, still today. But it was a bit younger, back then. YouTube wasn't owned by Google yet, far away from that. And we were true. Well, first, I was an animator, but I couldn't really have the patience for that program, flashes what we use, then it crashed so much back in the day. I'm sure, I don't know if it's much better now. But I digress. From there we did, the thing that really stuck was we would take video games and then sort of puppeteer them, and then voice over them and edit them, like, you know, afterwards and make them into stories. And that, there was a whole community for that. That was the early starts of Machinima, with Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Halo.
Alicyn
So, wait. How were you, how old were you at the time where you were kind of getting into all this?
Kellen
12-13? Around there?
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Yeah, early stuff. A very, very dangerous time to be on the internet, especially back then. There are a bit more safeguards now. But now, from there, you know, I really liked to, I was already sort of, sort of liking the acting stuff I did. I did school theater and all of that musical stuff. And I was the one that, that people sort of came to to be like, Hey, could you do a voice in this? Could you do a voice for him? But it sort of evolved from there to be like, I like, I like building my own worlds. But I like building worlds with other people more, with other visionaries, especially. I love chatting with visionaries. So I wanted to do more of that. And the natural next place to go was voice acting. And so I started practicing that, about that young. At 16, I was lucky enough to be accepted into Bob Bergen's workshop, which is rare for a minor.
Alicyn
A kid that young taking the workshop?
Kellen
I was the youngest kid to ever take his workshop. I don't know if that's changed since then, because that was back in, let's see, if I was 16 and that must have been 2008 or 2009. Yeah, so maybe, since then, younger people have taken it. But he, it was, it was again my dad who emailed him to ask him to let me be in this class. I love my dad. He is so.
Alicyn
Let's talk about your dad for a sec.
Kellen
Sure.
Alicyn
Because, yeah, I mean, I think, first of all, I didn't even know you had Asperger's.
Kellen
No?
Alicyn
No, I think that's, you know, I mean, it's, it's so amazing to see, and you conserve, I mean, first of all, the community, and everybody online, in the Asperger's community, I've connected with so many people and have been so inspired by all the stories I've heard, so.
Kellen
For sure.
Alicyn
You're serving as a great role model, that you really can make your dreams come true, even.
Kellen
I really appreciate that.
Alicyn
Just that that may present. And second of all, I think it's so awesome that you had such a big supporter in your dad. And I was wondering, you know, do you, do you think that played a big role in who you are today?
Kellen
Of course, yeah. Well, he, he has the same thing. So I sort of learned how to take the next steps from him and, you know, talking to people, realizing what makes people comfortable and uncomfortable, and trying to sway more towards comfortable, but
Alicyn
Eh, you know, you got to mix it up once and a while. You don't want to feel too comfy.
Kellen
Yeah. Sometimes uncomfortable is what makes the best comedy. But, but yeah, he, he's just kind in everything he does, and he is my hero. I've always wanted to be like him, and he's always supported my journey in voice acting. And I'm really thankful that he's been the one to help me along this path. And plus, he has all these, he's been in the entertainment industry, since he was 30. Maybe earlier, so like, he has always known the right avenues to go down. And sort of steered me in the right direction. So I'm very grateful for him.
Alicyn
Is your dad in the arts as well? Is he a performer?
Kellen
No. He's very much left-side brain where I am right. He is an entertainment lawyer and a producer now. But, you know, different sides of the glass, sort of. We help each other understand the perspectives of the people we work with, since we're both, now, you know, educated in our fields.
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
Right. And are you involved in any kind of organizations that give back in terms of autism or Asperger's?
Kellen
I have held charity livestreams in the past for AANE, which is The Autism / Asperger's, I forget the NE. But it's a, it's a foundation to sort of, adults with autism, sort of help them find work and everything, away from discrimination and all that. So there was, I actually did a Jojo live stream with the main cast of Golden Wind, which is the season that we're in. And we play Jackbox before bed, it was a lot of fun.
Alicyn
Ah, that's so great.
Kellen
And we raised about five grand for, or three grand for that. So I want to do something like that again very soon.
Alicyn
Oh, wow. Well, keep us posted how we can help, you know, either sharing the word or getting that, you know, however, we can help, keep us posted.
Kellen
Just remember that we're no different. We're just wired different, we just look at the world differently. But we, all we want is to be treated like people. Especially young, that shapes us for the rest of our lives.
Alicyn
Did you have any, did you find you had experiences growing up where you were not treated well?
Kellen
Oh, yeah. Nothing, you know, kids are cruel. I'd rather not go into the specifics of it. But especially, I mean, as time goes along, I'm sure that kids are becoming more and more understanding. But Middle School is sort of when the tribal instinct kicks in. And everybody goes into their separate groups and looks for the people to call outcasts to make it easier for them to choose who they trust. And I only understood that way later, but I wish that I could go back and tell myself that none of that was going to matter. You know, you'll know, you won't know these people in, when you're out there doing what you want to do. And they're, you know, they have had peaked already. Yeah, I mean, everybody's different, but like, you know, treasure those who are nice to you, and just let it go when people are, you know, bad to you, you don't need that in your life.
Alicyn
Absolutely. And that's the hardest time, I think, for kids when you are most isolated because hormonally what happens is you have to separate from your parents and so that, you know, your structure of what is safe becomes your peers, and they're not safe, you know? Yeah, I can really relate to that in a big way.
Kellen
Yeah, well, I, I've heard before that, generally, the funniest and kindest people are the ones who have, who have gone through something in their life to turn them towards kindness. So it always makes me so sad, you know, hear when someone's gone through something. But I'm so grateful for people like you who are kind to newcomers and everything. I strive to be like that, I aspire to that.
Alicyn
Well, I think you're doing a great job.
Kellen
Thank you.
Alicyn
Yeah. It's so interesting, for anybody that's just tuning in that doesn't know what we're doing. This is a show that's called Alicyn's Wonderland. It's an IgTV show, Ig live, but it's also a podcast that's going to be launching in four weeks, this is how I'm announcing it.
Kellen
Really?
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Congrats.
Alicyn
So it's going to be an audio podcast as well. So if you guys like interviews with people that work in animation and video games, not just voice actors, but show creators, storyboard artists, animators, go ahead and subscribe, and we do these once a week. So yeah, thanks for joining live, but back to you Kellen. So I know you started taking Bob's, was Bob's sort of your first professional VO workshop or had you taken others? I know you have an extensive, I was looking at your website, you have an extensive credit, training credits and credits.
Kellen
Yeah, that all happened afterwards. Bob was definitely the epicenter there. I had taken acting workshops, but never voice acting. So once I got into the six-week course with Bob, you know, my perspective changed. And then from, you, I told him right there that it changed my life. And he said he never heard that before. And I don't know if he even believed me, but it did. It absolutely did change my life. Because it taught me that I had that, everybody has the misconception and it's fine to have the misconception. As long as you know that it's not about the voice, it's about creating a character. And that comes from acting. It, you can do a funny voice all day, but if you don't have the chops to back it up, you, so definitely the acting stuff. And he taught me that and the class, the classes I took right after. Richard Horvitz taught me that, I did private classes with Charlie Adler back when he did that. He's incredible, and very vulgar. But that's part of his charm. Love the guy.
Alicyn
Absolutely. Yeah, Bob was on the show not too long ago, actually.
Kellen
Really?
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
He's funny.
Alicyn
I took, I took a show, a class, I took his class as well. And Laurie Newman was even in my class at the time.
Kellen
Wow.
Alicyn
That's where the pros go to train. That's where everybody goes to train. And if you guys aren't following Bob Bergen, he's on Instagram and you should definitely check him out. He's an amazing, amazing teacher, for him to be able to do what he does and show you, and it's not just a bag of tricks sometimes you need a bag of tricks and he's got them too. But he has to coach you to what's important really physicalizing the character and getting in there and like, you know.
Kellen
Using your whole body.
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
And he's still the only class I think, where we all fake auditioned for, for an altogether ensemble read of a TV script. And he cast us all based on our separate auditions. It was so fun, and they were live auditions. It's like that never happens anymore.
Alicyn
I wish we could do that again. We should take a class again.
Kellen
We should, just for fun.
Alicyn
It would be so fun.
Kellen
There's a huge waitlist, but it's so worth it.
Alicyn
I know, and yeah, he's doing private coaching now to because of COVID. But yeah, wow. Yeah. So, so, then you're taking his class at 16, you're a teenager, you're in, are you attending high school?
Kellen
Yeah. For a while I did Online High School. For my, I think it was for my, it was for my freshman and sophomore year. But after that I sort of missed, you know, talking to people. So I, so I went back into, into actual, real-life High School for my, well, not to say that homeschooling isn't actual high school, but real-life with other kids High School for for my last two years. But all during that I was training. And it, I think the stride was hit after I left high school, but I'm glad that I sort of, you know, took the time in between homework and extracurriculars to start on that path because that definitely helped me a lot.
Alicyn
Well, one of the things that really stood out to me was, you know, I hear a lot of beginner demos, first, first demos, but yours I mean, really stood out in terms of the way that it showcased your talent. Did Chuck Duran produce your first demos? I'm trying to remember.
Kellen
My very first one, yes, Chuck Duran produced it.
Alicyn
He's a great producer.
Kellen
For sure.
Alicyn
So you sounded really great. And he showcased your, your skills. So yeah, so, but then, you know, there's a chunk of time that I'm still accounting for because no matter how talented you are in this business, it is hard. It is so hard, you have to have someone give you your first opportunity, your first break. And so I was wondering, what do you kind of account for as your first break?
Kellen
My first break? Oh, man, that's, well, I mean, I had voiced in video games beforehand, but they were always online and stuff, there was this game called Zombie Vikings. That was my first game that actually had a physical copy. So I take that as a milestone. But I'm pretty sure that my first big break was Five Nights at Freddy's back in 2016. That was three years after I left high school.
Alicyn
Did you have an agent?
Kellen
No. No, that was back, that was definitely before an agent. I only got a solid agent maybe a year or two ago. I got all the rest of the stuff through friends, and casting pools, and stuff but that one was through a friend, sent it my way at about, man, it must have been all I remember is I had a long night before and then they sent me at about three hours after I went to sleep. So I just gave it all of my energy and then crashed for another 10 or so. And woke up at 6pm to the email that said I got it. I was Funtime Freddy.
Alicyn
So who was your friend? Was it another voice actor? Was it somebody you want to thank or anything, like?
Kellen
The friend? Oh boy.
Alicyn
Some, just somebody you.
Kellen
If it's someone that I'm mentally blocking them out because this business you can make a lot of friends and you can rub a lot of people the wrong way. So it's best to just silently go another way, but I'm pretty sure, no, I can't remember for the life of me. I'm sorry.
Alicyn
That's okay. I'm, I was just curious because you know, to be able to get a good opportunity.
Kellen
For sure.
Alicyn
I have to be honest, Five Nights at Freddy's was not really on my radar. I've heard you talk about it. I've heard other voice actors reference it. And then I started to go down a rabbit hole of watching gameplay on YouTube.
Kellen
Oh boy.
Alicyn
Five Nights at Freddy's and that is a crazy game.
Kellen
It is. Markiplier definitely made his vast fortune off of it. But um, yeah, no, it was something that was always, you know, sort of creepy to everyone. The whole lifeless animatronic thing and then finally sort of expanded upon. But yeah, no, it was, all my life, going back to middle school, I would always, they would always take the Asperger's as creepy so um, I think I sort of channeled a bit of that through this. So the weakness has become the strength.
Alicyn
Isn't that true in life?
Kellen
Yeah. The weaknesses can become the strength.
Alicyn
What do you think, why do you think that game became such a success, and such a cult classic.
Kellen
Got me. The true reason, maybe it's the colors, maybe it's the fact that everyone grew up with a Chucky E. Cheese or a Show, Showtime Pizza or what's it called, Showbiz Pizza? Yeah, there it is.
Alicyn
Good Times, I think it was called Good Times. It's like the local name.
Kellen
Good Times? Was it Pizza Time or something? Or Show Time?
Alicyn
Good Time Family Fun Center.
Kellen
Something like that. But, maybe it's the fact that, or maybe it's the fact that everybody can create their own, or all the lore behind it, because there are so many mysteries that surround the lore of it. Like, the whole thing is based on like, reports of, of like gruesome accidents with the animatronics. You know, it maybe, it's the intrigue of that, the conspiracy theorist in all of us. Who knows? But I think it's just the right combination of thrill-seeking, and storytelling, and design to make a phenomenon and it's very hard to recreate that spark.
Alicyn
Yeah, well, Congratulations. Do you, how do you feel about doing your character's voice?
Kellen
Oh, Funtime Freddy? Yeah, he, I think that he, I remember taking Hannibal Lecter as a bit of inspiration but the original side said someone that your kids would love but your parents would be uneasy around. I think I combined Crusty the Clown elements. I don't know. I just I can't remember how my tired brain thought after three hours of sleep, but it just sort of came out as: (As Freddy) "Come here. I have a surprise for you." You know, something like that. But I never knew that it was going to be the first ever Freddy to get a voice. Because there are multiple Freddy's, there's Funtime Freddy, Molten Freddy, regular ol' Freddy Fazbear, Phantom Freddy, so many. But I, Funtime Freddy was the first ever get a voice and I'm, I thank my lucky stars every day for that. I was, I was really excited then. And I'm really excited now even, even, what is it five years later now? Six? Something like that.
Alicyn
I guess. If it was 2016, yeah.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
Wow. That's, yeah, that's so interesting. If there's obviously a lot of banter and thank you guys so much for chiming in on the timeline. There is a box at the bottom for questions. If you have questions for Kellen, go ahead and put them in the box and I will do my best. We're gonna save about 10 minutes at the end of the interview for audience questions. So feel free to put them in here. Yeah, so from there, so the Five Nights at Freddy's comes out. And then was it an instant explosion in terms of fans or was it a bit of a sleeper?
Kellen
I think it was pretty quick because I made that tweet, and with the hashtag and everything, and suddenly people were finding me left and right because there was, there was even a pretty sizable fan base back then. It's only grown since then. And I'm really grateful for that too. But, man, I think it get, it you know gradually increased over time. But I, it was a pretty big explosion. I, you know, the little star meter thing on IMDB?
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Sometimes I look at that. And I think Funtime Freddy, when that was added, is still the most, the highest star meter that I ever was. I can't remember what it was though. But yeah, it was pretty fast.
Alicyn
Number one.
Kellen
Yeah. I remember I got my first.
Alicyn
Kellen Goff. Tom Cruise.
Kellen
No, not even. I am a E-list, if that. But I remember I got my first con invite not too long after and that sort of got the whole gang together. For, I met all of the cast mates that had joined on as well. And that was wild as well. And it was the first of many. There were a lot of Five Nights at Freddy's con appearances.
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Very, very grateful for that.
Promo
Hey guys, this is Alicyn Packard. Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that if you like the show, please please please remember to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much.
Alicyn
Well for everyone that's tuning in live give me a thumbs up if you mainly found Kellen from Five Nights at Freddy's or if it's a different project. Type that in, I'm curious to see what you guys, how you guys are connected. Yeah so I'm also, so from there, it was it was my, what was your next big project?
Kellen
From there, you know I attached myself to anime, slowly but surely, I got into more of those.
Alicyn
How did you go about that? Getting, getting anime? Were you working out of, with a dubbing house in LA? Were are you contacting people in Texas?
Kellen
It started with Bang Zoom!, as it usually does, for people out here. Back in, I forget how long ago it was, but Anime Expo used to have audition, live auditions there in front of Bang Zoom's casting director, Mami Okada. And she sort of brought me in for a live audition after I did that. That was a lot of fun. That was the same one that that Kayli Mills, a lot of my colleagues got on there, from there. And you know, I didn't really hear anything for a while, I got that extra role now and again, here and there. But, you know, after I sort of built up some credits there and online and all around wherever I could find them. There was this one convention where I met a very, very kind, talented lady named Colleen Clinkenbeard. And we were on a panel together. And she asked me for my email address afterwards. And about a year later, I got auditions for a tiny show, I don't think many people have heard of it, called My Hero Academia. And I had just gotten back from this wild convention Dragon Con, and I had, I had gotten some bronchitis from it, unfortunately, because I wasn't careful. But the auditions came so I powered through it for six hours and came up with something I thought might work.
Alicyn
Within six hours you were auditioning? You were in the booth for six hours working?
Kellen
It took six hours to sound not sick, is what I mean. I tried and tried and tried again.
Alicyn
Oh wow. Huh.
Kellen
Yeah, but I, it was worth it. Because from that I was cast as Overhaul who is the villain for Season Four. The first part at least. And that definitely helped. So I came in from there.
Alicyn
For those of our audience members that might not be familiar with the show, can you tell us about it?
Kellen
Sure. So My Hero Academia is a universe where it's weird not to have superpowers. Everyone has at least one power, and Overhaul sort of comes in, he thinks that powers are a sickness. He thinks that he can create the cure for this widespread plague on humanity. Because, it mostly because you know, he's a germaphobe and most, and then this whole superpowers thing, technically, is a disease, like any other but you know, that only has positive effects, that was developed in racks. And then partially because his foster father is the leader of this big crime organization, of Yakuza called the Shie Hassaikai, that he takes over while his, while his father is in a coma. But since superpowers came around, sort of all of the crime was expunged because there were so many superheroes. So he's trying to bring us back to the good old days, you know, but, you know, he eventually gets beaten up and everything, but he's very scary. He, he think, he thinks that the concept of heroes and villains is insanity and everything and he just wants to go back to normal people, and his superpower is the ability to sort of, by a touch, disassemble something on a molecular level, usually with a bunch of blood. And then if he does it, within 10 minutes, he can put it back together and if he does put it back together, that thing will be good as new. No, no illnesses, no back pain, nothing. But usually he just leaves them exploded because he can do it with a touch, so that's why he wears gloves to, he can only do it if it comes in contact with his skin. So very scary guy.
Alicyn
Yeah. So and then where can people people watch this show?
Kellen
This is on funimation.com. It was on Cartoon Network for a run. I don't know if they'll ever rerun it again. But it's mostly now funimation.com and Hulu.
Alicyn
And Hulu. Okay, cool.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
Great. Sounds like I maybe shouldn't show it to my son just yet though, but.
Kellen
Maybe not. I mean, it, you know, it always depends. It's definitely a very, it's, it's pretty violent.
Alicyn
Yeah. Okay. He's five.
Kellen
Not yet.
Alicyn
Did you feel, um, you know, and again, I probably should have asked you in advance how you feel about getting put on the spot to do voices. But you know, we're voice actors.
Kellen
Oh, yeah. No worries. Um, he's not that far off from my normal voice. It's just that I was a bit sick at the time. So I have to recreate that growl. But his catchphrase is: (As Overhaul) "You're all sick. What you need is a cure." He's very soft spoken like that.
Alicyn
(Imitating Kellen) "What you need is a cure."
Kellen
"What you need." Yeah, exactly. There you go. You can be my, you can be my double if you want. Sounds pretty good.
Alicyn
I'll be your evil sister.
Kellen
Yeah. Oh, Sheverhaul.
Alicyn
Shoverhaul. Yeah.
Kellen
His name is Chisaki. You can be Shesaki.
Alicyn
Shesaki.
Kellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
So yeah. So, so from there. I mean, were doors, more and more doors starting to open up for you?
Kellen
More and more.
Alicyn
I know that your talent agency, definitely a top talent agency.
Kellen
That came later. That came later. That took a bit of fighting. I was at another agency and that sort of got me a bit more to work with. And then you know it, with agents now, you really have to prove yourself to get in the door. But once you do, you're there. But the next one after that, going back to Mami Okada. She noticed the whole, that I could play the gang leader thing. So I got sides for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure where the main villain, coincidentally, was a mob boss. And I read for that, and I booked it.
Alicyn
Typecast again.
Kellen
Typecast once again, yeah. One day I'll play, like, nice people. I really want to be a good guy or a protagonist one day. But um, yeah, that was Diavolo who is the leader of the Passione, the, the crime syndicate at the time. I think it's the 90s in Italy. And he is absolutely scary. He, he's very screamy. He is obsessed with being able to control his past and sort of wiping out, wiping out any sort of inkling of himself from the past so that he has full control over his life in the future and everything.
Alicyn
Not with the internet anymore, though.
Kellen
Nope. Nope, he would be so, if he hadn't gone in the anime he would be so in hell with the internet. But um, but inJojo's Bizarre Adventure, you're, everyone, well, not everyone, but a good amount of people have superpowers and they manifest as objects, as armor, but mostly as the sort of Puppets behind you, the, these full bodied here, I'll show you mine. And they're all named after rock groups and music groups. So Diavolos' is King Crimson or Emperor Crimson, based on where you are in the world, and that's his face and he gets very angry. So I wanted to bring that raw anger for it and I hope I did. But his power is to sort of control fate. He can rewind time, take certain parts of it, alter it, in his favor, sort of. But he can like, rewind time for a minute and then make it go his way, in his timeline.
Alicyn
Checking in with with the audience, right now. If you are a fan of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, give me a thumbs up. I'm curious to see who, who mainly found you through that project.
Kellen
Great. And funny, funny thing, you had Griffin Burns on recently, right?
Alicyn
Yes.
Kellen
Yeah, Griffin, so diavolo also, if all of that wasn't enough, he's also a split personality in one body, and Griffin plays the other personality, Doppio. So they sort of switch, they sort of, how Doppio, but Doppio, is, you know his boss's right hand man, even though they're in the same body, so to communicate with Diavolo, he uses random inanimate objects as a phone to call himself with, so it'll be like, Yes, hello, this is Doppio. You know stuff, anything. He'll pick up anything and use it. He's picked up like frogs and, like, ice cream.
Alicyn
(Picking up her water.) Diavolo? Diavolo?
Kellen
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. But he'll just call me boss, always.
Alicyn
I'm going to call you that from now on. Hey, boss. What's up boss?
Kellen
That's what Zeno Robinson calls me, bossu. But um, yeah, so that's, that's pretty much him. He's a very, very scary, crazy man. And he, his whole thing was based off of, how he, how his stand's name, that's what they're called, stands, their superpowers. How his stand's name is King Crimson. He, his whole thing was based off the song 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson. So, the guy who writes this stuff, so creative.
Alicyn
That is a lot.
Kellen
A lot. Yeah.
Alicyn
Well, I'm curious, I know we, I want to make sure that we save enough time for audience questions. But something that I'm very, you know, curious about is both you and Griffin, You've done such a great job of building a community online. You know, you have various, you do Twitch, you have Instagram, Twitter, TikTok. What are some of the ways that you think have really contributed to that awesome community?
Kellen
Um, I mean, the fans are always amazing. So great. So talented. Artists everywhere. And I love the memes that are created, even if the contracts don't allow us to say anything in our character voices that are out of character, usually. Just, you know, much to the fervor of people who asked for, I don't know, Funtime Freddy to curse or whatever, can't do that. But um, yeah, I think, man, it's just the people who are so passionate about everything that we do, voice acting, all the parts of it, the series, the character, conventions, were always a great way to meet people. And hopefully one day, we can go back to that. Not anytime soon for me, I'm afraid. I don't, even with a shot. I personally don't feel like I'm going to be comfortable being around a lot of people at once for a while. But yeah, I think it, see, and then Twitch and everything. But I mean, I don't think I can even take credit. I think everybody just sort of came together on their own love for what we're doing. And I'm just thankful to them every day that they become a part of my life, because that has been, that has just been a multiplier for my drive and my passion for this to not only create something that I like, and my friends like, but to create something that makes everyone proud and makes everyone more passionate about this. I just, I just think it's, you know, geekdom is a kingdom, and we're all in it.
Alicyn
Well, and you know, you also, you're showing up. You're putting in the, you're putting in the work to be there and you know, you're doing how many twitches this week? Like three?
Kellen
Who knows? Well, not this week. I'm taking a break this week, but except for this weekend where me and Griffin are actually doing a signing, a Jojo event on Streamily, if you guys want to be part of that.
Alicyn
Okay, I'll share it to my Instagram stories.
Kellen
Sure, sure. Yeah, it's, it's Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and there's going to be panels, and we're going to be signing, whatever you'd like us to sign. We all got our own prints, it's going to be a lot of fun. And we, I've never signed live on stream before. So that's going to be a first for a lot of us. But um, excuse me, sorry, what was the question before? Oh, yeah, putting in the time, nothing in this life worth doing isn't going to be something that you will fail at multiple times. And then finally come out succeeding, and realize that you're a different person, maybe a better person. Because that, because you've put in all that effort to, to recreate yourself into something you want to be. That's why I think that you know, humans are limitless. But what it, whatever you want to do, as long as you put in the time, 10,000 hours makes you a master. That's what my dad said. That's what I'm aiming for.
Alicyn
You've got, your there by now, right? 10,000 hours is 10 years full time. I mean, if you've been going?
Kellen
Who knows, I've been at this for 12 years, I think.
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
If I started in 2006, then, yeah.
Alicyn
Wow.
Kellen
Somewhere around there. Somewhere around there. But, yeah, if you want something, work at it until you get it. And if you find yourself wanting something else, then maybe that thing before, yeah, just, life is, life, life is what you want it to be. You, it is never too late to start on a new adventure. That's how I feel.
Alicyn
Guys. He's only, like, 26.
Kellen
I feel 54.
Alicyn
Ew. Then I guess I'm 70.
Kellen
No, man, you're, you have the energy of a 16-year-old.
Alicyn
That's true, that's true. I am a middle schooler at heart, but not the mean kind.
Kellen
No. Keep the child at heart, not the mean kind.
Alicyn
Just a child at heart. I did also want to ask, I mean, I'm interested in hearing your take on this. What makes you inspired? What are some things that really light you up? It seems obviously you're like, you're deep into your work, your work is your passion and your creativity. But is there any other things that like, is this your entire world? Or do you have other interests, hobbies, things you enjoy?
Kellen
No, no, I don't think that work should be anyone's entire world. Because then when, where can you draw their inspiration?
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
Right? So I love video games, I'll put them all in as much spare time as I can. I love superhero movies, I'm obsessed with the Marvel Universe, and that inspires me. But I think all of that comes back to other people's work inspiring me, I like to see what other people do with their talents, and with this, with this medium, I love hearing what my friends do, I love hearing what people I don't care for do, I love seeing what people that I will never meet do. I just like to watch what everybody else is doing, whether they're an actor or not. I spent a lot of time at malls just watching how people held themselves and reacted to others to sort of find for myself how to be, you know, how to create a new person for myself with the Asperger's that I have. Sort of see what it takes to be a human being without it and then mold myself into something completely new. And I think that really is what a lot of inspiration, and life in general is just splatting different things you see others do and you see happen in life together and creating something hopefully that no one's ever done before. I think that life is a giant painting and it takes many paints to create something completely unique.
Alicyn
Yeah, baby. Blue and red, let's make some purple. Speaking of colors, segue, add some colors from the audience. I know we have a variety of questions in the box. I'm sure there'll be a lot of repeats, and thank you everybody. I added some stories added questions in my stories. Um, let's see, are you, very popular question that comes out. First of all, everybody that wants a birthday, that wants a high-five, that wants a shout out, let's do a big group Birthday, High-Five, Shout Out right now, Kellen.
Kellen
Sure. (Doing a voice) High-Five! Hapy Birthday! Usually it's from Funtime Freddy. Happy Birthday. Oh, here's the Q&A.
Alicyn
Okay. Now, there was a lot of those. So I just wanted to cover our bases. Now, what advice can you give to people wanting to get in voice acting? We talked a lot about your story. But what would be like maybe three things that you would say, try these things, these could be helpful.
Kellen
Well, first, I always say that, Dee did a better job than I ever could answering this question with Iwanttobeavoiceactor.com.
Alicyn
Yeah.
Kellen
That's pretty comprehensive. So Iwanttobeavoiceactor.com. If you want better answers, then you're going to get here. Taking improv classes and musical theater helped me so much. Musical theater to sort of create worlds that weren't there. That was a lot of good practice for that. I could sort of visualize everything in a performance by the time we were done with it. And that comes into play a lot with voice acting. So definitely musical theater. And then improv is great, because directors are always going to want you to try something, you know? So you got to be able to give them something that maybe they would have never thought of, and practicing improv helps build that muscle a lot. So yeah. Sorry.
Alicyn
Yeah, I think that covers it. I think that covers it. I want to make sure we get back to it. Oh, a lot of high fives, a lot of people. I think this is an interesting question. And I actually was wondering this myself. What do you like to eat? What kind of food do you eat? What do you, what's your favorite food?
Kellen
Oh, man. Well, I'm mad into pickles. I adore pickles so much. I'm a, I'm a good Jewish boy and my grandma fed me my first pickle when I was a baby and I never went back. I even almost went to the hospital. I did go to the hospital one time because my parents thought that it would be a good idea to get a Christmas ornament of something I loved. And then leave me alone in the room with it. So they had to get me to throw up a glass pickle.
Alicyn
Oh no.
Kellen
But I love Fuji apples. I love sharp cheese, the sharper the better. Carrots, I love the carrots just from the bag. And my favorite dish would probably be Udon. I love Japanese food so much. So much. And Udon just has a flavor that's like, not recreateable for me. So I love Udon.
Alicyn
Oh god, you're making me hungry. Also, audience, Fun Fact. Kellen and I lived in the same apartment complex, not at the same time. In the apartment complex that I used to live in. And we could have been neighbors but we actually.
Kellen
Yeah, we could of.
Alicyn
Funnily enough, Griffin's right around the corner to we're gonna have to do a pool day. When it's safe to do so.
Kellen
Yes, yes, please. Once we're, once we're safe.
Alicyn
I'll pack plenty of pickles for you.
Kellen
Yes, pickles. All for me.
Alicyn
Oh, just a shout out for Autism Awareness Month.
Kellen
Oh, awesome. Yeah. Autism Awareness Month is this month. I was, I had something planned but unfortunately, life just makes a fool of us all. I am going to try my best to get something special for you guys. But yes, Happy Autism Awareness Month, guys.
Alicyn
Hey. This is just somebody. I want to say thank you for the shout out. Hello.
Kellen
It is really cute. They look like dream catchers. That's a TikTok thing.
Alicyn
Okay. Is it from your personal TikTok? Or is that a?
Kellen
No, there's this dog that's called Pudgy. And it's this really old Chihuahua. And he gets mad at everything. But the sound that he always makes to get people to back off was like, (Imitating Pudgy).
Alicyn
Sounds more like a parrot. Let's take a TikTok of this. Okay, cool. I, just I'm learning so much today guys. Thoughts on Pieck?
Kellen
On Pieck? So in Attack on Titan, which is my newest, I think, I think, it's okay to say sizable role because he turns in, well, now I'd have to explain the whole thing. We don't have time, but Pieck's his love interest. I want Porco who I play and Pieck to be a couple so bad. They're so cute together. But I can't say cannon because all I do is dub the voice into English. I don't have any say on the story. But yeah, Pieck best girl.
Alicyn
Awe. That's great. So many questions guys. Um, a lot of the same questions. Let's see. What's your favorite anime?
Kellen
I can't choose one. There's so many good ones. But my earliest favorite anime.
Alicyn
Yes, that's a good one.
I really, really loved one called Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. It's the, I think it's safe to say it's the base of a lot of my humor because it was just random. I can't even begin to describe it. It is just so freaking funny because you never knew what to expect from it. I love that series so much. And then also Dr. Slump for the same reasons, by the same guy who did Dragon Ball, but before. It is so good. What about you? Yokai Watch?
Yokai, yokai, yokai watch.
Kellen
I have all the watches from that. I have all the watches from that show, by the way?
Alicyn
Oh really?
Kellen
As toys. They're, they're still in storage because I never really got to unpack from when I moved, before everything started but yeah, I used to collect Yokai Watch medals.
Alicyn
That's so funny. Yeah, my son.
Kellen
Such a cool show.
Alicyn
Has them all now. He's like, slowly making me like, unwrap, like unbox all the, all the stuff that they gave me and like, Mommy, can I open this? And I'm like, No, like. And then he makes me open it and then he just like throws it on the ground, so.
Kellen
That's a dream, that's a dream for me to contribute to that show in any way, it is so cute.
Alicyn
Awe. One of these days. Okay, we're gonna take one last question. Let's see, all right, this was, we did cover this a little bit, but maybe we can take this from a final angle because I don't know if we exactly figured it out. But what is your motivation? What drives you?
Kellen
That's a really good question. My motivation...
Alicyn
Is pickles.
Kellen
Pickles, yes. I really want, I think at the bottom of it all, I really just want to make my dad proud. Because he put so much support for me and so much into my career. And he's my best friend. I just want to show him that what he invested in was worth it and I really want, yeah, I really want him to, you know, be proud of what he's left behind. I guess.
Alicyn
Awe, well hopefully, hey, you tuning in live dad? No.
Kellen
He might. He watches my streams.
Alicyn
You'll have to, you'll have to show him that clip. I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him.
Kellen
He and I wouldn't dare get that sappy. We usually just talk about Steely Dan.
Alicyn
Steely Dan. That's great.
Kellen
Yeah, old-old stuff. He taught me how to play guitar.
Alicyn
Nice.
Kellen
That's the creative part of him. He was a studio musician. He plays jazz guitar. And he is so good at it.
Alicyn
So he was a jazz guitarist until he turned 30. And then he was like an entertainment attorney. What a interesting change.
Kellen
He didn't really think that there was much of a future in it, so he switched to entertainment law, but he'll still play every now and again. And boy, can he. He is so good.
Alicyn
Oh I want to hear you play too. Maybe next time.
Kellen
Oh gosh, I don't know where my guitar even is.
Alicyn
I had Hope Levi on the show a few weeks ago, and we went back and forth and we each played songs. It was such a good performance. Like a musical wonderland. So definitely want you back on and play a song. Let me know.
Kellen
Hey when we get that pool party, Griffin can bring his too and we can have a guitar circle like the 70s.
Alicyn
Oh my gosh. Yes! So, before you go, I have a new question I'm incorporating where I want to ask every guest this question and it kinds is a nice segue, if there is a song in your heart, what would the title of that song be?
Kellen
Oh, man. Oh, man. If there was a song in my heart, what would the title be? I know what the name of the band who would sing it would be.
Alicyn
Tell me!
Kellen
Dill Voltage. Or Dill Trickle, something like that. But the song in my heart? Scream in a Closet.
Alicyn
What's up? Next on the radio? We got Scream in a Closet by Dill Voltage.
Kellen
Man, that sounds like the ultimate AC/DC cover bands or something or guns.
Alicyn
Yeah. Kellen, thank you so much for coming on Alicyn's Wonderland. Guys, thank you so much for tuning in live. Kellen where can people find you online?
Kellen
Well, this Instagram account. Yeah. @KellenGoff. And then it's the same on Twitter where I'm a bit more active. I like the format of Twitter better because I don't always have a picture but I always have words. So I'm on Twitter @KellenGoff, and then TikTok @KellenGoff and my streams are Twitch.tv/KellenGoff and then that's where we're going to be doing autographs this weekend, if you are so inclined and want one of these, I actually just got them in, if you want to see them real quick. All laid out for you.
Alicyn
Show by show.
Kellen
Yeah, so there's Diavolo and his stand, Crimson, and then Hoodlum Senpia. There's the Freddys - Molten Freddy and Funtime Freddy. And then here's Porco from Attack on Titan, he turns into that and he is humongous. So yeah, if you want any of these, combe by this weekend, you can preorder now on streamily.com/KellenGoff.
Alicyn
Yay. Well, thanks, everybody for tuning in. Next week, we have Elle Newlands from Apex Legends, is going to be our guest.
Kellen
She's awesome.
Alicyn
Yeah, she done a ton of stuff. And yeah, we're really excited. We have a whole host of people coming up, we have Juliet Donenfeld, she's going to be on in two weeks. She's the youngest voice actor to ever be nominated for an Annie Award. She's taking on the new Gabby's Dollhouse on Netflix. Make sure you subscribe, and I'll go ahead and post the replay so that you can check it out later. So I want to say thank you guys for tuning in. And we'll see you next week. Bye Kellen.
Kellen
Bye. Thank you for having me.
Alicyn
Thank you. Bye.
Kellen
Bye bye.
Alicyn
Thanks for tuning in to Alicyn's Wonderland, where we explore the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. Please remember to subscribe and leave us a review. For more episodes of Alicyn's Wonderland. Please visit us at www.AlicynPackard.com. See you next week.