Don't you wish you sounded like James Earl Jones sometimes? A deep, resonating voice that commands dignity and respect, no matter what he says. Or better yet, you could have that famous film trailer voice that you always hear but that you can't imagine anyone actually having because it sounds so preposterous.

The thing is I find the concept of the voice-over in all its forms strangely fascinating. Not from a theoretical or aesthetic point of view, more due to its mystery factor: whose voice is that? You might argue that the same could be said about talking to someone on the phone, but it's not the same since they're not putting on a voice at all (usually) so you make assumptions about their appearance based on what they sound like, even if they're entirely wrong. When I'm watching a cartoon, I've got absolutely no idea what the voice-over artist looks like. Mel Blanc, for example, did the voices for all Looney Tunes characters, how could you even begin to guess what he looks like? A better example might be Marcus Bentley, the voice-over artist who narrates Big Brother in the UK. This is what he looks like.

I wouldn't in a million years put that face to that voice, I imagined someone completely different. Furthermore, why choose a Geordie voice to narrate Big Brother? And why does David Mitchell of Peep Show fame, who has a wimpish, sneering voice, seem to get so much work as a voice-over artist?

I bring this up because on Wednesday, I got an offer to record an English voice-over for a Brazilian advert, specifically that advert for the art school about the guy who sneezes paint that I worked on. They were looking for someone in their 20s with a good English accent and so the director recommended me. If that wasn't surprising enough, when I arrived at the studio to record, they had something else they wanted me to record: a spot for Cannes Festival involving an animation of Stalin talking to Chairman Mao with the dialogue from Empire Strikes Back where Vader tells Luke who his father really is. Due to copyright restrictions, they couldn't use the original dialogue, so they had me record Luke Skywalker's bit.

Truly a surreal experience. Both adverts still have to be sent off to be approved by the clients but if all goes well, I've got lots more work ahead of me as a voice-over artist. Who knew? More importantly though, this might just be the closest I'll ever get to being a Jedi.

In other news, we're starting night shoots on the film today for the next two weeks. Can't wait to see what's in store for us all...