Robin Atkin Downes – The Strain

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I have quite a few projects going at the moment. I’ve been working for a year or so on the next installment of Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain with Kiefer Sutherland. I play Kazuhira Miller. We have been doing a lot of MOCAP (motion capture) for the project and it’s going to look amazing! I’m also in intensive sword training for a new television series. I’m working on several projects for Marvel as well, including Hulk and The Agents of SMASH. And I’m working on a game based on a television series that I am very excited about, but I’m not able to talk about it.

Q) What made you want to be a part of “The Strain?”

A) I have always been a fan of Guillermo del Toro. He is an amazing storyteller! I also think it’s a dream team with Carlton Cuse producing and Chuck Hogan on board as well. The books and comic series were a success and I believe the show will be, too. And everyone wants to be a part of a successful production!

Q) How was your character The Master originally described to you?

A) There were several auditions for the character. The show was top secret at the time so it was a very vague description. Ancient, European, powerful…Someone who was feared by many. Something like that. It wasn’t until the third round of auditions that I understood what they were looking for. They sent a clip of The Master from the pilot, sucking the life out of a man and crushing his skull repeatedly on the floor. It was a horrific scene, but a very strong example of the power and intensity of the character.

Q) Since you voice the role, how did you come up with his sound?

A) He is a very powerful character so I started with something that wasn’t projected. He doesn’t need to raise his voice to be heard. I gave the character age and wisdom and we played around with different dialects, settling on a Romanian based dialect. I also was given the freedom working with Ra’uf Glasgow and Nelson Ferreira to experiment with a lot of different creature sounds. And I worked with dialect coach Julia Stan-Garcia to make sure the pronunciations were correct.

Q) Outside of his voice, was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) Yes, a lot of subtle things that were put in the mix. Creature FX that included a lot of different textures and affected breaths and whispers.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you enjoying the instant fan feedback and reaction you receive when the episodes air?

A) Yes, I am getting a lot of tweets and emails since “The Strain” started airing. It’s got quite a huge fanbase. And it’s going to keep growing! Wait until you see where the show is going!

Q) What do you think it is that has made “The Strain” such a fast fan favorite show?

A) It is a fresh take on vampirism, a new “strain” of horror. And with Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan as the creators and Carlton Cuse producing, it is a very cleverly executed production. It’s got all the goodies you could wish for in a horror show!

Q) How did you get your start with voiceover acting?

A) I submitted a demo reel to Sandie Schnarr of AVO Talent. And after twelve years, she is still my agent! She is the best! I wanted to find an agent that would take advantage of my versatility with dialects and age range. All too often actors get type cast. I have had some amazing experiences over the years. I was lucky to get in on the ground level of the interactive market and I’ve had an amazing career with Sandie. She is also a great friend that I trust. I started working on video games and branched out to a lot of different areas like cartoons, feature films and creature vocals. There is a lot of different areas to work in the industry. I originally got into it to make money in between camera jobs and it quickly turned into a fulltime career. Now, I still have time to do on-camera work as I have a voice over studio in my home.

Q) Where can people go online to learn more about you?

A) There are a lot of fun videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/RobinAtkinDownes/videos. My on-camera, MOCAP and voice over reels are at http://RobinAtkinDownes.com. I’m also on Twitter at @Robin_A_Downes.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Please follow me on Twitter for updates! And thank you for supporting my career! If you’d like to send me an email, I’d love to hear from you! RobinAtkinDownes@hotmail.com