Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend a Fan Expo in Philadelphia. The convention featured a long list of celebrities including Adam Savage, Rainn Wilson, Creed Bratton and Joe Wos. People came dressed as their favorite characters from shows, games, movies and comic books. Part of the fun of attending is seeing what people dress up as. In addition to cosplayers and art booths, there were also opportunities to attend panels on a wide variety of topics.
The most memorable panel of the day featured Charles Martinet, who voiced Mario in the Super Mario Bros games for three decades. During the panel, Martinet spoke about what it is like to be a celebrity and how important it is to treat people with respect. He mentioned how painful it would be for someone you admire to be disrespectful towards you. For people who aspire to work as voice actors, artists, directors or in any other creative profession, this is perhaps the best advice you can remember. If you make it big someday people will look up to you and it is important to act like someone worth admiring.
Other questions people asked were related to Nintendo games and what lessons could be learned from Martinet’s career. One lesson Martinet mentioned was the importance of not boxing yourself into one category. As an example, Martinet mentioned that some people insist on being voice actors. They work hard at their craft, but they never achieve much success — not because they are bad at what they do, but simply because they never catch a lucky break. Then one day, they have an opportunity to help out with a script or edit someone’s written work. Some people who really want to be voice actors end up with an opportunity to write or do something else and they find out they really love it. Martinet mentioned the importance of never turning down an opportunity in his profession, because you never know when you are going to really like doing something.
During a creator clash, an event where comic artists and creators battle in a drawing duel, a young artist mentioned the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive people. The opposing artist offered his own advice, stating how important it is to do the things that you really want to do. If the thing you love doing is your passion and you want to make a career out of it, then it won’t matter how many setbacks you have; you will find a way to be successful in it.
Whatever your dream may be, it is important to remember that there are many avenues to being successful. Brandon Rogers, a YouTuber with over 6 million subscribers, had a booth at the expo with lines longer than some of the cast members of The Office. Without the internet, Rogers likely would not have achieved the stardom that he has. Many creators got their start by finding their niche on the internet. People who are good at what they do and love their craft can find ways to do it, thanks to the technology we have. With that in mind, there is no reason that anyone reading this cannot achieve their dreams. Luck may be a piece of these career paths, but that does not mean talent won’t get you far.
In the end, being part of these industries has always been difficult. Joe Wos, who sat down with me one-on-one the day before the convention, mentioned that it has never been easy, but the people who do this work do it because they love it. Many voice actors, comic creators and artists were asked how they achieved their success at various panels, and the answer was always the same. Every person had an obsessive interest in their craft — so much so that no matter what setbacks they dealt with, financial or otherwise, they were able to keep pushing forward until they got their lucky break. If you want to work in a creative profession and know that there is nothing else in this world that you want to do, then just know that you will be successful someday if you keep pushing yourself. The key to success is to always work on the things you love and never give up on your dreams until you become the next Brandon Rogers, Charles Martinet or Joe Wos.
