Man of a Thousand Voices.

If Lon Chaney was the man of a thousand faces, then Corey Burton is the man of a thousand voices. A much admired voice-over actor, he is also a self-professed "socially awkward, scatterbrained geek," -- one whose IMDB listing reads like a compendium of audio-visual pop culture.

Burton has stepped into roles such as Star Wars' Count Dooku, a Transformer here and there, and even Brainiac. He's the go-to guy for Disney. You may know him as the ghost host of the Haunted Mansion ride, or the familiar narrator in the Goofy short How To Hook Up Your Home Theater.

Burton is professional, knowledgeable, and he is... nice? Yes. Burton is highly approachable and makes it clear through his own writing at coreyburton.com that his concern and passion extend to the entire industry. I was thrilled to have the chance to hear what he would have to say to the aspiring artists, voice-over actors, and geeks of the world. Burton's insights extend to how he got his start in the industry, what it's like to work under George Lucas's "prime directive," and why he's uncomfortable with the idea of prank phone calls.

Audrey Brown: Who gave you your break in the VO industry?

Corey Burton: That's sort of a multi-part answer for me. As a teenager, taking advantage of a coincidental family connection, I met June Foray, who graciously permitted attending a few Hollywood recording sessions. Also at those eye-opening sessions was Daws Butler, who would turn out to be the greatest possible friend and mentor in the up-till-then mysterious world of show business -- later giving me the opportunity to audition for what was to be my first professional voice-acting job, as well as a place at the now legendary table in his newly formed workshop. That first professional role was soon recognized by a bright young character-voice aficionado at Disney, Les Perkins -- who later went on to establish the Disney Character Voices department -- while fellow Daws Butler Workshop member Jack Roth recruited my vocal and engineering services at a local radio station, where he served as program director and commercial production manager. From those two platforms, connections and reputation branched off in all directions, eventually sprouting career roots in every corner of this business. I have a whole crowd of great folks to thank for my continuing good fortune in the world of character voice-acting/announcing/narration.

AB: Who is your greatest professional hero? (Paul Frees is mine!)

CB: Paul Frees was certainly my greatest inspiration as a performer. But I'd have to name Daws Butler as greatest "professional hero," for his extraordinary dedication to excellence in all things great and small, and exemplary attitude and conduct as a person. (Daws was often described as "A Prince of a Guy.")

Daws Butler, Burton's greatest "professional hero."

AB: How does it feel to have lent a voice to some of the biggest pop culture phenomena in history, i.e., the Haunted Mansion and the Star Wars universe?

CB: I see myself as a privileged, veteran day player, as far as those iconic properties are concerned, not having personally created the famous lead character voices I've been asked to perform on projects under those particular umbrellas. Other than taking a measure of satisfaction in not committing serious offense to [those roles], I would never claim or presume personal authorship of any characterization established by the extraordinary writers, artists, and performers whose talents made them so popular to begin with.

Sure, it's nice to work on projects with a first-class pedigree -- but when you're brought in to perform a known-commodity character voice in a preexisting entertainment brand universe, it's like driving someone else's car. You only get to feel a sense of ownership when you've had a hand in building that particular vehicle from the ground up. And so those characterizations will always rightfully belong exclusively to their original creators. You can only ever legitimately feel some sense of professional accomplishment over not soiling the finish on any established classic, as I see it. Perhaps one day there will be a breakthrough iconic role I can honestly call my own in some unique new popular entertainment enterprise (you never know), but I am happy enough with how my career has turned out thus far, having gradually built a solid reputation as one of the industry's more reliable utility voice craftsmen.

AB: Were you a geek as a child? If so, what hope can you offer to current struggling geeks?

CB: I always was, and still am a socially awkward, scatterbrained geek. And proudly so. Those who look and behave conventionally may seem to have an easier time getting along in society, but I feel that we misfits and eccentrics of the world get a lot more out of life -- and you rarely find outwardly normal people excelling in any creative field of endeavor.

AB: Do you think voice actors deserve more attention in the industry, or do you think that most voice-over actors prefer to stay out of the limelight?

CB: We could certainly do with a bit more credit and recognition within the industry -- it would sure be great not to have to constantly re-audition and re-convince every new potential employer that we know what we're doing with each new project that comes along. And a respectable, legible display of voice credits for our work would be nice (as opposed to the insulting "micro-bursts" of squeezed lists of names -- compounded by the added injury of being visually and sonically shouted over by annoying promotional announcements). But at least among [voice-over artists], there tends to be very little desire for celebrity recognition, anyway. Frankly, being around showbiz for these past 35 years or so, I can't imagine why anyone would actually want to experience the unending horrors of fame.