EP 30: Corby Stephens: Pastor Turned Voiceover Actor and Stand-Up Comedian

Corby Stephens has had a very varied career with experience working as a pastor, an IT professional, a stand-up comedian, a yoyo performer and a voiceover actor. In this episode of Second Act Actors, he tells me his life story and gives advice to other people looking to break into the voiceover industry.

Corby begins by telling me about his upbringing in a musical family and how he discovered drama class at university, which introduced him to the techniques of improvisation. We talk about what his improv skills brought to the other acts in his career, including his preaching in the church, as he feels like he’s a better pastor when he can go off-script in his sermon and adapt his message to the people in front of him.

We move on to talk about Corby’s second act as a voiceover artist, which he sees as being closely linked to his stand-up work. Corby walks me through his audition process and his mindset around voiceover work. We also discuss what it means to be a ‘selfless’ performer and how performing selfishly can be destructive to yourself and to the production.

If you liked this episode of Second Act Actors, please share it with a friend and subscribe or follow the podcast.

Timestamps

[1:00] Corby tells me his story and how he got into improv

[3:52] How Corby got married and became a pastor

[6:05] Getting into the yoyo

[11:40] How Corby rediscovered the theatre through his children

[13:30] Corby explains why he started doing voiceover work

[16:55] What’s the overlap between stand-up comedy and voiceover work?

[18:20] And is there an overlap between being a pastor and a stand-up comedian?

[20:05] Corby explains what he’s carried from his first act into his second

[21:52] What’s surprised Corby since he started voiceover work

[23:49] My experience of voiceover and Corby’s behind-the-scenes voiceover secrets