Today we’d like to introduce you to Ciarán Strange.
Hi Ciarán, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Working as a full-time creative of almost two decades, I’m pretty sure I’ve amassed an entire bakery of “creative pies” I love getting stuck into — from authoring gay sci-fi thrillers to touring multiple continents as an indie rock musician. But the quirkiest thing I do is probably bringing cartoons from Japan and other countries to life in the English language as a character voice actor.
Voice acting wasn’t my first foray into performance work, or even a professional-level studio. I’ve been a full-time pop-punk musician since I moved from a sleepy English fishing village to Canada in my late teens, chasing my dreams across the Atlantic. It wasn’t all glitter and gold, but I wasn’t expecting it to be; my wife and I would drive to a new city or province, set up our tent at a ten-dollar campsite, enjoy a humble Spaghettio’s supper, play the gig at some dive bar, pack up the next morning, and do it all over again.
I’ve also gotten to play some absolutely wild gigs in Tokyo, at the Hard Rock Roppongi, and at some really intimate, eccentric little places in Shibuya and Shinjuku, and we’ve played a bunch of what’s dubbed the “toilet circuit” in the UK (including legendary venues like Camden’s Barfly, Leeds’ Cockpit, and Joiner’s in Southampton). One year, we crashed the red carpet at the Canadian Country Music Awards in our rented limo, much to our chauffeur’s delight (a client of my wife’s had been nominated for an award, but as it was an instrument nomination and not a ‘big nom’ they weren’t allowed to walk the red carpet… we took them on it anyway). It’s been a heck of a ride, one I wouldn’t change for the world.
I’ve always been a total nerd, addicted to my SEGA and RPGs and anime and comic books, so I wound up emceeing and performing concerts at anime conventions. I was hanging out with industry pros in green rooms with absolutely zero clue who they were or what they did, just vibing as humans, and one of them — a really bloody talented local actor and director by the name of Joel McDonald — reached out at one event to ask if I’d read some sides for him, so he could gauge if the accent he was envisioning for the character (which happened to be my natural one) would play well. Six months later, I was in-studio recording for a AAA video game, and I never looked back. I’ve been honoured to play as many roles as I have done in my short time as a voiceover artist, in anime such as Chainsaw Man, Black Butler, Apothecary Diaries, Pop Team Epic!, and more. Along with the narrative team at Frisco-based studio Gearbox, I was the recipient of the UK Gayming Magazine’s Character of the Year 2023 Award for Lor (formerly “Lorelei”) in the Borderlands series.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
So, I’m a big metaphors guy — absolutely adore a good metaphor, me. And I’ve tossed a bunch about over the years to try and describe the reality of breaking ground as a transgender performer, both online and off. It’s been less of a road and more of a wall to be scaled; an imposing cliff face offering few handholds but fantastic views, where every piton we anchor and hand outstretched toward us helps as we inch our way skyward.
It’s the strange dichotomy of working in a capitalist entertainment industry that wants to both support and monetize our struggles, yet simultaneously ignore our existence as long as possible. But as we navigate it, we meet kindred spirits who are equally as dedicated to inspiring and facilitating change. And those kindred spirits are the ones who give us the oxygen to fuel a spark into a flame.
I’ll give you an example, here… As a transgender voice actor, the auditioning process can feel like repeatedly banging your head against a wall, through no fault of the studios themselves. But season after season of reading for very gender binary-coded character archetypes, such as griseled mercenaries and magical girls, can lead to darker emotional periods of wondering whether the world of entertainment truly has space for someone like me. So, one day, a set of audition sides hit my inbox… and, oh my gosh, did I want this role. It’s not often I get sides for a show I fall head over heels in love with, and to be honest, I actually avoided all the trailers and promo for this one because I simply couldn’t afford to dream. To actually have the chance to audition was unexpected and unreal — but now I had that chance, I was faced with the reality of being a trans man reading for the lead of a sports seinen (adult male demographic) anime.
I sat on those sides until the eleventh hour. Every time I thought about them, I spiraled into uncontrollable panic attacks. In that moment, it wasn’t just about a role. It was about my place as an actor — and a man — in not only the entertainment industry, but society as a whole. Finally, in a burst of ruthless resolve, I hauled my arse into my home booth and recorded one heck of an audition. Two weeks later, I was in the studio recording the first episode of AOASHI as the first out trans man to lead a sports anime. Despite my higher pitch, the director (Shawn Gann) had loved the energy and attitude and grit I brought in my audition, and wanted me for the role. He wasn’t afraid to think outside of the box and put a trans actor into a role that would normally go to a cis actor. Similarly, another director (Caitlin Glass) cast me as a romantic interest in a slice-of-life show, something I aspired to but didn’t hold out hope for. And I’ll always be grateful to them, as I am to everyone who is out there challenging the status quo and opening up opportunities to those who otherwise may not be considered for reasons outside of their control.
And mental health challenges are something that plague almost every actor I know. We often joke it’s because it takes a certain type of eccentric personality to thrive in all this bedlam. Behind every project we’re part of, every audition we submit, are months and months of dry spells, crash outs, financial worries, and emotional breakdowns. Shame and fear have held me back heavily in the past, draining the joy from big wins and leaving me hollow when I should be celebrating. But through self-care and self-improvement, I’ve been learning to not only live in the moment, but savor it, too.
I’ve learned to fully embrace this existence of chaos and uncertainty. It’s not a lifestyle that suits everyone. I’ve been homeless; I’ve lived off the kindness and couches of friends; I don’t have a salary or a 401K. I freelance my way through this world with a very tenacious wing-and-prayer, seat-of-my-pants mentality. But with all this chaos and uncertainty comes adventure. I’ve seen and done things I never imagined I would or could. And to me, that makes it all worth it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I get a lot of comments from anime fans and gamers about my range, especially gender-wise. While my typecast is soft-spoken lads, I’ve played awkward girls, hot-headed boys, foul-mouthed freedom fighters, and smoky seductresses. I’ve got a natural vocal fry which years of being a touring musician only strengthened, and that’s become a sort of signature. But I think one of my coolest “party tricks” is being able to flip between my natural British and learned Standard American dialects on a dime. It’s always hilarious when I meet one of my peers outside the booth, who’s only ever heard me doing character work, and they have absolutely no idea I’m an Englishman ‘til I open my mouth!
In all honesty, acting isn’t a job I ever envisioned myself doing, and not for a lack of desire. I’ve wanted to tell stories via acting for as long as I’ve wanted to tell them via singing. But, never feeling fully “right” in my own body, I shied away from it. Throughout my career and throughout my 20s, I’d really began questioning a gender identity that I’d never, ever been comfortable with. Growing up a 90s kid in Britain, we had practically zero exposure to the “T” in LGBTQ+. After moving to Vancouver, Canada, which boasts a loud and vibrant Pride community, a lot of things began to click for me that hadn’t made sense before. I changed my name and bought some men’s clothes to wear to my day job. I bought my first binder. And as I experimented with gender fluidity, I quickly discovered masculine presentation and acknowledgment was extremely euphoric, moreso than I imagined it would be. And that’s where I found myself — not in dysphoria, but euphoria. I think I’d been mostly living as a man for about four years when I officially came out as trans in 2018. I was cast in my first role after that, so I’ve spent my entire acting career as one of a handful of transgender voice actors. That’s something else that I’m known for, and it’s both hindered and helped me.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
One of the most integral things fans of media can do right now is demand representative casting when a role would be better served by an actor with lived experience. Not only can this enrich the storytelling via subtlety and context, but it offers opportunities to those who are otherwise overlooked. (And let’s face it, we all love seeing our stories told by others with similar experiences to our own.) I’ve spoken to a lot of directors who constantly keep an eye out for coding in characterization, to ensure they cast appropriately, and it’s a step above that so many of us appreciate more than they’ll ever know. And while media consumers aren’t in the backrooms where the decisions are made, you do have a voice — and a powerful one, at that. Let it be heard.
On a more personal note… I do have a website where you can pick up my novels (and my wife’s, if you’re into a bit of romantasy!) and all of the art prints I’ve created for characters I’ve had the fun of bringing to life in English. If you work with a school or organization interested in booking me for a live event, you can also reach out to me directly!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://ciaranstrange.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciaranstrange/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ciaranstrange
Image Credits
Shimon Karmel Photography
LK Photography
