INTERVIEW WITH RENAE JACOBS
TMNT VOICE ACTRESS: APRIL O'NEIL


May 07, 2006


RUTGER
Today I'm proud to interview a legendary TMNT voice actress. Renae Jacobs voiced our all-time favourite TV newsreporter and this time I'm doing the questions :)
Welcome Ms. Jacobs. So how did you got into voice acting?

RENAE JACOBS
I got into voice acting when I was 9 years old. I had been taking voice lessons and we lived in Lansing, MI at the time. There were classes given at Michigan State and when a course for puppetry was given by a local host of a children's TV show, my mother asked me if I would like to take it. I was thrilled about it and after I took the class the producer of the show asked if I would like to be on the show.
I had been doing voices since I could talk. I'd line up all of my stuffed animals on the bed and give them all different voices. My father had bough me a record player, remember those? And he purchased all of the Disney children’s records he could find, so I mimicked those as well. That was it, I was hooked! When we moved to California I continued to do voiceovers, theatre, musical, opera etc...

RUTGER
Wow, even opera. How did you auditioned for the part of April O'Neil, and did you originally came for April, or did you also tried other characters?

RENAE JACOBS
I was requested to audition for the part of April by a director friend of mine, Stu Rosen. April was the only female part at that time so I did not audition for any other role.

RUTGER
Did you looked for a special voice for April or is it your own voice?

RENAE JACOBS
I was directed by Stu to try April’s voice a few ways and they picked a voice that was close to my own only a bit lower with more energy.

RUTGER
How much does April resemble your self in personality?

RENAE JACOBS
Yes, I'd like to think that April had a bit of my spunkyness. She always needed to be rescued and I think that I am pretty good at getting myself out of trouble but once in a while I need a bit of help. She also always jumped in with two feet into her work, I'm like that as well. Sometimes I have to take a jump back to avoid disaster.

RUTGER
Haha, that sounds like April alright! After playing her for a full 9 years you stopped with voice acting for TV and film. Did you ever considered picking it up again?

RENAE JACOBS
Yes, I played April for 9 years and many other roles on many other shows as well. At some point there was an actor's strike, it went on for a long time. Many of the cartoon producers went up to Canada to get their voices, as they needed to get the job done and the SAG union would not allow us to work. The producers found that the voices there, although not as good as in the states, seemed to get the job done. They also discovered that they could pay them in Canadian dollars at 70% of the American dollars and did not have to pay any residuals. So that was the beginning of he end of a lot of work, many cartoons are voiced in Canada and the actors have gotten better. Also many famous and semi famous actors found out that voice over was fun and paid well. The producers loved being able to pay them scale, and be able to say that they were working with stars. That did not help either.
So now I continue to do voice over work, mostly CD-rom and medical and dental instructional DVD’s as I understand a lot of medical terms. I have been married for 21 years and have two amazing children. We are a very close family and I am so lucky! I have been involved in my community, creating an award winning mentoring program that helps elementary children with reading and math. It has been recognized nationally as well. I am also a major fund raiser for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a major University in the Middle East that is raising funds for student scholarship. I believe that only through education may we be able to find the common ground that will lead to peace. So you can see that life goes on, on and off the TV and radio!

RUTGER
Who was/is your favourite Turtle?

RENAE JACOBS
I love all of the turtles! It would not be fair for me to pick a favourite, I love them all equally!!!

RUTGER
Do you have any funny or fond memories of your voice recording time you'd like to share and did you see your colleagues a lot?

RENAE JACOBS
I remember that we always had a lot of fun. Everyone had their moments of cracking us up. Everyone was wonderful to work with and we all got along very well. We did not get together out of the studio for the most part. We all had busy lives and were at different places in our lives with kids, marriages, divorces, you name it.

RUTGER
What do you think of the new TMNT cartoon? And of Veronica Taylor who now voices April O'Neil?

RENAE JACOBS
I have not seen the new TMNT! I loved the old one!!!!

RUTGER
Me too, it's the one I grew up with! I'm wondering, is voice acting a tough job? Cause I also would love to do it.

RENAE JACOBS
It's a difficult life and I'd not encourage anyone who just thinks it's a fun thing to do. You have to be very very sure that it is what you want to do and it is the only thing you want to do or it's heartbreaking!!! I have loved my carreer but you have to be tough as a turtle's shell to withstand the ups and downs!

RUTGER
OK! Thank you very much for taking time to do this interview. It was an honor.