What does native really mean in voice over casting?
In the voice over casting world, when you see the term “native”, it means you were raised speaking that language as your first language.
Here are some examples to simplify things for you:
Marie was born and raised in Lyon, France and she grew up speaking French. Marie is a native French speaker.
Harold was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas. He went to college and studied French. Harold is NOT a native French speaker. Harold speaks French, but the fact that he was born and raised in the USA speaking English, doesn’t make him a native French speaker. However, he is a native US English speaker.
Julie was born and raised in London, her mom is English, and her dad is French. Julie grew up speaking both English and French fluently. As long as she speaks both languages without an accent, she is a native speaker in both French and English ( Lucky Julie!). However, if Julie has a French accent in English and a British accent in French, she cannot apply for native speaker jobs in either language.
So what happens when we are looking to cast native speakers?
We want the people who truly are native and don’t have an accent. Trust me, we can tell right away and it doesn’t look good.
You can speak a language fluently, but if it’s not your native language, you will have an accent. If casting is open to accents, by all means, go for it. But if they are specifically asking for native speakers, don’t tell them you are and waste their time.
Also be honest with your agent. Chances are, they don’t speak 14 languages and won’t be able to tell whether you really are a native speaker or not. So if you told them that you are and they submit you, it looks bad for them and, you guessed it, it looks bad for you too. And this is Hollywood, we all want to look good!
So be honest, there is enough work for everybody.
Stay safe and healthy, and good luck with your voice over castings!