Dubbing, an activity that many people dream about. But places are expensive. Faced with the statistics observed by Franceinfo, the observation is striking: the environment is not very open to young people and tends to dangerously favor community relations. Explanations.
“Run Forrest, run!”, “I am the master of the moooond”. These cult phrases from Hollywood cinema are in everyone’s heads… But in French. In the language of Molière, a little girl encourages Tom Hanks to run, Leonardo Di Caprio exults at the tip of the Titanic. We owe these iconic French versions to an entire industry: to the translators who adapt the dialogues to be as close as possible to the original actors and to these shadow actors who through their voices reproduce all the subtleties of a game.
Many young people dream of becoming voice actors. But the road can be long. Very often coming from the theater, these artists must demonstrate great virtuosity. Faced with a screen, you must not only read the words that scroll like a karaoke, but play with a wide range of emotions, adapting your voice according to the characters. The technique is hard and requires a lot of practice.
So, from 9 a.m., at the entrance to the studios, many young people wait in the hope of getting a first opportunity, or quite simply of attending a dubbing session. Jérémie*, an actor used to canvassing, says: “The exercise is really complicated. Many friends have given up because it’s hard to bother the DAs [directeurs artistiques] when they are already in enormous demand.”
Hard, hard to find a place
Dubbing is not the most youth-friendly industry. By listing the names of the actors present on the RS-Doublage database, Franceinfo was able to observe those who returned the most and thus better understand their journey (among 3,800 series and 9,400 films dubbed in French version). The observation is striking: in 2022, out of 500 artists managing to land at least five contracts (to do a voice in a film or series), only around thirty are under 30 years old, or around 6%. A figure which raises questions about the integration of young actors into the profession.
“We see many, many new people passing by, confides Anthony Panetto, professional in the sector. But we only see a small minority succeed in establishing themselves over time.” This is partly explained by the omnipresence of certain voices in castings. In season 4 of Stranger Things for example, of the seven roles intended for teenagers, only two actors are actually the same age as the original actors. Others, in their thirties or even forties, play, through the strength of their talent, 15-year-old teenagers. Dubbing therefore seems, for some, a wonderful rejuvenation, for others, younger and less experienced, a sector where the doors remain closed.
“There is almost no time for tests”
It must be said that artistic directors rarely have the time to do castings to discover new voices. “Before, we had the possibility of organizing tests, we brought in three or four actors, explains Grégory Laisne, artistic director. It was an opportunity to try something new. Now, with the arrival of streaming platforms, there is almost no time for experiments. It’s become extremely rare and that’s a problem because there’s no room for new voices.”
:quality(50)/2023/09/01/sipa-01099557-000008-64f1f33d7d35b263109573.jpg)
Generally, to recruit actors, stage directors turn on their phone and dig into their contact list. This prolific industry is therefore based on artisanal workings. “There is a very human side, explains Adrien, actor. We can directly communicate with ADs and make ourselves known. It’s not like in the cinema, where without an agent, it’s much more difficult to get a contract.” If these network logics provide greater freedom, they can therefore promote a certain sense of togetherness.
Opaque recruitment
If in January, the “nepo babies” (daughters and sons of) scandal hit Hollywood – and more generally the world of cinema -, the dubbing industry in France was largely spared. However, nepotism reigns there, and very strongly. Firstly, for purely practical reasons, since when you need a child’s voice, it is easier to use your own or that of a colleague. But after investigating the profile of 20 and 30 year olds managing to find a place in dubbing in 2022 (by observing the names that came up the most on the RS-Doublage database), half are made up of children aged actors, artistic directors or other celebrities. Unlike in cinema, castings are rarer. The parents’ network therefore helps more massively to find a place of choice. Game Of Thrones, Sex Education, Elite: contracts for “nepo babies” are legion and often prestigious. Which sometimes raises questions about recruitment conditions.
By comparing the data observed on RS-Doublage and those on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), it is possible to see, year after year, the number of contracts won by young people under 30 to provide a voice in a film, a series, a cartoon or a video game. (Actors who were unable to land five contracts in 2022 are excluded from the sample.) Between those who benefit from a network from the birth and those who are just as successful, but without family help, the distinction is clear. “Nepo babies” arrive on average earlier on the job market, sometimes even as early as 4 years old. We see them doing children’s voices in American series Medium and prison Break or in a multitude of cartoons.
Better armed than their colleagues, some of them built impressive careers. This is the case of a young actress who at the age of 18 landed around thirty contracts. Her father, an artistic director, actively participates in her career by putting her on dozens of his projects. Yet another will obtain, in 2022, 78 roles and 100 the previous year, when the average of young people without a network is around 25. The paths of “nepo babies” vary, but are for the vast majority more substantial than those who have no relatives in the area. If the daughter of Benjamin Biolay and Chiara Mastroianni was strongly criticized on social networks for her presence in the film Rosalie alongside his father, the “nepo babies” of dubbing are free to land numerous contracts away from envious glances.
“There are a lot of deviations”
For some, nepotism is a real problem. “There are a lot of excesses in this profession, confides a stage director wishing to remain anonymous. The majority of big artistic directors or big actors put their children in dubbing. I have sometimes even seen people wondering if the children really wanted to or if it was not the parents who were absolutely pushing them.”. But the subject remains extremely taboo.
“The big names make rain and shinehe continues. There’s not much we can do. I could be completely blacklisted if I spoke openly about this. Besides, that’s the first thing we teach newbies: not to go against the grain of the big names in the business. But it’s sad that we can’t have an open debate on the issue.” Criticisms surrounding the recruitment of “daughters and sons of” are then made “on the sly, in a corner of the studio”.
On social networks too, the debate seems pointless for some. Talking about nepotism in dubbing “is as absurd as saying: it’s an abuse, the children of farmers have an easier time becoming farmers than people who are not from the field”, can we read on Twitter. An actress also wants to nuance this between-self and declares:“I’m pretty sure 95% of nepo babies are talented.”
“If they were bad, their daughters and sons would not succeed in the long term”
However, there is no question of questioning the certain talent of these young actors. Especially since by being immersed in the profession from childhood, it is obvious that they will be better able to integrate the expectations of such a competitive sector. But in this area, the myth of the artist only succeeding on the strength of his talent is tenacious. “If they were bad, their daughters and sons would not succeed in the long term”explain some professionals interviewed.
However, the selection system dangerously favors the same people. No one will forbid an artistic director from putting his child on all his castings, at the risk of neglecting equally talented voices. Claire, a 24-year-old actress, says: “It is sometimes possible to lose roles. For example, if I followed an actress on a series, then, if she makes a big film at the cinema, it is not certain that it will be me who gets the contract. The director will want to highlight their daughter and therefore that will reduce my chances of getting the role.” Young actors without a prior network, however, do not seem to have any bitterness. Juliette assures: “I have nothing against the children of actors. Ultimately, I would even want to be in their place”.
Fight for more diversity
Opening the sector to more diversity is a real challenge for many professionals. Especially since with the arrival of streaming platforms, the industry has gradually closed down. Sophie Frilley, director of the dubbing company Title Filmtell : “When the platforms – notably Netflix – arrived in France, they imposed much greater confidentiality conditions on laboratories like ours. important” in order to avoid disclosures. This makes it much more difficult for a young actor to ask an artistic director to do a test or to attend a dubbing session just to watch.
“There was a potential risk of deterioration in the level of training, assures Sophie Frilley. And that’s why we created our school in 2018.”. Training allows many actors to overcome their shortcomings. By putting a certain price on it, the opportunity is given to learn in real conditions while creating a network. “Thanks to this training, the profession is becoming more open to diversity, notes Malika Hamlaoui, head of the Titra school. A studio-trained actor can be hired directly by an artistic director [qui enseigne]“.
Having undergone numerous training courses, Jessy Dubuis, actor, adds: “On the Internet, I see a lot of young people who want to get into Japanese animation, but who don’t know that they need to do training, that they need to go out and approach them”. This enthusiast therefore created a Discord server, “les Voix de l’ombre”, on which professional actors are put in contact with aspiring dubbers. “At the time, I would have liked networks like this to exist,” he explains. “I also have friends who started dubbing by redoing voices on TikTok. And like that, they were spotted by artistic directors”. Training and social networks thus appear as a counter-power, in order to perhaps one day break these internal logics.
*The first names of the young voice actors have been changed to preserve their anonymity.