Geno Segers is one of the nicest actors in television. He cares about his castmates in a way that comes of as genuine. He was nice enough to take this interview while on a break from shooting on the set of his NBC show Perfect Harmony. As Geno’s voice boomed over my earpiece, rippling past the studio microphone I use to record these interviews, and into my headphones, I couldn’t help but wonder if he could tell my voice is nowhere nearly as defining as his. Regardless, Geno is finally in his element. His past roles include a stint on Disney XD’s Pair of Kings as Mason Makoola and Chayton Littlestone in Cinemax’s Banshee. While both provided him with a solid job, they were more niche shows; either being aimed at children or residing on a deep cable network. Perfect Harmony allows for a wider gamut of viewers to enjoy Geno’s dulcet tones.
Geno and I had a chat a few weeks ago about singing on set and how he fell into voice acting.
Are you are you currently working right now?
Yeah, I'm at work, but I sort of stepped out so I can get this done and I wanted to make sure that we got this interview locked and loaded and ready to roll.
That's awesome. Thank you for doing this. What kind of scene are you guys shooting right now?
Well, actually we had lunch right now and they showed a preview of the episode that's going to be [airing] the following week. They do it on Thursday night’s so we know that there's an episode coming up tonight… we preview the episode that’s coming the following week.
How far in advance are you all getting the songs and scripts?
We get the songs the week of the show. We find time to go into the studio in and around our shooting schedule. We get it done.
I don't know how it works for other shows and them in the music format but that is that's pretty cool thing to have been done [in advance].
Absolutely. It’s really cool for me because I get to sing in the studio. It’s something I didn’t get much of an opportunity to do in my career. I would’ve loved to have to then but it is what it is. I’m really excited to get that opportunity now.
I read that you were in New Zealand and a friend suggested you do voice work. Were you reticent to get into jump in or did you just go in headfirst and open up your heart and say I'm ready to do voicework?
No, no, I was this small, little independent business owner.I had two or three new businesses that I was doing around -- basically brokering deals for different little work whether it be window cleaning, concrete, and I did some security work for restaurants, bars and clubs.
One of my bouncers said “Hey, man, you got a cool voice. You should do something with it.” I sort of flippantly said to him “Yeah, whatever man be my manager.” And of course he had a relative in the radio business. The guy called me up and asked me to come down and have a read. I had no idea what it would it lead to. I just wanted to see what it would like. I was very interested in it after I heard myself played back. I didn't recognize myself because I'd never heard myself. And so I was very curious about it. So I suggested to the producer “Hey, listen, if you teach me how to do it, I'll do your ad for free.” He took me up on that. Six months later I was getting paid to do it because I feel like I paid him back for those “classes.”
Do you remember your first big voiceover role? And what was it like getting that like?
The first big thing that I did was a pilot for a cartoon. And the cartoon was something that was about a big old burly bus that goes around the world and teach the little children all about the different animals in their part of the world. My character was of course my character was the big ol’ burly bus. I can't even remember the character but that was my first big break. [The creator] had pictures of the bus and then he had pictures of these other characters. I said “Can I see them?” He showed me the pictures and I said, “Well, I know this guy and I know this lady here.”
He said in his kiwi accent “You can’t do that, mate. You just-- you bloody can't do it.” I said “No, I really believe I can do it.” He says “Give it a go.” I did this pillow with tassels and this broom that had a cowboy hat and a big mustache and six shooters, right? So I played with the broom for the first one. I made him like this here “POW POW” -- going off. He got really excited about that and couldn’t wait to hear the little old lady. I was playing around with different characters that I had in my repertoire and like little old lady that I grew up around when I was a kid. Everybody got a strange uncle that not really their uncle.
He gave me three envelopes which meant that he paid me three times for the work. At the end of the day, I was used to getting those envelopes. I opened those envelopes later and realized “Wow. I should be doing this.” That’s how I got into it. Prior to that, I had not really gotten paid doing voiceover.
Actually hearing your voice and and like bend and be malleable to turning into an old lady and and to these different type of registers makes me wonder -- especially hearing you sing in Perfect Harmony -- it makes me wonder when did you first realize that you were able to make it sing, make it do these different things. That's a big talent that I don't think a lot of seasoned voiceover artists have.
I think you’d be surprised at how few guys are doing all the voices on radio and television. But nonetheless, I found out that I had this ability to imitate people when I was in school. I would imitate the principal, my teachers. Only when they had a really distinctive character or distinctive voice. I would make the kids laugh imitating teachers. It’s something I realized I could do early. I didn’t think I could make a living doing it. I just did it for fun.
When you were when you went into the booth to record songs for the show, did you have to have a vocal coach of any sort. Did you have to learn along the way in terms of singing?
I had vocal coaching before but only for live singing. Live singing is different from studio singing. Singing live in The Lion King is all about support and maintaining and taking care of your voice whereas singing in a studio, you just have to do it once. You have to have a different warmth -- I do any way. I can’t speak for anybody else. My voice seems to cut a little too much. I need to warm mine up a little bit, put a little bravado in to make it work in the studio. My voice lends itself to live singing more so than studio singing.
During the pilot, I noticed that in your B-story, you were a very generous actor meaning that when it was your time to shine, it was your time and then when everybody else had their moments, you let them flourish. That could go with the writing but it also goes with you. You being this dominating presence, that really stands out. Did you have to learn that at all or is that just your good nature?
No, I don't think they put it down on the page and it's very obvious to me that the Dwayne’s character is one that is completely reserved and he’s a little apprehensive about his own abilities. Even if it means him physically doing something that is really hard, he doesn’t think of it as something that everybody else can’t do.
He thinks everybody has a great voice and his voice isn’t so great. It really does start with Dwayne. I do the best I can to bring him to life and to be truthful to the character.
You remind me a lot of a lot of guys like you who are giant, domineering presences like a Jason Momoa and guys like that who could easily be type-casted as the villain. Is that is that something that you would want to be someone who can be the big bruiser or would you like more characters like Dwayne who is willing to open himself up to these friends, even though he's a little bit afraid of singing in front of them?
To be honest with you, I just want to do good work. I want to be a part of a memorable story that is well written and that has been perfectly cast, much like Perfect Harmony. I really feel like this cast is perfect. [Our characters are] all for the most part from the south with the exception of Reverend Jax (Rizwan Manji) who was an international transplant, which [actor Rizwan Manji] happens to be an international transplant in real life. To me, we’re perfectly casted.
To be a part of good work, you gotta start with a good cast. It’s hand in hand with the script, the writers and the cast. Them putting it down on paper and us being able to bring it to life in a way that is real and honest, it starts with those three elements. As long as I can be a part of something that is well written, well casted, and we can have a great performance then I'm going to be happy. Even if it is the villain or the absent-minded neighbor or the goofy big lovable a bear that everybody sort of pushes around until he puts his foot down.
I had to do some research, obviously, and I was looking at all of your social media accounts. What is this words of wisdom that you do pretty much every single day?
[Laughs] Words of Wisdom on Wednesday started with people sending me questions through my email. I would answer their question and someone said “Man, these are words of wisdom.” And I thought “Oh, that's cool. I should take that.” I called it #WoWoW. I'm probably really behind on my emails because... so many people have picked it up contributing emails and participating. They send me questions about their love lives, their personal life, their career, what they should do how they should react, what does it mean to be a man in today's world. The only questions I can't answer are questions that I don't have any experience with. I tend to steer away from them and guide them in a way that it more general.
You know, if they're asking me a question about same-sex relationship, I have no idea because I have never experienced the same sex relationship so I came to generalize that into a relationship sort of question and try to answer in that way. Rocket science. I can't answer because if somebody was job getting rocket science… It's really kind of a fun little thing that I do every week and and people enjoy it, I just try to keep it as general and it's positive to the point as possible keeping only got 60 seconds on Instagram.
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