Jonathan Thomas (00:12) Welcome to the Anglotopia podcast where we explore British history, travel and culture. I'm your host, Jonathan Thomas. And today I'm delighted to be joined by Ian Russell, a British voice actor who has built an impressive career in the United States while maintaining his distinctive British identity. My guest today moved from the UK to South Carolina in 2014, after three decades in the banking industry, embarking on an entirely new career path as a voice actor. Since then, he's become an award winning British voice talent whose warm, intentional, international tones have been featured in video games, commercials, documentaries, animations for clients ranging from Bentley and Intel to Warhammer and Payday. Ian's unique position as an authentic British voice in America has led to his remarkable success, including winning Lots of awards. He has now works alongside his daughters and what has become something of a family voice acting business, bringing British voice authenticity to American audiences. Today we'll explore Ian's journey from British banker to American voice actor, the cultural differences he's navigated between our two countries and how his British accent has become his greatest professional asset. We'll also discuss his perspectives on living as a British expat in the American South. and what that experience has taught him about both cultures. So this is going to be an exciting conversation. Welcome to the podcast, Ian. Ian (01:24) Wide ranging. Wide ranging. No holds barred, right? Jonathan Thomas (01:31) Hopefully, right? So Ian, let's dive right into the questions. ⁓ What's your background and how did you end up in South Carolina doing voiceover work? Ian (01:41) Yeah, it certainly wasn't in the plan. No, I mean, the really simple answer is that when we decided to upstix and move to the States, my wife's American and her family live in upstate South Carolina. So it would have probably been inappropriate to, you know, go fly from the UK and land in, I don't know, somewhere on the West Coast and still be 4,000 miles away. Jonathan Thomas (01:44) Life never is. Ian (02:07) So upstate South Carolina was always likely where we would end up. mean, how we ended up here, well, we remember the banking crisis of the mid-2000s. And I was working for one of the larger UK banks and they were looking to shed people and I volunteered as tribute, know, and they let me go. And then we said, well, what are we going to do next? And so we went, let's sell up. Let's move to the US. gives us a bit of breathing space. You the economy here stuff is a little bit or was a little bit cheaper. ⁓ So we sold everything, got our money together, came over, bought a house and said, okay, what's next? Jonathan Thomas (02:49) So is your wife American now? Okay, so that, yeah, okay. So that made the process a lot easier then. Ian (02:50) Yeah, well she always was. ⁓ Yeah, I'm here on a spousal visa, whilst the green card process is still very intense, ⁓ it was sort of guaranteed, you know, unless you do something really stupid. Jonathan Thomas (03:09) ⁓ So then how has your family adapted to life in the US? Because I assume your children are quote British. So how did the Ian (03:16) Yeah, I mean, they both have dual nationality. They both have American and US passports, which is nice for them. I mean, we've been here like over a decade. So my eldest daughter is now off and away. She's in her mid-twenties. But when we moved, she was a mid-teenager. And I think it was hard for her. know, she hated me, I think. know, I taught. Jonathan Thomas (03:23) Yeah. That's a common occurrence. Ian (03:40) Yeah, you know, I tore her away from her friends, from her school, from the life she knew and, know, but she's settled and she's got her little posse around her and, you know, she's doing okay. She went to college, she graduated and she lives in Columbia, South Carolina. So she's still there and she works in the library system now. So she seems to be pretty settled. The youngest one. I don't think it was quite so shocking for her when we moved here. But as she's grown up, she's kind of hankered a little bit for wanting to live in the UK because she's kind of British and wants to live there. So she's off now to college and she's back in the UK at college in Leeds. So she's now reinventing herself as a British person. Jonathan Thomas (04:25) wow. Ian (04:34) And then my American wife, I think she'd been away from the US for quite some years. And I think coming back, things had changed. So it was a little odd for her to think, know, towns grow and, you know, the people that she knew had moved away and all that. So a little bit difficult for her. For me, I've been almost a serial expat. So, you know, wherever I lay my hat. So I've been fine with it, I think. And I've been visiting for probably 20 years before we moved here. Jonathan Thomas (05:06) Did your daughters keep their British accents? Ian (05:09) Yeah, yeah. The eldest one's a little bit mixed up, but the youngest one has kept her British accent. Jonathan Thomas (05:16) It's a valuable asset, which we'll talk about later. ⁓ Ian (05:18) Yeah, well, she's doing a bit of voiceover as well. So she's off. She's off down to London on Friday for a video game session. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (05:22) So. nice. So speaking of voiceover, how, so you've, you were in banking, you took voluntary redundancy. How on earth did you end up doing voiceover acting? Ian (05:32) Yeah. I know. I mean, there's a part of the story that's a little hidden in that I was a very enthusiastic amateur actor from, I don't know, my early 20s into my early 30s before I did my first expat thing and left. I had and I helped run a not-profit theatre company for the best part of a decade. theatre was... Jonathan Thomas (05:46) Okay. Ian (06:04) was always part of my core, I think. And then when we came here and I needed something to do, I mean, we'll talk a little bit later about, know, I was given an opportunity to go to a workshop after a Christmas gift from my wife. And so when we moved here and I needed to do something, I decided I would, I'll give this voiceover thing a go. and see, you know, so it leans into my my, you know, my actory bit. I had a 30 year business career, so it helped me run a small business, you know, sales and marketing. So I guess a convolution of perfect storm of of bit of an actor, a bit of a businessman and, you know. Necessity is the mother of invention, is it not? Jonathan Thomas (07:00) Well, as a fellow marketer, I applaud your marketing because I came across you through your marketing. You shared one of our articles on your LinkedIn. then I looked at your website and I'm like, this guy, he knows how to do this online marketing thing. I was impressed. Ian (07:09) I did. Well, we might give some credit to my wife who probably does more of it than I do, ⁓ she helps me out now. She's been working in the business for almost five years now, she does a lot of that stuff. Jonathan Thomas (07:21) you nice. she works for your voice business. Ian (07:30) She's, yeah, she's an employee of the business. I think we view it more of a partnership. think the employee-employer relationship would get somewhat strained otherwise. Jonathan Thomas (07:33) Nice. Yeah, I understand that perfectly. In Anglotopia's early years, Mrs. Anglotopia worked for me, ⁓ helping the business grow and did amazing things. And then she went off and started her own business. And now I work for her. So it's a weird dynamic. Ian (07:57) You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's, guess that's how it was. It was a perfect storm of situation meets, you know, let's say various skills and it's kind of worked out. Jonathan Thomas (08:11) Well, ⁓ on the on the topic of South Carolina, and you said you you ended up there because you had family. So how do you compare South Carolina to where you lived in the UK? Is it similar climate? Is it culturally similar in any way? I haven't been to South Carolina, so I don't know anything about South Carolina. Ian (08:25) ⁓ gosh. Certainly, the weather is very different. know, in the summer it gets very, very hot. And you can imagine as a voice actor working in here, you know, a foam lined box, almost not quite, but almost hermatically sealed. And then you have to turn the AC off when you're recording for a client. It gets very, very hot in here. So there's a story where about halfway through a session I was Jonathan Thomas (08:36) Yeah. Ha Ian (08:53) so hot and dripping. We took a break and I went and took a shower and changed. It was like a bath in here. So yeah, the weather, at least in part, we're in the deep south and all that brings with it the church culture, the Bible Belt is very strong here and that's very, I think, than the UK. I think that how you socialize is very different. You know, in the UK, you know, it's kind of the, if you're in a village, you know, everyone knows everyone else. And, you know, there's normally a pub or a community center somewhere that you would hang out. And I think in this part of the world, that centers more around the church than it does. mean, not that it doesn't, but you know, there's probably more of that here, if that makes sense. Jonathan Thomas (09:49) Well, that's very similar here in Indiana as well. We're as far from the south as you can get. Ian (09:55) So I guess those would be the things, obviously the food. Visiting a place is very different to living in a place. And I think when we came, one of the... one of the big differences was just the fast food culture. And it's more now than it was a decade ago. That was eye opening, I guess. Just the variety, well, it's not even a great variety, but the number of burger joints or the number of chicken joints. And they're all different. in the UK, it's KFC or McDonald's Burger King, and that's about it. So I think that was quite a... Jonathan Thomas (10:27) Dominoes, right? Ian (10:31) quite a thing. Jonathan Thomas (10:32) Well, there's some other culture shocks that have surprised you since you've been here. Ian (10:36) ⁓ I don't know if they're culture shocks, but there's a different way of doing business. I think in the UK, networking for business is very, it's quite a social, ⁓ endeavor. You know, it will often happen in a social setting. And I think I've, it feels like networking seems to be much more a serious business here. ⁓ you know, Jonathan Thomas (11:01) Yeah, we're much more mercenary. Ian (11:03) Well, you know, that undercurrent of we're all there to try and see if there's a way of doing business with each other. And, you know, in the UK, we're also apologetic about everything. I don't know. Well, ⁓ I if you really must have my card, you know, that sort of thing. Whereas here it's like, here, buddy, take my card. If you need a voiceover, give me a give me a shout. You know, it's it's it's in some ways quite refreshing that, you know, if you're at a networking working event. People expect you to network. It's a bit more blunt, shall we say. So I've had to get over that. So sorry, here's my card. Jonathan Thomas (11:39) Have you joined your local British American Business Council chapter? Ian (11:42) I'm not sure we have one right here. We're so, you know, sort of rural upstate South Carolina, but yeah, there'll be one in Charlotte and there'll be one in Atlanta. There's one in Atlanta. think online I'm connected, but what we have done locally is there have been a couple of expat sort of social groups that we have met for social networking. ⁓ And we've met some good friends that way. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (11:47) Oh, you're a very rural then. Okay. Yeah, I know that. Ian (12:11) dinner party circle we go round and reminisce. Jonathan Thomas (12:15) playing about the weather, right? I'm playing about the heat. Ian (12:17) Well, inevitably, Yeah. Yeah. Winging. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (12:18) Winging, right? Well, that's what's funny is you find British expats everywhere. There's indeed, right, there's an Irish bar in every city. In the major cities, there's at least one British pub, or British, I say British pub. And there's usually a British American, some kind of thing going on. Ian (12:26) There's an Irish bar in every city, Yeah. We have a there's something called the DBE, the Daughters of the British Empire. There's a chapter of that here, but obviously I'm the wrong gender for that really. Yeah. And there's in this part of the world, there's a there's a strong sort of Scottish heritage thing. So we have the Scottish Games. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (12:44) Yeah. Yeah. They're everywhere. Yes. Yeah, the, hear, I understand that the, because of all the Scott settlement in the Appalachian mountains that the, the Appalachian accent is the closest American accent to a British accent phonetically. So yeah. Ian (13:15) really? Okay. I believe you. I have no idea. I'm not, what I'm not as an act, as a voice actor is a voice technician, if that makes sense. It's, it's all, you know, waving hands and hoping I can say the words right. Jonathan Thomas (13:27) You So how has your British identity evolved since you moved here? Do you feel more British or do you feel like you have a transatlantic perspective? Or do you feel like you're British just ebbing away? Ian (13:46) Well, I look, I kind of surround myself to remind myself that I am in fact British. Obviously, it's quite important for me to retain this bit of me. My work requires that. I would perhaps almost laughingly, but almost slightly seriously say that my American wife is a little more British than I am. She's the real Anglophile and returning to the UK and... Jonathan Thomas (13:48) Hahaha Yeah. Ian (14:16) visiting various places is more driven by her than it is by me. Am I more British? I think I have to lean into it from a professional perspective. I to lean into it. So I guess in that sense. I must, having lived in three or four different countries, I don't find myself homesick. quite like being in other places which allows me to enjoy visiting, if that makes sense. Jonathan Thomas (14:50) Yeah. So according to your website, I'm going off the numbers from your website, ⁓ you've voiced over 100 characters in video games. What roles have been the most challenging or the most memorable for you? Ian (14:54) Yeah, that came as a shock. Interest I was when I saw that I was I had to think quite deeply about that but oddly enough very this year and in fact Maybe next week or in the next 10 days or so. There's a game officially launching called linked banner of the spark and This development company decided in their game. There's all these robots and The robots have their own language have have their own language, which is completely made up and I got cast as one of the robots. So you've got to record all this stuff that is gibberish. But it's phonetically quite descriptive, if I can put it that way. You can put emphasis on those. It's not like the Minions where it's all, it's much more like a language than that. And the only way of really dealing with it is we had a guy on the line who was very familiar with it, who developed it, and you work on it based on a number of syllables, and you start with the easy ones. You start with three and four syllables and work your way up. And he says it, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. And it gets all the way up to like 15 syllables, like a whole sentence in this completely made up language. And as we got further along, I became increasingly anxious that it was going to become, you know, my mind was not going to deal with it. But we got there. was a it was they made it. Fun, but in terms of a challenge, that was certainly a ⁓ vocal ⁓ gymnastic challenge for sure. I've recorded a demon in Latin and I don't speak Latin which also had to be dealt with phonetically. was something of a challenge as well. then, know, a lot of the when you get cast in something there's maybe a bit of an assumption that know British actors can do any accent. And so you get cast as a main role and then they'll throw something else at you and say, hey, can you do this for us? So will quote again, quite recently. I can't tell you the name of the project. It's under NDA, but you know, main character. And then there was a character in this one particular episode, which this character had three lines, but he was Italian. So they said, hey, and can you do this for us? What's your Italian accent like? know, with no evidence. You see my website. No evidence anywhere that I might have any Italian heritage, have any understanding of, you know, that whatever. You know, we did it. You know, it's probably a bit Mario, you know, stereotypical Italian, but we got there. was three lines. We managed it. So those would be challenges. You get thrown curveballs that you might not expect. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (17:58) You're like. Ian (18:03) You know, things that mean a lot. mean, trying to pick out favorite projects is like trying to pick your favorite child. It's, you know, it's really tough. But clearly there are roles that have had an ongoing impact on my career. You mentioned earlier, Payday, I play a character called Vernon Locke, who's actually meant to be South African, but obviously I'm not South African. So that's kind of a bit made up as well. Jonathan Thomas (18:13) Yeah. Ian (18:32) In October of this year, I'll have been playing him for 10 years and and you know, that's a major game franchise and that when you For marketing purposes you're approaching someone else and saying hey, and this is what I've done something like that opens doors and And so I'm very grateful to him I would say Jonathan Thomas (18:53) So sounds like you have a full dance card of work. Ian (18:56) Yeah, I've narrowed down the number of accents that I'll fight for roles. You know, I think when I started out, you things that have changed when I started out, I thought I could do everything. ⁓ know, learned very quickly that that wasn't true. ⁓ So so I've narrowed down the number of accents that I can try to compete in. But ⁓ if I were to count up everything, it's somewhere close to 30. Jonathan Thomas (19:24) That's lot. Ian (19:26) But I love them, like I say, Italian. I've now got an Italian accent, English with an Italian accent. You know, I can claim to have been hired for that, for, you three lines. Jonathan Thomas (19:29) Hahaha So I've heard other British expats say that in the USA, their accent is almost a superpower. Can you explain why you think that is? Ian (19:43) I try and separate it out between professional and personal life really because I think it's different and it's kind of the same as well but I'm I'm you kind of stand out don't you? In a crowd of people there might be 400 people in a room and you probably might well be the only Brit so you stand out and that makes you memorable. It makes people... ⁓ Last night, I was at a networking thing and a lady came over to me and she said, you're Ian, you're that British voiceover guy. And I'm like, yes, I don't recognize her at all. She met me eight years ago at an international festival thing here in town. And then she'd moved away and she's moved back and she remembered me from eight years ago. And I'm like, I'm so sorry. I don't have that power of recollection, but I think... I think one of the reasons is because you have something different that makes you memorable. And I think that's one of the things that stands out. You've probably had other people say this to you, but ⁓ at the checkout in Walmart or somewhere, you'll often get, I love your accent, where are you from? ⁓ England, I'd love to visit one day. That's a pretty standard conversation. So I think that's perhaps it. you are memorable. Jonathan Thomas (21:10) Do you know the Queen? Ian (21:11) Well, we have had that. Well, I haven't, but my wife had. Remember, she's American. We were doing an England stand at an international festival. And there was a little girl who came up and we were all dressed up in, know, royal costumes. And she wanted to know if my wife was the queen. Very sweet. Jonathan Thomas (21:15) Heh. Heh heh. mean you all don't know each other. Ian (21:38) Yeah, yeah, where are you from? Well, I was born in London. I know John Smith from London. Do you know him? Him and 60 million others, you know? Yeah, yeah, that happens too. Jonathan Thomas (21:48) That is a common refrain from British expats when I talk to them Ian (21:53) Yeah. And I think there's maybe a sort of a historical thing here as well going on, to be a more philosophical about it. modern American history only starts, well, next year, 250 years. And so much of what Americans desire from England and from the UK is that deep-rooted heritage. And almost every American will claim to have English, Irish or Scottish heritage. And I think that's a desire for the root, where am I from? And so they see someone or they meet someone from England, Scotland or whatever, they feel maybe a kinship. Even if it's Irish and I'm English, near the twain she'll meet almost. ⁓ It's like, I've got Irish heritage. That makes us kind of the same. ⁓ That sort of thing, you know, maybe. Jonathan Thomas (22:54) Yeah, we are a country in search of our roots constantly. ⁓ Ian (23:00) Well, and we sent you all here in the first place anyway for stealing a loaf of bread. Jonathan Thomas (23:05) Yeah, we're not Australia now. Come on. Ian (23:09) No, get that. Something else I get. Are you from Australia? And I think they sense that I'm from somewhere else, but they're not quite sure where. And so they pick Australia because maybe it's a bit more exotic. I don't know. But I have had that. Jonathan Thomas (23:11) Yeah. ⁓ How do I know this is your real voice? Ian (23:25) You don't mate. With me, you really don't. Anything could happen. Jonathan Thomas (23:30) So, so this question, you've kind of already answered this question, but I'll ask it anyway. So has your British accent been an asset in the American voice acting industry? there, do you get basically get cast for certain types of roles because you have this accent? Ian (23:43) Yeah, well, obviously for anything with a British accent, I'm marketable. And we talk about marketing, so what makes me stand out. And almost my entire career in all its different aspects, I have been something of a niche marketer. So when I worked in Europe and I was seeking out ex-pats who were my client base. When I went back to the UK, I ended up offering financial advice in one of the private banks. So I was dealing with a niche market within that subset. And here, I'm a niche market. There are more than just me, Brits. My naivety when I arrived, I thought I'll be the only one. And of course, I'm not. There's dozens and dozens. But most of us are friends now. So that's quite good. ⁓ So a niche is easier to find, I think. So marketing myself as a British voice actor, it's easier. The casters in America probably get inundated with hundreds of people saying, I'm a US voice actor, hire me. And they probably get one or two Brits. So that really helps, I think, in terms of the success of a stranger in a strange land. Jonathan Thomas (25:07) What's the British accent you're asked to do the most? Ian (25:11) Well, outside of this, I normally, you know, for, so for commercial ⁓ corporate things, you know, learning museums, things like that, it's this, it's, you know, what we might call our money voice, the one that you don't have to do anything to change. Outside of that, well, I grew up for almost a decade as a teenager in Scotland. So I drop into a Scottish accent quite regularly, particularly for video games. some commercial. I am the voice of a Scottish gnome for an HVAC service company. Go figure. Yes, was anyway, whatever, doesn't matter. And then I think the other thing, again, reflecting on why Brits, again, that historical thing, if you come back to video games where I do a lot of work, A lot of those are set in a sword and sorcery, medieval, ancient sort of environment. so, you know, British accent is very marketable. know, a fighter, a wizard, know, ruffian soldier, all these, you know, they want lots of Brits for that. mean, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, you know, all those characters all speak with British accents. or Scottish accents. So that's another advantage, I guess, when those things crop up. Jonathan Thomas (26:40) So ⁓ you mentioned in another interview, and I hate to crib other people's notes, but ⁓ the authenticity in casting has become increasingly important. how do Americans perceive the authenticity of a British accent? And have you noticed any misconceptions? Ian (26:44) Hahaha Yeah. I, yeah, so most British actors think they can do an American accent and most American actors think they can do a British accent. And probably most of the time we can tell. So a Brit can tell, right? So I think that's something, there's there's. Jonathan Thomas (27:13) Yeah, I could tell. I could tell too. I have the ear for it. Ian (27:24) in the acting world, there may be something of a misconception that ⁓ outside of, you as things have become more authentic, if you're going to perform in an accent that's outside of your natural ethnicity or gender or age range or accent, you best train to be indistinguishable from a native. I think that's one of the, maybe a misconception. I lumped this on the American populace at large, but London is more than just a Cockney accent. I do see that a lot, know, Cockney accent, when really what they mean is a general sort of London accent. So we hear that quite a lot. Jonathan Thomas (28:01) Yeah. Eastend. Ian (28:13) I don't know if this fits in here, I don't know. This is a sort of a culture. This was actually a cultural thing. Early doors when we were here, we went for lunch somewhere to a fast actually it was a fast food restaurant and being a Brit, you know, I wanted a cup of tea and, and right. Exactly. Bless them. Jonathan Thomas (28:20) We got going? Good luck. Ian (28:38) bless them they tried they got some we're in the south so iced tea is everywhere they got some iced tea and put it in the microwave to heat it up i i i drink my tea with milk so i'm like have you got milk and all they had was these little pots of half and half creamer so so i had sweet iced tea with creamer i was i couldn't drink it ⁓ and the heat warmed up in a microwave so Jonathan Thomas (28:48) my God. my god. Ian (29:05) Whereas in the UK, if you went anywhere, you'd be able to get a decent cup of tea. ⁓ So in terms of culture shock and not understanding the cultural differences, was, Jonathan Thomas (29:08) Yeah. Yeah. I sympathize as a tea lover. I just started carrying my tea with me wherever I go. I keep some tea in the car and I feel like, I just have a cup of hot water? And then I'm good. Ian (29:30) Hmm. You need you need to chat with my wife. She's a she's a tea aficionado. You know, she's we have a tea. We have a tea bush in the back garden. We make tea ourselves at home. Jonathan Thomas (29:39) Have a good Nice. Oh, wow. I have a wallet that carries tea, just tea. Ian (29:46) We do, if we're traveling anywhere in the US, we will take some tea bags with us and a little thing of milk. We've learned that lesson. Jonathan Thomas (29:53) Yep. I even have a kettle in my car that I can, it's a little, it's a wood fired kettle. So if wherever anywhere where there's ⁓ not a source of hot water, I can make my own. Ian (30:01) Wow. you can buy a camping or Boy Scout camping kettle kind of thing. So that would be something else. Yeah, talking about the cultural and so on. would be something else. Let's just remember that. Jonathan Thomas (30:10) Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yeah, I've noted before that the entire infrastructure of Britain is predicated on somebody being able to get a cup of tea anywhere at any time. And here in the US, you can get soda anywhere at any time. A cup of tea, can't. You've got to plan ahead. Yeah. Yeah, but it's... Ian (30:33) You know, in this part of the week you can get iced tea or half and half, whatever you want. you know, a hot cup of tea, a cup of English breakfast tea, dash of milk, no sugar for me. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (30:41) Yeah. Whenever I'm in a diner and I ask for tea and they hand me a thing of Lipton, I'm just like, no, sorry, no. Ian (30:47) Yeah, Lipton yellow label. It's the brushing's off the factory floor, I'm afraid. But it is getting better. mean, what I will say is there are more places now that are warming up to the idea of tea. We've seen sort of the whole, I think the Japanese culture thing, has integrated a lot through, well, all sorts of things, but anime and all that. Jonathan Thomas (30:51) No. Ian (31:16) So we see a lot of Japanese tea, matcha tea, and that's expanding now. It's a lot easier to get hold of a better cup of tea now than it perhaps was a decade ago. Jonathan Thomas (31:29) Yeah, and the true tea lovers will cringe when I say this, but you can get a decent cup of hot tea at pretty much any Starbucks. Now, ⁓ the tea they serve is fine, fine enough, fine enough to get you to the next cuppa. And here in the Midwest, we have a chain called Big B Coffee. ⁓ They're pretty much everywhere in Indiana and Michigan, and they make a good, decent cup of tea, but you know, yeah. Ian (31:41) Hmm. Yeah. Most coffee houses will now have a tea. They'll have an Earl Grey most likely as well. Yeah. And there are tea cafes cropping up that specialize in offering a selection of teas and shops that offer a selection of teas. Even the supermarkets will now have a selection of teas. Jonathan Thomas (31:59) Yeah. Yeah, your breakfast tea as well. And Yeah, here in the Midwest, Meyer has like a British section and they've got British teas and British biscuits and whatnot. then they have Amazon. You can order anything on Amazon. My daily drinker for breakfast is Yorkshire tea, which you can find pretty much anywhere these days. Although my favorite tea, Cornish tea, can't, we're the only company that sells it in the US. Ian (32:24) Yeah. Yeah. Hahaha! Mm-hmm. Then you sell it because you's your favorite, right? Jonathan Thomas (32:47) Yeah, yeah, we yeah, it's a bizarre story. So, you know, in 2018, we we did the lands in the John O'Groats drive. And when we were in Cornwall, we had this wonderful tea that was in all the hotel rooms. I'm like, this tea is amazing. And after we got home, I'm like, I'm like, got to buy more of this Cornish tea. It's an orange box. And I'm like, no one in the US sold it. And I'm like, well, I got to have this tea. So. I contacted them and then I'm like, can I import it to the U S and they're like, sure. So we've, we've been importing it ever since and never restock it in our store. We always sell out with a few months and then also keeps my supply reliable because I know when the T's coming. Ian (33:14) Yeah. Yeah, well, and any Welsh person you meet will say Barry's tea is the best. And so on, you know, we all have. Jonathan Thomas (33:29) Yeah. Yeah. Every region has its own particular, you know, low, you know, yeah. When I went, when I did visit Ireland a few times for work, they have their own preferred tea that it's berries, ⁓ PG tips and, and then buleys. And so like, and lion's tea. So like, Ian (33:36) Yeah. Yeah. Oh wait a minute, it's Barry's Irish. Maybe it's Irish. Jonathan Thomas (33:53) you know, which brand of tea you are in Ireland is like indicates your cultural class and everything is fascinating. Ian (33:56) Yeah. We have a tea plantation locally as well. Well, there's a tea garden in Charleston, but we actually have one up here in the upstate. we... Tea's okay. I was about to name them. I thought maybe I went. Maybe. Maybe. Jonathan Thomas (34:03) Well, you're in the right climate for it. It's okay. Should I edit that out so you don't get offended, so you don't offend anybody? ⁓ So what kind of assumptions do you find Americans make about you as a Brit that kind of make you what? Ian (34:34) Well, I've mentioned before maybe that I'm not British, that I'm Australian. It's hard to put yourself, that I can do any accent. It's another one we've touched on. ⁓ That I don't know, that I know more about the UK than perhaps, you know, have you heard of this place? Have you heard of that place? You know, it's small. You must have been everywhere. You must have been to every castle. you know that there you know there are certain there yeah so those those those kind of things nothing out of the ordinary I don't think from from a I've strived very hard from a professional point of view to to be you know the perfect British service you know that so if they need if someone needs a British accented actor I'll be in the list I'll be in the in with a shout ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (35:03) There's thousands. Ian (35:31) So, and from that point of view, I don't dissemble what I am. You know, my branding, the British voice, that's what I do. I do a lot more than that, but I don't advertise it, particularly. So I try and be very clear about what I do. And so from a professional point of view, I don't think there's any unusual assumptions, like I say, other than can you be this Italian for us or something? Jonathan Thomas (35:56) So we touched on this with the tea, but are there any other British things or traditions you miss not being in the UK? Ian (36:02) ⁓ I, for me, I'm not sure really. I mean, there is that whole history art gallery museum aspect, you know, in the UK, you're never far away from a really top class, you know, historical, ⁓ adventure. ⁓ and, and, you know, the here in the upstate, you know, we have revolutionary war and, and you know, War of Independent, Civil War, you know, there's a lot of that kind of history, but there's not much more beyond that. And we're not, we're not very close to a large city. You know, it's, it's a hack to get down to Atlanta, ⁓ you know, to the High Museum. We do go, but it's, you know, it's an effort. So I think that's, I would say that's one thing that, that perhaps I would say that I miss. culturally. A lot of the food we've learned to make ourselves. You know, I make a decent pork pie now. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (37:06) Ha Yeah, I have a, know a guy in Chicago and full disclosure, he's one of our newsletter sponsors and he was an expat who moved here like 20 or so years ago. And he just, couldn't find proper sausages. And I'm so dismayed at the sausage scene in the U S he started making his own authentic English sausages and now sells them around the country. And you know, now he Ian (37:32) I, there's a part of me wonders if there's a company in Buffalo, upstate New York. Do you know them? I've just done some work for Parker's. Jonathan Thomas (37:37) Parkers, yeah. Hmm. Yeah, they they're either back right because they had closed and then they've they've come back now. Ian (37:47) Yes, yes. to make the wheels of commerce be oiled smoothly, we agreed that part of my fee would involve sausages and bacon and pork pies. And I got to tell you, the pork pie was magnificent. Jonathan Thomas (38:07) I love that. That's a very valuable trade. Ian (38:17) Yeah, that's due out any minute they're sponsoring a show on PBS. So I did the, you know, the ad for it as it were. So yeah, you'll see that. you know, any day, any day and keep an eye out. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (38:26) interesting. Keep an eye out. Well, send me a link when it's out. ⁓ Have there been any American customs that you've embraced or fallen in love with since you've been here? Ian (38:44) I mean, there's the big holidays, the, you know, Thanksgiving is unavoidable. Halloween is unavoidable. the, the whole pumpkin spice thing, ⁓ gets a bit much for my taste. ⁓ pumpkin, everything, but you know, Halloween's fun. ⁓ I like that. The thing about Thanksgiving, we like Thanksgiving, you know, all the family and all of that. ⁓ but. Jonathan Thomas (38:50) Yeah. Ha Pumpkin everything, Yeah. Ian (39:13) Because we have Turkey at Thanksgiving, we can't have Turkey at Christmas. So of course, I'm culturally expected to have Turkey at Christmas. So we have to get creative around that. What else? I'm not in love with American sport. I played cricket as a younger man at a decent level. Jonathan Thomas (39:30) Ha, neither am I. There's no one playing cricket in South Carolina. Ian (39:39) Well, there is. It's not me. I don't play cricket. I'm too old for it now, maybe. I could turn out, I suppose, but it eats time. You've got to be there all day and all that. ⁓ So we're talking about things that I miss. I miss being able to wander down to the village green and either play or watch cricket. ⁓ soccer's better here now. The Premier League seems to have got a toehold. Jonathan Thomas (40:06) Yeah, than it used to be. Ian (40:08) and the MLS is a bit more stable now. that it's an assumption that I will support a soccer team and that if I do that I will know everything about that soccer team. You know, I'm a Liverpool supporter so quietly. But so we're celebrating this year. you know, I stood on the COP back in the early 80s. So I've been a Liverpool supporter for a long time. Jonathan Thomas (40:35) So, well, that's interesting. Okay, you're from London, but you're a Liverpool supporter. How does that work? Ian (40:41) Well, when I finished college, my first job out of college was in the Northwest near Liverpool. the people that I met, I became friends with, one of them was dyed in the wool Liverpool supporter. And he took me to Anfield and we stood at the Cop End and all the stuff that goes on with that. so I watched. for the people that are old enough, ⁓ Kenny Dalgliesch, ⁓ Hanson, Jan Molby, that famous Danish scouter. I was there at a game against Manchester United and the hate was, you could cut the air with a knife with it. It was that thick. Unforgettable experiences. And so it's hard to just say, well, I don't support this. football team anymore. Jonathan Thomas (41:38) Well then that begs the question, can you do a Scouser accent? Ian (41:42) Yeah, I'm more like Ringo Starr than I am John Lennon. It's a bit of a docker, kind of a Scouse accent, but yeah, I can. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (41:51) impressive. Ian (41:51) I was hired by a British bank to be, his name was Billy, to be as broad of a scouter as I could manage to help train telephone operators in their customer service department. Because obviously, you know, it's difficult to understand sometimes. Yeah, that was one of my, I don't know, that was probably, that was pre-COVID, I think, that's a while ago. Jonathan Thomas (42:17) So from your perspective, now that you've lived so long in the US and lived most of your life in the UK, what are some big differences between American and British humor that you found? Ian (42:28) ⁓ I think a lot of Americans don't understand it when I say something very sarcastic and funny. Some do and I think ⁓ British comedy definitely has that self-depreciating, ⁓ almost ⁓ insulting nature to it. Jonathan Thomas (42:35) Yeah. Ian (42:53) You know, that phrase that, you know, a Brit will insult you and you won't even realize it, you know. Yeah. And I was thinking about this as well. I don't know how familiar you are with, you know, seaside postcard humor, know, the real toilet humor. think here in in upstate Bible Belt country, that doesn't land. Jonathan Thomas (42:58) It's happened to many times. Ian (43:20) That doesn't land too well. But as I discovered, maybe only two or three days ago from Jimmy Carr, who I listened to once in a while, he said stand up comedy as a business, as a profession was basically invented by the Americans. So Jonathan Thomas (43:21) No, I imagine it wouldn't. Hmm, yeah, awesome. Ian (43:43) He's very grateful to the Americans for that. So yeah, well, it just goes to show, well, in that case, that shows you, if you're looking to sell tickets for something, the people that like your humor will turn up and the people that don't like your humor won't buy a ticket. So I think it's, in a country of 350 million people, it might be. Jonathan Thomas (43:47) He's always on tour here. Ian (44:05) too strong to say all people do this or all people do that. I, you know, where I live, I think the, have to be ⁓ sensitive to my natural inclination to be sarcastic for humorous purposes, because sometimes people will just take that literally and be offended. So I have to be careful about that. And, you know, I'm well known for dragging the humor into the gutter. And I can only really do that around my British friends. Jonathan Thomas (44:37) So are there any ⁓ British phrases or expressions that you've had to adapt to or explain since you've moved there? Like, someone was like, what did you just say? Ian (44:46) Well, so there was one that we heard on a TV show recently. I was trying to remember which one. I can't remember what it was. I knew what it meant, and my wife didn't. I'm going upstairs to Bedfordshire, which means, course, means I'm going to bed. ⁓ And having grown up in Scotland, I'm often heard say, well, Marnia Mickle, Max and Muckle. Jonathan Thomas (45:03) Yeah. Ian (45:14) ⁓ which translates as lots of little things make a big thing. Yeah, you count the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. It's that kind of, I think everyone, all the dollars will look after themselves. I think most cultures have something like that. But in the Northeast of Scotland where I grew up, Monier, Mickle, Max and Muckle. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (45:21) It's a new one for me, so thanks for that. Ian (45:40) And I say it with a British accent now and sometimes I say, real, more near meckle muck some ockle. know, well, where I grew up in Scotland when I first went there in the mid seventies, I lived in a rural agricultural village outside of Aberdeen. And there's a version of ⁓ a Scottish accent called the Doric or Chuchta sometimes and It's like a foreign language. You know, felt like going for your DN. I'm away for my flight past. What the hell does that mean? Loosely translated. Hello, young lady. How are you? I'm going away for a snack. ⁓ So there's that as well. ⁓ Those sort of things. I'll drop once in a while. I'll drop into some. I'll drop it in almost, you know. Jonathan Thomas (46:16) Ha Ha ha ha. Ian (46:34) be difficult. Jonathan Thomas (46:35) Well, do you do you find yourself code switching between British and American expressions or pronunciations depending on who you're talking to? Ian (46:43) Oh my gosh. Yeah, well, don't know about expressions necessarily, but different pronunciations of specific words is a real challenge sometimes that we have to be sensitive to, particularly what I do. So an American client might hire me to use a tech company as an example because the words are relevant. And the word data process. will be there. So as a Brit, I will say data process, but they'll want data process, but they'll want it with a British accent. And our languages are littered with those such that sometimes neither the client nor myself have spotted it until we get to it. And I'll say it and they'll go, that's not how you say that word. I'm like, yeah, it is. And they went, right. Well, well, can you say it this way? And we'll have to go back and do it again because they needed their way. Schedule and schedule is another one. Crops up quite a lot. Jonathan Thomas (47:44) Yeah, I am because of all the British media exposed to and all the traveling I've done. My pronunciation is a mess. I'll say things in a British way and in American setting and in Britain I'll say things completely wrong or I'll say the name of a place completely right and completely shock and amaze the locals there because they're like, you said it right. I'm like, well, it happens, know, but then I'll say it completely wrong and then will. Ian (47:54) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, which is that not also a bit unfair as well that you, you know, they'd be so shocked and surprised that you made the effort to get it right, you know. Yeah, Lycester Shire. Jonathan Thomas (48:20) So, Yeah, I forget what it was, but I said something correctly a few weeks ago on the podcast and someone actually commented saying well done for saying it right. Ian (48:31) Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah, yeah. And so that's something you're talking about, you know, being sensitive to how things are different. I will look at a script and it is littered with those things. I'll try and highlight them somehow and check before we start, because then that saves everybody time. If I make the assumption that we're going to say it the British way and it's an American client. Jonathan Thomas (48:32) It's all part of the service. Ian (48:56) then we might end up having to spend more time re-recording that section of the work. So if I see something I'll generally ask. Jonathan Thomas (49:05) So do you keep up with British media back home and what are some of your favorite shows? Ian (49:10) I get my news from the BBC app every morning on what's going on in the world. Yeah, I probably should watch more than I do. It's a sort of research sort of thing. We watch Bridgerton, but I think that's driven by my wife more than me. Again, social media allows me to catch snippets of Jonathan Thomas (49:12) Good. Yep. Ian (49:39) I'd mentioned Jimmy Carr earlier, you know, if he crosses my feed, I'll always stop and listen because it's funny. Funny. And Graham Norton is another one. If I lived in the UK, I would religiously watch Graham Norton because it's so, he's so... I think a lot of it is that he has no fear, it seems to me, when he's interviewing. He'll go places no other interviewer, I think, would... Jonathan Thomas (49:45) Yeah, it's every other video on my feed. Ian (50:07) would go but in a humorous way. ⁓ So I enjoy that a lot. then I don't know if you go back to your part. Baby Reindeer I watched. That was very good. I enjoyed watching that. I'm not a big police procedural person. a lot of those shows that are in soap operas are not my thing. So a lot of the TV that you see here I'm not interested in, I'm sorry to say. Doctor Who. I like watching Doctor Who. And now it's on Disney Plus, I can watch it. ⁓ Jonathan Thomas (50:40) Yeah, I don't know. I think it's a downgrade. It used to be on cable and anybody could watch it, but now it's locked behind Disney+. Ian (50:48) Well, when we first moved here, the only way of getting to Doctor Who was through BBC America. And to get Doctor Who, you had to have like the silver plan or something, which was expensive. So we, but we had to have it because my kids were wanting to watch Doctor Who. So we bought it so the kids could watch it. It was the only thing we watched. And, you know, then they grew up and got into other things and we were able to let that go. Jonathan Thomas (50:54) Yeah. Yeah, well, in BBC America is not BBC anymore, basically. It's, ⁓ they show very little British TV. Ian (51:22) You know, ⁓ Peacock shows, think, has the, know, Brit box. know, this streaming has become so everywhere, you know, that everyone has a streaming channel. And, you know, it's no wonder that these subscriber-based channels, Cable and so on, are, you know, a dying art. ⁓ But, you know, PBS, we like watching Masterpiece on PBS. There's always something knocking around on Jonathan Thomas (51:29) Yeah. Yeah. So. Ian (51:51) that is entertaining. Jonathan Thomas (51:52) Yeah, and that's actually for a lot of Americans, that's where they get exposed to British stuff for the first time is on PBS because everybody gets PBS and they speak with received pronunciation, right? Ian (51:57) Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's probably why they think we all live in the 17th and 18th century. We all live in castles and have lords and ladies as our best friends and butlers. Jonathan Thomas (52:14) So for my last question then, when's the last time you were home or do you have any future plans to go back? Ian (52:21) Yeah, well, my mom is in her nineties, so obviously we've got family. My daughter is now at college in the UK, so we went last year to take her to college and we'll be back in June, July of this year to move her from dorm to digs and spend some time in the UK. My work, although this is fairly fixed, you know, my fancy thing here, voiceover is... somewhat mobile. ⁓ as now that we're empty nesting, slowly but surely, where there are plans or thoughts or hopes, if you like, that maybe we'll spend longer amounts of time in both countries so that we get more of both. I don't know what that looks like, how it happens quite yet, but those are conversations that are being had. this year, in middle of June to about the middle of July. So for about three to four weeks we'll be in the UK. Jonathan Thomas (53:22) Nice, I'm jealous. Although it's gonna be hot, so I mean. Ian (53:25) Well, what passes as hot in the UK? Jonathan Thomas (53:28) Well, well, yeah, we should specify it was not hot by American standards, but with the complete lack of air conditioning, it's hot. Yeah. Ian (53:37) Yeah, well yeah, mean, you're talking about cultural differences. You nobody has air conditioning in the UK because we don't need it enough. It's not hot enough for long enough, know, two hot days in a thunderstorm. It's about all we get. It's amazing that a summer sport like cricket that lasts for days on end started in a country like England where it rains every other day. That's probably why it's five days long because they've got to play in between the showers. Jonathan Thomas (53:43) Yeah. Well, we'll leave it at that. Thank you for appearing on the Anglotopia podcast, Ian. It's been a fascinating hearing about your journey from British banker to American voice actor and your perspectives on life between our two cultures. For our listeners, if you want to hear more about Ian's work or learn about his services, check out his website, ianrusselvoice.com which we will link to in the show notes. Ian (54:02) Ha ha ha ha ha! Jonathan Thomas (54:23) And you can also follow Ian on social media, which we'll also put in the show notes where he shares insights into the voice acting industry and snippets of his latest work. And if you're interested in an authentic British voice talent for a project give, give Ian a bell, they say in England. Uh, Ian's experience and award-winning performances will make him an excellent choice. So if you enjoyed the Anglotopia podcast. Ian (54:36) Give me a call. Give me a shout. Thank you. Thank you, Jonathan. Jonathan Thomas (54:44) Please like us, subscribe, or join the Friends of Anglotopia Club to support great long form writing about Britain and get early access to this podcast. Until next time, I'm Jonathan Thomas, and thank you for listening to the Anglotopia Podcast. Thank you, Ian. Ian (54:57) Thank you. Yeah.