Voice Description

Easy, intelligent, sincere and subtly attention-getting (like the voice in one's head); and also an endless range of broad-yet-believeable characters.

As a working actor, my skill is the ability to shade my natural mid-baritone voice to suit the style of a script. Listen to the "Natural Voice" demo for examples. When it comes to character/animation work, I can produce what can best be described as "non-announcerly," "real person" or "could-be-over-the-top-with-anyone-else" reads.

Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform

• Young Adult Male
• Middle Age Male
• Senior Male

Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker:

• English - North American

I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes

• Commercials
• Promos
• IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages
• Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites
• Audiobooks
• Videogames
• Documentaries
• TV shows and movies
• Movie and game trailers
• Others (on-camera, informercials, live announcers, spokespersons)

Jobs I Am Willing to Take (Union-wise)

• Non-Union Jobs

• Jobs for AFTRA (US) signatories

• Jobs for SAG (US) signatories

My Union Affiliations and Memberships

None

My Recording and Delivery Capabilities

• I will go to any designated studio in my area
• I can record and then deliver the audio files via Email
• I can record and then upload the audio files via FTP
• I can record and then deliver the files by regular mail

Pre-, Post- and Production Services I Offer

• I can deliver edited and finished voice tracks
• I have a music library and can add music to any project
• I can add special effects to any project

My Home Base

New York City, New York, United States

Accents, Impersonations, Characters and Dialects

Credible accents including British (several), French, German, Irish, Jewish, Russian and several American regional dialects, including New York (and old-fashioned Brooklyn), Texas, Southern, among others.

My Voice Experience

ON CAMERA:
You may remember Michael as the sleazy doctor in a series of MTV commercials ("I love my thermometer, but I take it out once in while!"); the lawnmowing suburbanite in the Hawaiian shirt for Real China Tea; and the gangster trying to heist the "bread" in Bouyea's Bakery.

VOICEOVER:
Michael has done numerous voiceover spots in the Boston/New England marketplace some of which are featured in the demos here, including an excerpt from a Silver Microphone award-winning commercial for Porcupine Graphics, and for several years was the touchtone banking voice of several United Vermont banks including The Proctor Bank. He also played multiple characters in the public radio dramatization of The August Coup starring Theodore Bikel.

My Training

Unknown - Click here to ask d. michael berk

My Studio Equipment

Neumann TLM 103 and Sennheiser MKH 416 microphones, Avalon M5 Preamp, Apogee Rosetta 200, Alesis ML9600 MasterLink Recorder, ProTools LE, Adobe Audition 3, PC with Core 2 Duo Processor

Additional Skills

THEATER:
Michael was a company member in the Tony-nominated, Olivier Award-winning Broadway production of Stanley at Circle In The Square. He most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Counsellor-At-Law starring John Rubinstein at the Theatre at St. Clement's. Other New York credits include Emperor Franz Joseph in Youngblood's production of City of Dreams, selected as best-of-fest at last summer's Midtown International Theatre Festival, and a role he reprised at the Broadway/USA reading directed by Chris Smith; Haakon Werle in Ibsen's The Wild Duck at The Century Center; General Jacob Hurd Smith in Theater for The New City's A Howling Wilderness directed by Don Price; Spinoza Dacosta in a William M. Hoffman workshop production of Cornbury; and Bondarevsky in Keith Ruddin's adaptation of Nabokov's Black Snow. In addition to productions, Michael has participated in readings of new plays under development at SecondStages, Ensemble Studio Theater, The Women's Project, Rattlestick Theater and The William Morris Agency and can be seen regularly at readings of The Shaw Project.

TELEVISION:
Michael played the recurring character of Mayor Hinckley in the pilot for Lunatic Theater created by Alan and Barry Marder for the FX channel, and a show Jerry Seinfeld had "a hand" in developing. Michael was cast in the co-starring role of Bosley in a 30-part award-winning series for Chinese television entitled A War of China's Fate that aired as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of The People's Republic of China. He has appeared on Law & Order: SVU and was the New York Judge who performed the marriage ceremony for Brian and Dixie in his chambers in a flashback sequence on All My Children.

FILM:
Michael most recently appeared as Councilman Riddick in the feature film Fortunes (with Mike McGlone).

Payment Methods Accepted

• PayPal
• Personal checks, cashier's checks, or money orders in my local currency

Contact Information

To contact d. michael berk by email or phone, please click here.