Meet Jerron Bacat | Professional Voice Actor & Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jerron Bacat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jerron, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I grew up on video games, animations, anime, etc., so I was introduced to an artistic/creative field early on, whether I was aware of it or not. It was something I found enjoyment and comfort out of, so I had an interest from the beginning. As I grew up, I started to become interested in the “behind the scenes” of productions and who got to work on these types of projects, primarily on the voiceover side since I wanted to know the people behind the characters I got to see on-screen. That’s when it started to click in my head and I thought, “Woah, there are people who do this as a career and for a living, that’s really cool!”. That thought sat in my head until one fateful day, where I decided to give voiceover a shot. Needless to say, I’m very grateful that I decided to begin my voiceover journey that day, because I get to do what young Jerron wanted to try doing all those years ago. I know that if I could go back in time and tell myself that I got to work on video games, animations, anime, etc., he would be stoked to learn what he career he got himself into in the future.

The craziest part about all of this is that this was not in the cards for me at all. Starting my voiceover journey was an off-the-cuff decision I made back in high school, thinking it would be a fun thing to try out, but not really expecting to make a career out of it. I actually competed in sports my entire life right before making the switch to voiceover, with little to no acting experience outside of drama classes and school plays. But fortunately, I was able to have the courage to put myself out there, find places to learn and train, and also just have fun with it early on. Looking back, my first year was definitely a lot of “finding my footing”, because I had gone into this completely blind and without knowing what to expect. But as my career has progressed, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to not only develop as an actor, but also as a person. I learned that this a career you get to have a lot of fun with. You have the opportunity and privilege to tell stories through your performances, and that’s something I’ll never take for granted. The audience gets to have fun experiencing and living the story through the character, so why not have fun yourself if you get to live as that character?

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a voiceover artist, I’m able to tell stories and experiences through performances and through these characters. For others, it may just seem like I’m speaking into a microphone. And while that’s an understandable and partially objective view of what I get to do, for me, I get to live these character’s lives and stories and then express them to an audience. That’s what gets me excited about the projects I get to work on. With each new character or project, there’s a new story I get to live and tell through them. Whether it’s for a video game, anime, animation, or even a commercial, there’s a story to be told and you have the opportunity to tell that story. And no matter how big or small the role is, there’s still a story that needs to be told and life that needs to be lived in.

When it comes to challenges, in the grand scheme of things, I try not to find this career challenging and instead just try to enjoy it while I have it. I have the privilege to speak into a microphone and make a career out of it, while others may not be so lucky with their situation. So yes, there are “challenges” like not booking the role you really wanted, having a dry spell with work, or just the business side of the industry in general. But I believe if I’m enjoying the process and doing what I can to put myself in the best spot to succeed in the field, everything will be fine. Because I’ve learned that a lot of things in this industry are out of your control, so why should I stress myself out over something I don’t have a say in? It’s less taxing on my mind if I’m able to enjoy the work I get and then progressing as needed.

At the end of the day, like I’ve said before: I want to have fun and enjoy the work I have the opportunity to do. I want to be a fun person to work with, as well. If we’re bouncing ideas off each other and having fun behind the scenes, on top of the audience enjoying the story as well, then I’d say that’s a job well done.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My first suggestion is always an arcade called “Round 1” in Burbank. Whenever I go there, it’s EASILY 2-3 hours minimum the party stays there. Just a super fun place to hang with friends, play some games, and just have a good time. It’s also conveniently located across a plaza with plenty of food places to choose from, so if you don’t want the food that’s served at Round 1, there’s plenty of options across the street.

Another place that I would like to take a friend or friends to is to a baseball game. Baseball was my life and passion before voiceover and it still sticks with me to this day. I played for 12 years and still watch today so you could say that I’m a “bit” of an enthusiast. And growing up in Southern California, it’s going to be at Dodgers Stadium (I apologize to the Atlanta Braves fans reading this article). I know the sport can be very confusing to someone that’s unfamiliar, but I’d like to think going out to a ballgame and watching a game in-person with friends would be a very fun day. I know I have fun at the games I get to go to, so why not share the opportunity with others?

And don’t even get me started on the food places in Burbank and Los Angeles. There are WAY too many to choose from, so my best suggestion? Drive around the city for 10 minutes and you’ll find a great spot to eat at. Proof? It’s me. It has worked for me 100% of the time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
100%, have to shoutout my first voiceover coach, the wonderful and amazing, June Yoon (@JuneYoon_ on Instagram and Twitter). I reached out to him early on in my voiceover journey for an interview, funnily enough, for a project I was assigned for one of my college classes. The assignment had us go out and interview folks who worked in industries we wanted to pursue and June was kind enough to take the time and chat with me for the interview.

This was during a time where I consider myself to have been “wandering” around the industry and still figuring things out. But this first interview with June helped me put things into perspective and set me on the right path. And from there, I had reached out to him if he was available for voiceover coaching and he took me under his wing. He helped me realize that it’s okay to play, it’s okay to have fun, and it’s okay to be crazy once in a while. This career and journey is FUN. It’s up to us if we want to keep it fun, and I’d like to think I’ve kept it fun thanks to June. So shoutout to him!

(A fun fact that I’m personally proud of: The Teacher and Student got to work together on a project! June and I had the opportunity to work on a video game called “Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty”, which I thought was a very cool and interesting milestone to have achieved.)

Website: https://www.jerronbacat.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerronbacat

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerronbacat/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JerronBacat

Image Credits
Matthew Reyes