My guest today is professional voice actress, Natalie Hitzel. You've heard her across commercials, cartoons, video games and talking toys for brands like Disney, Lego, Pixar and Coca-cola. In this episode we talk about: • Her journey into the industry and experience working for these big brands•The craft of voice work•The Audition Grind•The realities of freelancing •How Ai could impact voice artistsTDZ Episode 014 - Natalie Hitzel 00:00 Intro00:38 Natalie’s Voice Acting Career01:27 Finding a Creative Path02:17 Training and Early Hustle03:26 Accents, Acting, and Craft05:16 Theater Skills That Translate07:16 Auditioning and Standing Out09:05 Career Highlights and Notable Roles11:08 Hearing Your Own Voice12:53 Working While Partially Deaf15:00 Perspective, Gratitude, and Resilience17:13 Acting in Video Games20:44 AI and Voice Acting24:23 Advice for Aspiring Voice Actors27:23 Freelancing Stress and Uncertainty30:00 Creativity, Burnout, and Fulfillment36:27 Agents, Coaching, and GrowthFollow Natalie Hitzel: IG: natalie_hitzelWebsite: www.nataliehitzel.comLinkedin: Natalie HitzelThe D'Ascenzo Zone: ◼︎Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphk_rom3ggaW9qhFlIDrag?sub_confirmation=1◼︎ If you prefer to listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FMIr4zzMZMgQhd3SBUYqz?si=vg_AaJS5QdO6cCQffTIFYw◼︎ Check out my children's book: https://www.amazon.ca/Tiffy-Spiffy-Mr-Michael-DAscenzo/dp/B0CKGVFP72 ◼︎Mike's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikedascenz/?hl=en◼︎TDZ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedascenzozone/◼︎Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@thedascenzozone#podcast #tdz #actor #voice #voiceover #podcast #creative #creativity #acting #videogames #cartoons #talkingtoys