ABOUT ED MACE

Ed Mace is an American voice actor with a career spanning more than four decades, known for his remarkable versatility, rich vocal range, and ability to bring memorable characters to life across animation, video games, trailers, documentaries, and commercial media. Over the years, he has established himself as a reliable and expressive storyteller whose voice has reached millions of listeners worldwide.

Ed’s interest in voice performance began in childhood, inspired by the golden age of animation and the legendary vocal talents behind it. Fascinated by the emotional depth and humor of animated characters, he developed a passion for voice acting long before it became his profession. This early curiosity evolved into a lifelong career built on discipline, creativity, and constant refinement of his craft.

Throughout his professional journey, Ed Mace has contributed his voice to a wide variety of projects, earning recognition for his adaptability. His vocal style ranges from warm, grounded narration to highly stylized character voices, dark dramatic tones, comedic exaggeration, and everything in between. He is skilled at portraying characters of multiple ages, personalities, and genres, making him a sought-after performer in the entertainment industry.

One of Ed’s most recognizable roles is Mortis from Brawl Stars, the popular mobile game by Supercell. His dramatic, theatrical delivery helped define the character and contributed to Mortis becoming one of the most iconic voices in the game. He has also voiced characters in numerous other titles across platforms, often appearing as narrators, villains, eccentric side characters, or wise mentors. His credits in the gaming world include dozens of projects ranging from indie productions to globally known franchises.

Outside of video games, Ed Mace’s voice can be heard in television and radio commercials, corporate and educational narration, online campaigns, explainer videos, and museum and historical documentaries. He has collaborated with major clients such as PBS, NBC, Rovio, and The Smithsonian, delivering performances that balance clarity, emotional resonance, and professionalism.

Ed operates from a fully equipped home studio featuring professional-grade recording tools, allowing him to deliver broadcast-quality audio and work with clients worldwide through live online sessions. His technical skill complements his artistic ability, enabling him to produce clean, polished recordings suitable for virtually any medium.

In addition to his work as a performer, Ed Mace is known for his professionalism, collaborative approach, and dedication to quality. Clients often praise him for his responsiveness, creativity, and ability to quickly understand and interpret direction. He continues to expand his body of work, exploring new storytelling styles, character archetypes, and performance techniques.

Today, Ed Mace remains an active and respected figure in the global voice acting community. His passion for the craft, combined with decades of experience, ensures that his voice continues to resonate in new projects and with new audiences. Whether portraying a dramatic game character, delivering a heartfelt narration, or bringing humor and life to an animated figure, Ed Mace stands out as a distinctive and influential voice in modern media.

INTERVIEW

Q: Ed, you have over 40 years of experience in the voice-over industry, which is truly impressive! How do you manage to stay relevant and in demand in such a fast-changing industry after all these decades?

Ed: With more people signing up for the pay to play or various free audition sites, the competition in the voiceover world can be very fierce at times. Once a job is posted and if you don’t audition within an hour or two, possibly 150 others may have already auditioned. So it’s wise to act swiftly! If I feel that I am qualified for certain roles, I study the character information given and send out those auditions. I additionally use the services of a few different national talent agencies that have sent much work and opportunities my way. If I’m hired for a job, I ordinarily offer my clients lots of takes and alts for variety. As a result I have many repeat clients who’ve appreciated my extra efforts.

Q: What did the voice-over industry look like back in the 1980s when you first started? What was the biggest challenge for a voice actor at that time?

Ed: Staying relevant and being the first person clients think of when they’re looking for a character voice or a narration piece was important. It was significant to recognize that fine line between a pleasing and subtle approach compared to the not so subtle method that could easily turn them off. I printed résumés that could fit on a postcard with my face on it and sent them out to local ad agencies in an effort to keep my name and accomplishments fresh in their minds. My voice demos for the clientele and ad agencies were all on cassette tapes. No MP3s for another 10 years! The demos would eventually find their way to the local post office for delivery. Additionally there was lots of footwork and travel involved. Nothing quite like driving out to Boston, record a radio spot for 10 minutes, turn around and head back home. Depending on the local back and forth rush-hour scenarios, it could take up to 3–4 hours in total yet it was time very well spent.

Q: Over the years, what changes do you consider the most significant -in technology, acting approaches, or client relationships?

Ed: With the advent of digital recordings and much more advanced auditioning technologies, voiceover opportunities skyrocketed! The availability and extremely easy access to a plethora of voice samples, pro VO websites, practice scripts, workshops, recording tips, the ability to communicate in real time with clients, directors and development teams facilitated even more high end results in this constantly changing world of entertainment.

Q: You began in the era of tape recordings, and now everything is digital. How did this transition affect your profession and workflow?

Ed: Although one can find recording engineers who still swear by analog recordings, there are more technicians and voice actors who are very open to appreciate the digital age. I personally prefer the ease of which digital recording workstations afford us especially when everything works out as planned! When our computers and tablets are working, we love them! When they’re not ….. not so much. Who hasn’t been in this situation? Something isn’t going quite as planned or a technical glitch has reared its ugly head, then our workstations suddenly bear the brunt of our verbal dissatisfaction! Haha!

The analog processes in the past may have seemed quick and productive to us but now pale in comparison to the efficiency, seamlessness and speed of digital technologies. Digital advances seem to happen every day and I’m sure 10–20 years from now we’ll be remarking about how archaic today’s technology seems by comparison.

Q: Did you have any mentors or colleagues who deeply influenced your understanding of the craft?

Ed: My sadly departed cousin Paul Mace was a huge influence on my interest in acting and eventual voice acting. He was a great actor who appeared in movies, TV commercials, soap operas, Broadway and Off Broadway plays and more. There is a recently released biography about Paul by Vernon Gravely entitled, “The Forgotten Lord” referencing his role in the movie, “The Lords of Flatbush” with Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler and Perry King. There’s lots of information about our childhoods together as we were both “only children”. Lots of stories, antics, memories and tons of very youthful photos of us. So yes he was a huge influence on me!

I had a fascination with Saturday morning Looney Toons cartoons from decades ago when so much human effort and passion went into cartoon production. Mel Blanc was the master. I was and still am in awe of his stunning performances that affected so many future voice actors. Paul Frees, June Foray and Daws Butler were also fantastic and equally influential.

I’ve had some notable voice coaches and directors help me so much in this business. Lani Minella who is both a Guinness World Record holder for the most prolific female video game voice actor ever and quite simply a Voice Goddess in the field! DB Cooper and Karyn O’Bryant also immediately come to mind!

Q: In 2018, you voiced Mortis from Brawl Stars for the first time! What was that experience like for you? Would you say that Mortis has become your most recognizable voice among all your characters?

Ed: In December of 2018 I auditioned for the role of a mobile game character by the name of Mortis. I knew nothing about Supercell nor a game entitled Brawl Stars. There were about 70 other voice actors who also auditioned for this role. I was told this character was quite over-the-top, scenery chewing, arrogant and possessing an exaggerated Shakespearean persona. When I was 11 years old, I had the experience of a lifetime when I was able to walk onto the Broadway stage to appear in the production of Camelot where I was surrounded by dozens of British actors and actresses. I felt that this afforded me the opportunity to use that experience in shaping my character’s voice. Supercell’s decision to hire me for this role was based on my audition, the combined knowledge and experience from Paul C. who originally created Mortis and Martin S. who was the director of the live from Finland session. The most I recall about this live session was that both of us were laughing hysterically throughout the whole event! We had so much fun that day. It was an experience that I will always treasure. If I were to survey all of my social media sites combined with those who play or who know about Brawl Stars, I can confirm that he is my most recognizable voice. While visiting Portugal at an outdoor restaurant, I remember seeing a family where one of the young boys was wearing a Brawl Stars t-shirt. The family was from the Ukraine. I asked if the young boy played the game and he said yes! I then told him I was the voice of Mortis. He became so excited and of course I launched into many of his lines so there would be no doubt that I was indeed one of his favorite characters. The family took many photos of me and I of them. That was such a very cool experience!

Q: You also had the honor of voicing several Mortis skins! How did it feel to return to the game, especially as it grew so popular and Mortis became one of the community’s most beloved characters?

Ed: There were a number of Mortis skins. Night Witch Mortis used the same recordings of my original Mortis lines. The Mecha Mortis voice was created and recorded by Martin C. who was the director of my original recording session for Mortis in 2018. Rogue Mortis was created using my original voice lines mixed by Supercell with a higher pitched version of those same lines. Demon Mortis was recorded in October 2024 and released shortly thereafter.

Q: Do you still receive reactions or messages from fans after all this time? How do you feel about that?

Ed: The Mortis fan base is simply amazing. I’ve met so many really nice people from young fans who followed Mortis since the very beginning to adults who still love this character! Everyone is respectful, polite and so devoted to supporting this wonderful character. I’ve made so many lasting friendships that have spanned nearly 7 years! Without the support and interactions from the fans, Mortis would really cease to exist as they are his life breath. When fans comment on my videos, I answer every comment which I think has kept Mortis alive. Mortis friends and fans are his life support.

Q: In your opinion, how has the “voice” of modern advertising, games, and films changed -has it become more emotional, authentic, and natural?

Ed: If AI and human voices are both available to advertisers, game and animation developers, respective companies will choose what they feel best suits their project, be it human or artificially flavored. I recently experienced a pharmacological TV commercial where a woman (who offered a very straightforward, emotionally flat and fact giving read) surprisingly became emotional on one of the last lines. I’ve never heard the inclusion of emotion before in a TV drug commercial. So perhaps there is some proof of more emotion being used in certain radio and television spots.

Q: Throughout your long career, have you ever considered leaving the industry? If so, what made you stay in the end?

Ed: As long as I can maintain my health, voice and the equipment to record it, I have no plans whatsoever of leaving the voiceover industry.

Q: Ed, we’ve interviewed 27 voice actors, and many of them say that AI has deeply entered the voice-over field. What’s your take on that? How far has AI advanced, and do you think it could ever replace the human voice?

Ed: There’s no doubt that the field of AI continues to threaten the livelihoods of many voice actors. As its technology increases, artificial intelligence can closely mimic an individual’s basic voice. In my lifetime I personally don’t think it will ever exactly duplicate a human voice. It may come close but will lack the uniqueness and distinction of emotional and personal elements that only a human can naturally display in speech. If I’m given a script to read and record, I find so many subtleties and nuances in my vocal delivery that I could offer countless versions of the same sentence. I’m sure that AI has its place in our world but when people start to realize how it can easily get out of hand and require more serious restrictions, perhaps there will be an even greater longing for the beautiful human voice at any cost.

Q: Could you share your process for preparing a character’s voice in a video game? How much time does it usually take, and how do you analyze the character before recording?

Ed: Backstory, backstory, backstory! To me it’s all about a character’s history plus very open lines of communication between client and voice actor. The more information I receive about a character, the smoother the process flows. If the client isn’t interested in the depth of the character’s personality, then I will provide them with something based on the information that I was given. I typically offer clients much more than they originally ask for and they always seem very pleased with my extra efforts. With the give-and-take of a directed live recording session there are no questions left unanswered about a character’s background and personality. If there’s a particular color, pitch, tone and feel they’re looking for, my clients generally send me links for voice styles from other actors or voice actors. There’s no particular time frame with regards to how long something takes before I record because it requires a concerted effort between myself and the client information I’m given. If suddenly there is a very tight deadline, I give the client my best efforts. I can only supply results based on what I receive from clients.

Q: In your opinion, what are the key strengths or qualities that a professional voice actor should have to succeed in this field?

Ed: If you’re already a professional voice actor, you’ve really only touched the tip of the iceberg as the industry changes and grows every day. Keep on top of the industry and its ongoing modifications. Determination is vastly important because it’s much too easy to be left behind if you’re not jumping on opportunities as they arise.

Q: Ed, voice actors are in high demand these days! As a professional with such vast experience, what advice would you give to beginners? Where should they start, and how can they present themselves as worthy professionals in this industry?

Ed: For those wishing to explore the possibility of becoming a voice actor there are countless videos and basic information out there on how to get started in this business. Some of it helpful and some not so helpful. Research the field as much as you can. Immerse yourself. Ask questions. Talk to people. Join online VO or voice acting groups on social media. Interact with people who have made a living in the field. There are those who think it could be a nice hobby if you’re willing to invest thousands just to get yourself started. Ask yourself if this is something you really want to pursue and go from there!

Q: Finally, to wrap up the interview -what are your future plans? What can your audience look forward to from you in the near future?

Ed: As I indicated earlier, I have no intentions of leaving the industry. I’ll continue to make daily efforts to be healthy to myself and my voice, give it my best effort, keep on top of the ever changing industry and keep moving forward!

Ed Mace’s social networks and links

If you’d like to see more from Ed, you can follow him on his official social medias:

IMDb - (www.imdb.com/name/nm2199780/)

YouTube - (www.youtube.com/@Ed-Mace)

X (Twitter) - (x.com/edmace)

Instagram - (www.instagram.com/mace.ed/)

Facebook - (www.facebook.com/ed.mace/)

LinkedIn - (www.linkedin.com/in/edmacevoiceovers)

Website - (www.edmace.com/)