Today we’d like to introduce you to Mana Johnson.
Hi Mana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in rural Minnesota and grew up fascinated by the arts. I was a child taking drama club, television production, and as many art classes as my schedule would allow. While taking classes at University of Minnesota, I learned of the Disney College Program. Disney is the name that comes to most people’s minds when it comes to extraordinary storytelling, so I immediately applied and was accepted in 2015. I fell in love with Florida. There’s a slight temperature difference between Orlando and Minnesota, for those who have never been. When I went back to the University of Minnesota to finish my degree, I worked part time at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America as a character performer portraying beloved characters such as Spongebob, Dora the Explorer, and Michelangelo. Looking back on it, I always think it’s funny that I began my professional acting career being seen and not heard, and now I’m only heard and not seen. After I graduated, I moved back to Florida and dove headfirst into the cosplay. I had picked up cosplay during high school, but began pursuing it professionally during the pandemic. Cosplay, in my mind, is a way to cast yourself in a role and bring that character to life. While I was cosplay guesting at various Florida comic and anime conventions, I happened to fill in as a handler with an appearance agency representing voice actors. That’s when my eyes opened to the world of voice over. I immediately started taking classes with studios like Bang Zoom and even driving up to Atlanta, Georgia to learn in person at the Alliance Theater. In 2024, I went all-in making auditioning my full-time job. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of being cast in animations, video games, audio dramas, and even anime! All of this was possible remotely from my home studio in Orlando, Florida.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The largest struggle for me was getting started. I was so anxious that I wasn’t “ready” or “good enough,” but the most important thing in any career is to put yourself out there! I started taking voice acting classes in 2021, but didn’t end up auditioning for voice acting roles until 2024. Three quality years spent learning, but I shudder thinking about where I could be now if I had jumped in sooner.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a remote-capable character and commercial voice actor. In commercial, I specialize in bright reads for cosmetics, department stores, travel, and toy lines. For character work, you’ll frequently hear me as young moms, teen girls, robots, and rambunctious kids. My most popular roles are the computer in the co-op video game, Sol Mates, the Witch in the mobile app, Horror Tale 3, Loogie in the trailer for the Loogie web comic which was fully funded on Kickstarter for $20k, and most recently, Mimika Imose in Kakushite! Makina-San!!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
It’s difficult to predict the future of voice over right now because AI is so prominent. Even though AI threatens actors, I don’t think voice over is going anywhere. There are so many people with a human-first mentality who would rather work with real people than robots. However, with remote voice acting more accessible than ever, the competition will be steep. So initiative and honed skill will be coveted more than ever in the voice acting space.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://manatjohnson.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/manatjohnson
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manatjohnson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/manatjohnson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFr6aYfc3U
Image Credits
Mimika Imose in Kakushite! Makina-San!! by Ascendent Animation
The Computer in Sol Mates by Daruma Games
The Witch in Horror Tale 3 by Euphoria Games
Loogie in Loogie trailer by KadinSketch
