“Beep, beep, beep!” As freshman Tyler Zaentz prepares for his movie voice-overs, these three sounds are his only warning before he must portray various characters through improvisation or synchronized words.

Zaentz has provided the voice of characters in many popular movies, including Monster House, Scary Movie 4, Knocked Up and the recent motion picture, Role Models. Although his features or body do not appear in the films, Zaentz speaks for an animated character or live actor whose voice is unsuitable for the big screen.

Unlike most aspiring actors, Zaentz began voice-overs without any experience or auditions. At eight years old, he met his father’s friend Wendy Hoffman, the owner of her own voice-casting company, The Reel Team. Tyler’s father, Alan Zaentz, recalls that Hoffman immediately noticed his son’s charismatic skills.

“As a kid, Tyler would kid around with an accent and change his voice,” Alan said. “Wendy saw him do this and said he could do voice-overs. She tested him by practicing lines with him, and he did a good job in practice. He had the talent and showed an interest in it.”

Tyler acts around three times each year, depending on when Hoffman informs him of possible productions. However, with the voice studio set in southern California, means of travel could hinder Tyler’s pursuit of voice-overs. His father’s support enables Tyler to maintain his interest.

“I provide a means for him to get to the studio by paying plane costs and driving him there,” Alan said. “I encourage him to keep doing it because of the experience. It also helps him put away money for his future.”

Tyler follows a similar routine with every job he accepts. He usually spends the whole day at the voice studio. Before reading his lines, The Reel Team provides him and the other actors with food, similar to live movie sets.

“The whole process of doing voice-overs is fun,” Tyler said. “I get to spend the whole day there and even see the movie’s director. I like seeing my name on the credits of movies. It’s a cool feeling to hear myself in the movies. I think, ‘Yay, that’s me.'”

To perform a voice-over, Tyler enters a sound-absorbing studio room. With headphones on, he views the taped and silent scene. After a three-beep warning, he acts until stopped, sometimes speaking for ten minutes straight.

For animated films, Tyler often uses improvisation. In movies with live actors, Tyler must transform into the actor he impersonates and synchronize his words with the actor’s lines.

“To do voice-overs, I have to act as if what happens to the character is happening to me and make it sound real,” Tyler said. “I also have to talk loud and clear. It’s hard sometimes when they don’t tell me what to say and I have to make it up, but if I mess up I just keep trying, so I don’t get nervous. It’s easier now because I usually just have to act as a kid my age.”

Although Tyler usually portrays characters his own age, certain films require Tyler to change his pitch and volume, which challenges his vocal skills.

“One time I was too old for the scene I was doing and had to act like a little kid,” Tyler said. “It was really hard to change my voice and I ended up snorting really loud, but they still put it in the movie because it ended up being so funny.”

Voice-overs provide Tyler with many advantages. For each voice-over, he receives payment depending on the popularity of the movie and the amount of actors. He also possesses a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card that enables him to vote for the SAG awards after he receives complimentary copies of the movies in the mail.

In addition to these advantages, Alan recognizes the personal profit Tyler receives through his job.

“There is a financial benefit because he gets paid for it, but I also thought it would be a fun learning experience for him,” Alan said. “It taught him how to react in a room with a lot of people. It helped him train and excel at public speaking by himself, and gave him exposure to acting.”

Although Tyler exhibits acting skills and experience, he views voice-overs as a beneficial hobby, and aspires to a professional golfing career instead.

Outside of the occasional voice-over job, Tyler involves much of his time in sports, particularly golf. At only five years old, Tyler began playing and practicing golf with his father. Since then, Tyler has entered various campus, club and city golfing tournaments, and also won first place in the junior Southern California Professional Golfers Association tournament. Tyler enjoys the independence golf requires, he said.

“In golf, I like how it’s only you by yourself,” Tyler said. “You have to rely on yourself to do your best. If you lose or don’t play well, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Fellow golfer Jeffrey Roseth, ’12, recognizes Tyler’s skill and helpfulness through their practice together.

“Tyler’s an all-around good player in golf,” Roseth said. “He’s consistent and doesn’t make a lot of bad shots. We practice together a lot. If I need help, he’ll help me with something I’m struggling with and take the time to do it.”

Though some might expect Tyler’s attitude to change because of his acting job and athletic expertise, his image remains unchanged in the eyes of Roseth, his best friend.

“I see Tyler the same as I always have; nothing has changed between us,” Roseth said. “However, I think it’s cool that he gets to do voice-overs. I’m happy he gets to do them because he enjoys them.”