In the Loop
Alumni News : Sep 22, 2016

SOTD alumnus books voiceover role in national Amazon commercial

By Rachel Sherman and Mandy McDade

Joshua Hamilton (MFA ’13) knows firsthand how difficult it is to break into the voiceover world. So when he received the call saying he booked a voiceover with Amazon, he was shocked.

“It felt like I had been throwing darts for a few years and finally hit a bullseye,” Hamilton says of the gig.

The commercial for Amazon Student will air nationally and exclusively on Pandora Radio during the back-to-school season, and Hamilton is hopeful that it will lead to more voiceover work in the future. Having a voiceover credit on his resume is no small feat in the highly competitive industry, and the experience is important for an up-and-comer like Hamilton.

Training at UF’s SoTD gave Hamilton a solid foundation from which to start building his professional career. Because most voiceover auditions are self-taped, Hamilton has to take initiative and direction with little to no instruction. In his own words, “You have to be both the player and the coach.”

Auditioning at UF gave him confidence, and taught him that there will always be more rejection than success in these industries. But rather than get discouraged, Hamilton has learned to take everything with a grain of salt, and to always trust himself and his choices.

For now, Hamilton is just excited that his friends and family may get a chance to hear him on the radio. If he has one regret, he says, it’s that, “I couldn’t slip a Go Gators into the recording.”

To keep up with Hamilton’s projects, follow him on:

FB: www.facebook.com/actorJPH
Twitter: @ActorJPH