The human voice is a tool for communication that can be used to communicate various types of emotions – pain, joy, sadness, anger, and excitement. Each emotion invokes a different sound from the communicator, an inflection that signals to the listener the emotion currently being felt by the speaker. In the world of entertainment, where actors and actresses are tasked with the responsibility of bringing the stories on paper to life, the ability to deliver the necessary inflection and pass the appropriate emotion to the audience on cue is a vital skill. More than anything, it is one of the most important skills needed by a voice artist. In this profession, there are those who have stood out in their ability to connect the audience to their characters and Troy Baker is one of such exceptional actors. Who is Troy Baker? Read below.
Troy Baker Biography
One wonders if Troy, after a couple of years of taking his first breath on the 1st of April 1976 in Dallas, Texas, knew he wanted to be a voice actor. Unfortunately, we do not know for sure as that information along with other information like his childhood, parents and basic education are not public.
Although more commonly known as a voice actor, Troy Baker’s first professional role was as a lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Tripp Fontaine, an indie-rock band. He has spent more time in service of his voice acting roles but he is still an active musician. He released his first solo album in October 2014 and He along with his band, Window to the Abbey released another album in October 2017.
As mentioned earlier, Troy Baker is more prominently known as a voice actor. He has voiced some of the biggest characters in animation. From animated TV shows, movies, to video games. His extensive and robust resumé all started in Dallas.
Baker started his voice acting career in radio commercials. Seen as a competent voice actor with talent, Chris Sabat, the popular voice actor, and producer at Funimation recruited him to do voice-over work for the studio on the anime, Case Closed. The work on Case Closed opened more opportunities for him, and he went to work, voicing English versions of various anime like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach etc.
With his voice acting career in an upward swing, Baker decided to move to the Mecca of voice acting work, Los Angeles. His move to Los Angeles quickly paid off. In a short time, he was voicing for the giant comic book company, Marvel.
Baker began working with Marvel, voicing a slew of their iconic characters on shows like The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble. His work in comic animations also extends to Marvel rival, DC. He has provided the voice to various DC animation projects, playing Batman in projects like Lego Dimensions, Batman: The Enemy Within. He has also voiced Batman’s iconic villain, the Joker.
A well sought-after voice actor like Baker was inevitably going to work on video games, where the industry’s evolution in animation and stories were becoming lifelike. He voiced his first major video game, Brothers in Arms in 2005. Since then, he has had voice roles in plenty of video games, including major games like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and its sequel, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us and BioShock Infinite.
Since he started his voice acting career and rose to the pinnacle of the profession, Baker has been nominated for over 20 awards and he’s won over 6 of them. He got his first nomination in 2011 for his work on the video game, Catherine.
Net Worth: How Much Does He Make In a Year?
It is no surprise that an in-demand voice actor like Troy Baker is worth $6 million. He has a very long body of work, including some of the most notable projects in the animated and video game industry in recent years.
As for his annual income, it is difficult to determine based on the gig nature of his profession and individual contract negotiation that each project requires. However, he is among the top 3 names in the video game voice acting industry and his annual income will be at the higher end of the industry.
5 Quick Facts to Know About Troy
1. Although he’s popularly known as an animation and video game voice actor, he has appeared in live-action roles. He has starred in three films and two TV shows to date.
2. He has been married twice. He was initially married to Kimberly Beck for two years, getting divorced in 2006. He married his current wife, Pamela Walworth in 2012. They have a son, Traveller Hyde.
3. As a musician, Baker has released three albums, one with his first band, Tripp Fontaine, a solo album, and with his second band, Window to the Abbey.
4. Baker is an accomplished guitar player. He plays guitar for his band. His preferred genre is alternative rock.
5. He voices a lot of video games but he’s also a fan of the entertainment form himself. Baker is a competent video game player.
