Jersey-born Elisa Cañas is a voiceover artist, who has lent her pipes to promotional campaigns ranging from Beyoncé’s world tour to clients as varied as H&M, YMCA, Talk to Frank, ASDA, Colgate… and even Disney.
The London-based islander didn’t set out to become a vocal specialist – acting was originally the main focus.
A child who “simply wouldn’t be quiet”, Elisa started Speech and Drama lessons aged five. By 13, she had left the island to join London’s Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, among whose alumni are actors including the Academy Award-winning Daniel Kaluuya, Keeley Hawes and Nicholas Hoult and international popstars Dua Lipa, Amy Winehouse and Rita Ora.
It was there that she began doing her first voiceovers, before being taken under the wing of Jacky Davis at Kidztalk upon graduating and joining Laine Theatre Arts in Surrey.
Listen: Examples of Elisa’s voiceover work.
It’s actually a career path more well-trodden than you might think, with many famous actors having done their part in the field.
Elisa gave Express an insight into her career…
How did you become a voiceover artist?
At 13, I got accepted into Sylvia Young Theatre School in London’s Marylebone. During my time there, I started doing voiceover pieces.
I had built my client base by the time I graduated from college.
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I wanted to act, I loved that thing. I loved reading scripts, I already had a passion in performing arts – being in a studio and handed a script. I really just hit the ground running with voiceovers.
What skills do you need to become a voiceover artist and what advice would you give anyone interested in the career?
You’ve got to have a good background in acting.
You need to be able to understand the narrative of the script and deliver audio quickly. You also need to have other skills to be able to run a business – accounts, marketing being available at the drop of a hat.
I think anybody who is interested in being an artist needs to get solid acting training.
Being able to listen is important. I’ve gone from animation work to impressions to corporate videos. You have to have different skills and understanding how to interpret the script.
Have you ever struggled with a particular accent?
Not really as I had bookings off the back of my demos. So, I was never in a position that I felt I couldn’t do the accent.
You’ve voiced for some really high-profile clients, including Disney! What do you feel is your biggest achievement?
I love doing stuff for Disney. I was a promo voice for many years. It was the most technically challenging as you’re voicing over picture.
I’m currently the voice for Channel 103. I’ve worked for clients all over the world, so to work for a local client is really nice!
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Aside from being, in her words, a ‘Professional Chatterbox’, Elisa is also a dedicated fundraiser.
Despite a dislike of running, she is taking on three half-marathons to raise £3,000 to help a young African tourism student in search of further education.
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She is currently 65% of the way towards her target, having raised more than £2,000.