Courtenay Taylor is one versatile actress. She’s lent her voice acting talents to Halo 5, Fallout 4, Mad Max, Resident Evil, and, of course, the role of Jack in Mass Effect 3—but voice acting wasn’t her original plan. In this interview with The Mary Sue contributor Ashley Barry, Taylor explains how harsh criticism of her voice during a theater audition eventually lead to her discovering voice acting, a career she hadn’t even known existed beforehand.

Taylor explains that often, the very qualities some people will criticize you for in a subjective field like acting are the ones that can also make you stand out from a crowd and lead to your success (writing is arguably just as subjective, so her words were pretty inspiring to me personally).

Taylor and Ashley also talked about some of Taylor’s favorite parts, her dream roles (we can all agree we want a Furiosa-centric game, right?), and the unique challenges and rewards of some of the games she’s worked on. I definitely recommend giving the interview a listen in its entirety, whether you’re a fan of the games Courtenay’s worked on or a non-gamer who could use a little bit of inspiration and words of wisdom from someone who has channeled their passion into an incredible career.

Ashley Barry writes for several pop culture websites. Her freelance work has appeared in Kill Screen, Gadgette, The Mary Sue, Luna Luna Magazine, FemHype, Not Your Mama’s Gamer, Bitch Flicks, and Paste Magazine. She also runs a YouTube channel called Hyrule Hyrulia. Her channel features interviews with Ashly Burch, Patrick Klepek, Nina Freeman, and more.

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