Salli Saffioti is a long-time actress and voice actor with an amazing resume in the industry. You have seen her in the DC Comics movie Watchmen as Annie Leibovitz, and you have heard her as Clawdeen Wolf on Monster High, Eramis in the popular Destiny 2, Amara in Arcane, and so many others. 

As often as I have talked with Salli in the past, either on my own podcast or just chatting with her, I consistently learn something. Salli is a vibrant and intelligent person I enjoy spending time talking with, and hopefully, you will enjoy her visit to the couch as much as I did! 

So, let’s get into it 

Every job has misconceptions about it from people who aren’t involved. What are some common misconceptions about voice acting?

Well, I think lots of people think that voice acting is something that anyone can do, that it’s easy, that we don’t have to work that hard, that we make buckets of money, etc.  As you know, it is so very hard to break into voice acting. And even when you start working, which has usually followed years of training in classes, etc… you have to land a great agent who is willing to give you all the opportunities, and most agents feel saturated with their talent pool, so it’s hard to get in the forefront of their submissions. But if you do get lots of auditions, it’s so exciting and a great workout for your skills, but it takes hours and hours each and every day with many auditions due ASAP every day all throughout the day. Auditioning is the work. The paid gigs are the reward. These days you also need really good equipment and a sound booth or great padded quiet space to work in and some skills in using all the goods necessary to turn in a great submission or to do the gig from home.

What has been your most challenging role and why? 

There have been a few…but I love a challenge, so to me, I would call the challenges the most exciting roles. Voicing Razia from the Prince of Persia game was a challenge to record many, many sessions with a Persian accent and sustain it, and towards the end of recording I worked with a translator and dialect coach to speak Farsi as the character. I had a similar experience working on Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, playing Black Widow doing a Russian accent and speaking some Russian with the help of a coach during the sessions. It was also epic being Cleo and Clawdeen on the original Monster High for nearly a decade. The characters were so different, and we had several directors, but I absolutely LOVED it!

What does Salli Saffioti do during her downtime to recharge and prepare herself for her next project?

Honestly, there is not much downtime as I am a single mom raising my son by myself full-time. I get a bit more time since he is a teenager now, and in my downtime, I like to work out and walk. I am a huge foodie and love to go to my favorite restaurants or try new ones; I absolutely love cooking and think about it way too often. Travel is also a big part of my life, but I always travel with my portable studio set up and going to see theatre is a must for me. I got my start in theatre, and it feels like home and a touchstone for me. 

If it weren’t for acting, what would you be doing?

Well, I would likely be a chef! I was not allowed to pursue acting, and I wasn’t sure about going through serious cooking school. I grew up just outside of New York City on Long Island, and I just wanted to live in the city and do theatre, so I went to college in the city and studied fashion at F.I.T. because I had worked at a clothes store all through high school and it seemed like a good fit because I had a scholarship to college and I could go to school in NYC while trying to figure out how I could pursue acting, soo, I started a theatre company with a friend. I was doing play after play for years through our company and many other companies and then moved into indie and student films while taking acting classes, college classes, and working three jobs to get by. Not a lot of sleep. Oh, I almost forgot; at the time, I was a sponsored competitive skier on the side, but that was short-lived after I had a skiing accident, which ended that and my hopes of also doing more dance.  

What was your dream job when you were a kid?

Hmmmmm…well…I guess I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was little…but after I tried to “save” a butterfly that was injured and I killed it, my hopes were dashed along with my empathetic spirit. But truly, the first thing I remember wanting to do was to act.  I was in awe of Carol Burnett, and I loved old movies. When I saw my first Broadway show, The Wiz, I knew I wanted that to be my destiny. No one in or around my family was an actor or even went to the theatre, and even though we moved a lot before I turned 10, I tried to get involved in plays at every school in every state. Then, when I moved back to New York for 5th grade and was given the role of an icicle in the school play, I knew I needed more. I found a local acting school and bartered for rides when my dad didn’t take me and I got a scholarship and paid for a lot of it myself. I took classes in middle and into high school, but even though New York City was so close, it seemed so far away.  My dream was to be on stage and in films.  I didn’t know how I would get there, but I knew I would never give up trying!

Do you have a favorite book? If so, what is it and why?

I don’t have one favorite book. I generally like interesting dramas. But I am just finishing The Company of Foos by Paul Davidson and enjoying his humor. This year, I loved Lessons in Chemistry, but not the show so much. Way back when I loved The Stand by Stephen King…that tunnel in NYC part still gets me. But I love most New York stories and stories of struggles and overcoming obstacles. 

Shower singer or car singer? What song is your jam?

I don’t sing in the shower! Not sure why…but maybe because I live in a townhouse, and my neighbor would hear? I wish I was a better singer, and I really would love to take lessons one day. My jam for a mood lifter is Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield. That song and his others got me through a tough time as a kid and still lifts me up today. I currently LOVE Ed Sheeran, so I poorly sing his songs on top of my lungs while cooking and to warm up my voice in the car on the way to a gig. I am obsessed with his track Bloodstream by him and Rudimental. Definitely a kitchen singing dance party while cooking, often on a loop. At least I am consistent. LOL

Of all the fandoms, which one has a special place in your heart?

The people I have met most often were the original Monster High fans, and I have to say they were awesome. I am getting out more this year to meet lots of fans, so I can’t wait to do so. But I had the privilege of doing a Make a Wish with Mattel for a wonderful girl that was going through cancer treatment who was a huge Monster High fan. That moment is still one of the greatest moments of my life.  

If you could sit down with anyone (dead or living) over coffee, who would it be, and what would you talk about?

Probably Michelle Obama if she could spill the real tea. I would want to talk about her and Barack’s experiences coming up and how racism affected them and others. About ideas for solutions to homelessness and integration. I would love to know about her experience as the first lady, and what some of her favorite moments in life were, and what were the most challenging. I would love to know the secret to lasting connected love. And I would love to have a glass of wine and dance with her.

What projects do you have coming up that we should be looking out for?

I have a couple of exciting animated shows I got to do many episodes on but they won’t be released for a minute. Always parts in video games, some larger than others, but always fun. None I can mention at this point.

Thanks to Salli Saffioti for sitting down on the couch to answer some questions for us nerds. You can find out more about some of the projects that she has upcoming that she may not be able to talk about but are shared on her IMDb page. 

Some of her more recent projects include the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Video Game, Marvel’s What If?, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Monster High. 

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