Meet your Neighbor: 10 Questions for Voice-Actor Dana Marks

If you’ve ever tuned into Radio Cupertino, a 24-hour radio broadcast that aims to keep the citizens of Cupertino up to date on city information, chances are you’ve heard the booming voice of Dana Marks.

Marks, a Cupertino-based voice actor who works from a recording studio in his home, has appeared in a variety of Bay Area projects, ranging from podcasts to a summer camp promotional videos. Here, he answers our questions on living in Cupertino, what inspires him and the ups and downs of being a voice actor.

1. When and how did you know you wanted to go into show business?

I used to work in software marketing, and worked for many large companies and startups in the Silicon Valley. As part of the marketing work, I had to do presentations for customers, and one of the things I kept hearing was, "Wow, you’ve got a great voice; you’ve got to be on radio!" So after all of those years, I tried to focus on voice acting and try to make a good business out of it.

2. What was the first voice-acting job you ever got?

My first job was a volunteer job for KMVT in Mountain View. It was an ad for Mountain View, their upcoming Christmas season, where the downtown merchants were going to give a portion of their sales to Mountain View schools. I came in and did my recording and felt pretty good about it, but found out later that the client wanted a child’s voice, so I hit the cutting room floor.

3. What is your favorite project you’ve worked on?

I really liked a video that I did for a camp up in Sonoma—it’s a summer camp for kids that they are trying to open up and make it more inclusive for other groups and organizations. They wrote a script, and it was talking about how beautiful the site was and what a great place it would be for a retreat.

4. What are the best and worst parts about your job?

The best part is that I can do it at my own pace and I can do everything in my own home. The worst part is the uncertainty of where the next job is going to come from. It’s a marketing and sales job as much as it is a voice acting job.

5. Are there any actors or voice actors who inspire you when you act?

I love all of the great cartoon voice actors. Mel Blanc, the voice of all the Looney Tunes characters, is amazing, and so is June Foray [from Rocky and Bullwinkle] … Fred Foy did the intro to the Lone Ranger, and that was fabulous. It still gives me shivers down my spine. 

6. If you could work in any other aspect of show business, would you? What part?

I have thought about looking at show business, and this is where I want to be. This is a challenging job that still allows me a lot of freedom and it also brings my marketing experience in as well … jobs don’t just come to me; I have to go out and get them.

7. If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be, and why?

I’m not envying anybody’s job at this point. I’ve been in marketing and software for a long time, and it’s a great business, but at this point there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than voice-overs.

8. What is your favorite part of living in Cupertino? 

Cupertino is a very nice, quiet community that has a lot of great things going on—there’s always something going on at the parks at the weekend, there are a lot of activities you can take part in if you see it, and the city services are great.

9. If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

Maui—Northern Maui. My family and I go on vacation there all the time, and we just love it. 

10. What’s one thing that the people of Cupertino should know about you?

The most important thing is that I’m here, and I’m available if you have any voice-over work, and that can be very broad. And that I love living here! 

If you want to learn more about Dana Marks, you can visit his website or his Facebook fan page.