A voice actor from Ystalyfera walked away with three trophies in one night at the VOX Awards, including the judges’ own pick.
Phil Rowe won Male Voiceover Performance of the Year, Best Human Performance in a Corporate Presentation and the Judges’ Choice Award at the ceremony on Saturday 10 October.
The VOX Awards, now in their 32nd year, cover performances across the professional voiceover industry. Fourteen awards were handed out on the night.
Rowe says five of them went to three Welsh voice actors: himself, Jess Nesling and Nikki Mills.
‘It’s still sinking in’: Phil Rowe’s triple at the VOX Awards
“I wouldn’t have dared to dream that I’d walk away from the VOX Awards with three awards, including Male Voiceover Performance of the Year and the Judges’ Choice Award,” Rowe said. “It’s still sinking in!”
Two of his three awards came from a project with Cardiff-based CREO, which did the creative direction and scriptwriting.
“I think it demonstrates just what we can achieve when talented creatives come together, and how much potential there is to build a strong, successful creative industry right here on our own doorstep,” he said.
It’s his second big win this year. In May he took Best Male Performance in Audio Drama at the One Voice Awards for a production he wrote and produced himself.
He works from his own studio in the village, and one of his audio dramas, the horror series YstalyFEAR, takes its name from Ystalyfera.
Swansea roots and a Welsh accent in a Roman video game
Jess Nesling won Female Voiceover Performance of the Year. Her entry included her Welsh-accented character Voada in the video game Anno 117: Pax Romana.
“I’m really proud of my Swansea roots,” she said, and getting to show off her Welsh accent work in her submission was “particularly special”.
“I’ve never been in this for the awards, but it’s wonderful to have work I’m so passionate about recognised by people in the voice industry whom I admire and respect.”
A Pembrokeshire murder mystery and a studio called Elizabooth
Bridgend-based Nikki Mills won Best Audiobook Performance for The Caldey Island Murders, a murder mystery set in Pembrokeshire and her first full-length audiobook.
“It just felt completely right that my first foray into such a challenging genre should be set in my homeland,” she said.
Emily Jardine, who recently moved to Bridgend, also won, taking Best Human Performance in Live Events. She records in a studio built beside her house, which she has named Elizabooth.
For Mills, the best part was cheering on the others. “Five out of fourteen awards going to Welsh voice actors is quite some going,” she said.
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