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Hunter McCoy (they/he) is a non-binary actor based in Los Angeles! They were born in Manassas, Virginia, and moved around a bunch as a kid, but for the most part grew up in Cary, North Carolina. Their parents called it that they’d be a performer, having put them in community plays at 4 years old, but Hunter didn’t bite right away. As a lifelong gamer, they started high school thinking they were on their way to being a concept artist or a programmer.
Somewhere along the way, the love of theatre took over, and their friends and family pushed them to believe they could be an actor. They chased that dream head-on, receiving a BFA in Acting from University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where every waking moment they weren’t in rehearsal, in class, or on set, they were taking voiceover lessons and studying stunts for motion capture. They graduated last May in 2024, and moved out to LA just three months later.
They look forward to making as many friends as they can, continuing to tell human stories through fantastic mediums, and pushing for diverse representation of all walks of life.
Maybe it’s cheesy, but my loved ones. This is a hard, risky career to be in, and I legit don’t think I would’ve gotten anywhere near as far as I have if I wasn’t encouraged and supported by the people around me. All of the people around me, from every stage of my life, are constantly my “why”. I only hope I can give back as much as they’ve provided.
Also water and sleep. Those are good too.
Maaaaaan, I can’t pick one thing because everything happened this year!
Before graduating, my professors gave my class the advice of “Don’t focus on the work. Choose a place you love, build a life there, and the work will come.” So when I moved out to LA, that was my plan! I got a job at a coffee shop, I started making friends, and trying new things.
But my professors were right; as I began to build a life here, the work came in. I’ve been so, so fortunate in how professional life has gone. I’ve booked amazing projects that mean the world to me, met some of my childhood heroes, and signed with CESD, my dream agency. I’m proud to be living the life that the kid version of me would fantasize about, and I’m excited to see where it leads, while also still finding the parts of life that fuel me and make me human!
Casting directors are your friends, and they’re totally rooting for you. The Halp Network has made it so wonderfully accessible to look behind the curtain of the entire video game VO production pipeline, which for so many of us can be a kinda scary and enigmatic process in our heads. But the classes provide such an in-depth personal look into how casting works, that it demystifies auditioning. We’re all on the same team, pitching new ideas for these really cool projects, and even if yours isn’t the right one for this character in this moment, casting is thinking about places you and your ideas can be used somewhere else. All you have to do is show up as yourself, and share your talent with confidence and joy.
“Trust your instincts.”
I had to make a lot of hard decisions on my way to being here in LA today. Many of those involved restarting my life altogether, starting fresh in a strange place, not knowing anyone — losing touch with my hometown friends going from high school to my first college, then all those college friends upon transferring to UNCSA, and lastly, I was the only person out of 26 actors in my graduating class to move to LA instead of New York City. I weighed those decisions for a really long time, and making them was a heavy weight to bear, but there was always a gut feeling that I knew it would be the right decision. Those instincts are almost always right. Now, they’ve led me down a path I could’ve never dreamed of! It extends beyond just major life decisions, into even minor things like auditioning and interacting with the world around us. Our best work (and our best life) always comes from letting go of the fear, having fun with the script, and trusting that we’ve been doing the homework to be the best we can be today.
16 06 25Hunter McCoy (they/he) is a non-binary actor based in Los Angeles! They were born in Manassas, Virginia, and moved around a bunch as a kid, but for the most part grew up in Cary, North Carolina. Their parents called it that they'd be a performer, having put them in community plays at 4 years old, but Hunter didn't bite right away. As a lifelong gamer, they started high school thinking they were on their way to being a concept artist or a programmer.
16 06 25We've been having such a blast organizing opportunities for actors to work with voice directors in a setting that mimics real recording sessions! We love seeing people bring their A-game, having lots of fun, and connecting with us in-person!
16 06 25Are you "directable?" What does that mean, exactly?