When Varsity mentions that his real voice sounds very different to the character that made him a household name, Lam Pou-chuen breaks into a laugh and launches into the memorable lines.
"Nobita! Wake up la! Wake up la! Hurry and wake up la! Its time to go to school la! Otherwise you'll be late again la!"
These words have been heard in almost every episode of the Hong Kong-dubbed version of the Japanese cartoon Doraemon over the past 30 years.
While Lam's voice is deeply etched into the minds of Doraemon viewers of all ages, the cat with the magical gadgets is just one of Lam's great achievements in his 42-year career as a voice actor.
"Voice actors are similar to chefs. If you create a delicious dish that becomes popular, you too will become well-known," he says.
Lam never set out to be a voice actor. After graduating from secondary school, he applied for bank jobs, but failed. At that time, the dubbing industry was still in its infancy. Lam wrote to Television Broadcasts Ltd to apply for a job as a voice actor and was hired, and has been voice acting since.
During his early days, Lam did not have the chance to dub even a single word of dialogue. There were no training courses for him and other rookies. They were only assigned to produce sound effects like footsteps, doors opening and phones dialing.
"We did not have as much professional training as now. We just sat behind the seniors and learned from them while they were voice acting," explains Lam. "These days, there are professional voice actors giving lessons."
Among his mentors, Lam most appreciated the actor Tam Bing-man, who belongs to the first generation of voice actors in Hong Kong.
"I followed and learned from him since the first day. I call him `master."' Lam recalls.
Lam did not just observe and learn while making sound effects at the back of the studio - he made use of his time to perfect his art. After arriving home at night, he would read newspapers out loud to improve his articulation and pacing.
After months of learning, practicing and waiting, Lam finally got his chance in front of the microphone. The editing technology of that time meant that if an actor made a mistake, they would have to start over. Lam remembers being extremely nervous when he walked into the studio - even if he had just one line of dialogue.
"My character was a cop, with only one line: `Freeze! Drop your gun! FBI!"' Lam recalls. His debut in the movie Federal Bureau of Investigation went smoothly and he made the cut.
In 1982, Lam encountered his favorite role, Ding Dong (Doraemon). "It is because Ding Dong is vivacious. Besides, it was easier to catch the shape of the mouth, as his mouth is very big," Lam laughs.
Ding Dong became very popular soon after the cartoon was first broadcast. It has been 30 years since he first came across the character, which later reverted back to its original Japanese name, Doraemon.
Whatever the name, the cat has become synonymous with Lam, but he still feels a deeper connection with the Cantonese name, Ding Dong.
While a big Ding Dong fan, he has attracted a fan base of his own. Fans write letters to Lam, sharing their everyday lives with him.Most of the Doraemon dolls and figures at Lam's home are gifts from his fans, or souvenirs from his colleagues.
Among the gifts, Lam likes a remote-control Doraemon toy the most. "A fan delivered it to TVB. It's more than 30 years old," he says.
Apart from fans and gifts, what warms Lam's heart most is that his biggest fan is his own daughter, who also loved watching Ding Dong and listening to her father's voice on TV.
Influenced by him, she is now also working at TVB as a voice actor. Father and daughter have already acted in the same scene.
"I remember it was in Desperate Housewives, but it was not that special to me," Lam says.
Ding Dong's success opened up more job opportunities for Lam, with his voice appearing more frequently in advertisements.
The boom times for the Hong Kong movie industry in the 1980s kept voice actors, including Lam, always hopping. He was the designated voice actor for action star Sammo Hung Kam-bo and heart-throb Alexander Cheung Fu-sheng.
"There were a few times when I worked continuously for three to four days," recalls Lam. "After I finished my work at TVB, I earned extra income by voice acting for movies outside. After that, I went to work in TVB again.
"As there was no live recording on location in those days, voice actors needed to grasp the personalities and tone of voice of the characters by studying soundless demos. Directors and sometimes even the actors of the movies would come and explain the characters to them."
Though it was more difficult than television work, Lam especially valued the experience of working on movies because it enabled him to learn more from studying the characters of his roles.
Among the hundreds of movies he has voice acted, Lam's most memorable is the mentally disabled character he voiced in The First Mission, played by Sammo Hung. As Hung's regular voice actor in martial arts films, Lam found it a challenge to voice act for one of his non-action roles.
Still, that character was not the most challenging role Lam ever came across. That distinction goes to the character of Yue Buqun in a Taiwan TV drama The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (Xiaoao Jianghu) in the early 1990s.
"It gave me a hard time as the actor spoke in an unstable tempo, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. This is the most difficult situation in voice acting. When actors do not perform well in their own parts, it creates problems for the voice actors."
With more than 40 years in the industry, Lam has seen remarkable changes, but remains a consummate professional with exacting standards.
On the negative side, he has noticed more young voice actors have a problem of so-called lazy sounds or pronunciation. He also finds it an unhealthy trend for movie companies to invite stars to do the voice acting for animation features. "They cannot catch the mouth shapes and the emotions of the characters. But movie companies need gimmicks," Lam says.
Still, he remains highly enthusiastic about his job and is never bored. "Since we act for many different characters each day, I see every day as a new challenge for myself," he says.
Another thing he values: "We [voice actors] see each other day and night. The relationships between us are very close. We are like siblings, seeing each other more than we see our families."
In order to continue doing what he loves, Lam needs to keep his voice in good shape, but surprisingly, he says he does not have any special methods to protect his voice. "I eat deep fried food like ordinary people!" he jokes.
As he gets older, Lam has noticed his voice is not what it used to be. "Nothing can be done about it," he sighs. "My voice was sharper in the old days, but now it is much deeper. All I can do is try to imitate my voice from the past."
Lam has also experienced health problems in the past few years. In August, he was invited to the opening ceremony of the 100 Years Before the Birth of Doraemon Exhibition in Harbour City. But he had to pull out after injuring his leg.
Lam is also a diabetic and his vision is getting worse. Although it improved after laser eye surgery, his work has been affected.
"My eyes get tired after looking at the monitor in the studio for a long time," says Lam. "I have to reduce my working hours in these few years."
He says he has slashed his working hours from 60 hours per week in the past to 10 hours.
Despite his poorer health, the 60-year-old Lam has never thought of retiring.
"Take Tam Bing-man; he is still working in the industry at the age of 78. There is no retirement age in this industry," he says, showing his continued passion for voice acting. "I will keep on as long as I am capable of doing it!"
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