If you have ears, and you’ve listened to British radio or TV for any length of time, then chances are you’ll have heard the famously familiar voice of Mike Cooper.
A native British male voice talent, who uprooted his successful voiceover business from London and transplanted it to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in 2014, Mike swapped the Tube for a 17-yard commute from his log cabin to his studio (complete with mountain views, horses and pet goats…)
He’s the narrator of countless documentaries for HISTORY, Smithsonian Channel and National Geographic in the UK, and Mike’s decades of broadcast experience include ten years with the world’s largest radio station – the BBC World Service – along with a seven-year run as a network voice for HISTORY UK, plus three years with his local NPR station since moving to America.
Mike voices commercials, explainer videos, promos, corporate projects, IVR, e-Learning and more for clients all over the world, and clients appreciate his knack for breathing life into complex and technical scripts - including medical narration.
World class sight-reading skills, honed over years of live broadcasting, mean Mike has a reputation for working fast and with impressive accuracy on the first take, while still being open and responsive to direction. Producers who value getting what they need quickly and with a minimum of fuss frequently become regular clients.
In 2020 Mike added nonfiction audiobook narration to his offerings and as of summer 2023 he's recorded over sixty titles. 2023 also marks his sixteenth year both as a full-time voiceover artist.
With a voice that's been described as "effortless, approachable, authoritative and believable" (yet still more than able to add that wry twist and a wink in the right places…) Mike is a great choice for a genuine British voice talent. Branding expert, Celia Siegel, perhaps summed him up best, when she dubbed Mike Cooper: "The Guy Next Door. Only Better. And British."
mikecoopervoiceover.com | mike@mikecoopervoiceover.com
+1 (828) 333 5020 (USA) | +44 (0)20 3695 2938 (UK) | Source-Connect: mikecooper
(For reviews and referrals referrals, see Recommendations at www.linkedin.com/in/mikecoopervoiceover/)
Training
Using his voice and working in the media fascinated Mike from a very early age. At the age of six he was already narrating afternoon stories to his classmates. By his 17th birthday Mike was writing and recording promos for his local BBC Radio station, and he joined the BBC straight after leaving school. He spent several years as an on air talent for the ITV network and BFBS (British Forces Television), over 7 years as a network voice for HISTORY in the UK, and returned to the BBC to spend ten years with the BBC World Service as a newsreader and network announcer before leaving London and moving to America..
Experience
Alongside his broadcast work, Mike has been working as a professional voiceover since recording his first radio ad back in 1992. He built his first home studio and transitioned to being a full time VO in 2007, and now records daily for clients all over the world from his home outside Asheville, North Carolina.
Mike also mentors aspiring voice talent for the Gravy for the Brain training platform and the Voice Acting Institute, speaks at voiceover industry events, and offers bespoke private coaching as his other commitments allow.
Specials
Mike spent many years on the other side of the glass: as a Transmission Controller/Network Director in television, and as a live studio director for BBC World News and Sky News in London. All of this has helped him to hone his communication and technical skills. Being used to directing talent himself, he has a knack for both appreciating and anticipating what the director or producer wants.