Photography: Jason Odell
Words: Josh Woodfin
Styling: Arabella Boyce
Some celebrities will only ever be famous for their voice. Destined to only ever be famous in an audio capacity. Fated, if you will, to be feted non-facially. For instance: despite his huge popularity, Chris Moyles would be first to admit he has the archetypal “face for radio”. Or, in layman’s terms: like a neck-mounted, recently bereaved testicle. Similarly, TV careers for his colleagues Edith Bowman and Annie Nightingale have remained tantalisingly out o f reach. Elsewhere, John Motson never made the leap into Lineker’s seat. Alan Dedicoat, the Lottery’s “voice of the balls”, is never seen anywhere near the damn balls.
And we’ve heard a rumour that the woman who voices the M&S adverts has grotesque elephantiasis. But try listening again: it’s just too hard to tell. Alex Breckenridge is not one of these people. Making much of the preceding paragraph irrelevant and pointlessly bitchy. But it’s true. Since getting into theatre in her small but affluent birthplace of Darien, Connecticut, she’s appeared in the likes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, CSI and Dawson’s Creek. But despite her “range”, you’ll almost certainly know her voice best – from her numerous roles in world-dominating “smartoon” Family Guy.
But bear with us. Yes, vocal actors aren’t known for their dazzling looks. Just Google the cast behind The Simpsons: while hugely talented, Dan Castellaneta would be first to be wrongly lynched in any neighbourhood paedophile hunt, and Nancy Cartwright has more than a little of the “shaved Ewok” about her. But there’s a reason FHM flew out to LA to shoot this 26-year-old. And you hold the proof of her sun-kissed visual qualities in your hands right now. And yes, she’s got a fair bit to say too…
You’ve played everyone on Family Guy from Sarah Jessica Parker to a, er, rape victim. What’s so funny about your voice?
When I first went for Family Guy I auditioned for a guest voice. I don’t know why but [creator] Seth MacFarlane really likes the sound of my voice. I’ll never understand that. He just liked me and they call me back all the time to do different things.
How do you get into character?
Honestly, they’ll just call me and give me three different shows to do. I just go in and read it how I would read it – it takes about five minutes. Then they animate to your voice. So you say it with whatever timing you want, which is a lot easier than matching your voice to the screen.
What’s Seth MacFarlane like? Is he protective of his baby?
What, Stewie? No, he’s really funny and intelligent, he’s so smart that I can barely talk to him sometimes, the words, the vocabulary he uses, the references he makes, I have no idea what he’s talking about. He’s really a workaholic. I mean, he never takes vacations, he works every day, all the time. I think that’s what makes people really successful – they’re really driven like that.
You’ve appeared in a lot of shows, a couple of which have been cancelled. Do you find it hard not to take that personally?
It can be a bummer. I suppose if you’re the lead of a show you might feel a little more personally sacked, but I was always a supporting character on the shows so I was like, “Oh well – something else will come up…”