GHENT, WV (WVNS) — 59News had the pleasure of speaking with Wes Johnson, a well-known actor and voice actor who was recently in the Mount Hope area!

Wes Johnson is an acclaimed actor, voice actor, comedian, cartoonist, and writer who has quite the background. Some of the films he appeared in were Head of State, A Dirty Shame, The Invasion, For Richer or Poorer, and Hearts in Atlantis. He has also appeared on television in shows such as The Wire, Veep, and has voiced characters in the cartoon Phineas and Ferb.

Johnson has also voiced a wide range of video game characters, which include a character in the new and long-awaited game Starfield. Other credits from video games include popular games such as The Elder Scroll Series, which include Skyrim and Oblivion, the Fallout Series, and Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda Softworks. He also voiced an Orc in World of Warcraft.

Johnson has also worked alongside well known actors such as Chris Rock, Nicole Kidman, and Tim Allen. He is also the arena announcer for the Washington Capitals since 2000.

Ever since Johnson was a child, he knew he was destined for this job. From a young age, he always wanted to put on a show, and would put on charity shows in his neighborhood. As he got older, he went into doing sketch comedy, and eventually went on to radio where he got his big break on the WHFS Morning Show and the national radio show, Wolfman Jack, which he did for a number of years. Johnson eventually got noticed by casting agencies for his wonderful and wacky impressions and the rest was history! He was also doing theater and film at the time where he also got noticed for his talent.

Johnson is a jack of all trades who immediately thrived in the industry because of his incredible talent and love for the field.

“Follow your heart, follow your joy, and let your head set the directions [to] find out how people have gotten there before. I know I do a class through Theater Lab DC to teach video game voice acting and that’s one of the things I talk to about people is actually getting rid of those emotional restrictor plates that hold you back, that everybody puts in place and allowing yourself to feel an emote and bring characters from within. As far as announcing, just do it! you find places, you go to local schools, you can do high schools, you can do things of that sort, you volunteer, you keep pushing forward. If you’re going into video games, you look online and go to Reddit and get yourself into some mods and work with people who are just starting out. There’s so many ways to start out, but really, I would say just keep practicing as if you were already doing it. Imagine that it’s already your job and work towards it as if this is going to happen because if hey, I can do it, you can do it,” Johnson said ecstatically.

To check out this 59News Digital Exclusive Interview, you can visit here, only on wvnstv.com!