Voice actor on dubbing Benedict Cumberbatch: You're playing the role of a great actor

Ukrainian actor Viktor Marvin, who lives in Tallinn, has given his voice to the character of two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch in the hit Netflix series "Eric." Speaking on ETV show "Ringvaade," Marvin said dubbing someone like Cumberbatch means you are essentially playing the role of a great actor.
Regular viewers of Estonia's Russian-language TV channel ETV+, will be very familiar with the voice of Viktor Marvin. An actor from Luhansk, Ukraine, who graduated from Kyiv, Martin has provided the voice for numerous male characters in films and series shown on the channel and dubbed into Russian.
Marvin moved to Estonia ten years ago after being invited by Igor Lassov, who had just become the artistic director of Tallinn's Russian Theater. The two had previously worked together in Kyiv. As Marvin's then wife, actor Anna Sergejeva, was born and raised in the Estonian capital, the decision was taken to move back to Estonia. After leaving the Russian Theater in 2023, Marvin began writing for different movies and series'.
Last spring, however, he received an offer from Netflix to perform the Russian-language voice of the lead character in the mini-series "Eric," played by two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.
In the six-part miniseries, Cumberbatch plays Vincent, a puppeteer on a popular American children's show, whose son Edgar goes missing unexpectedly. Vincent finds solace through his friendship with Eric, the monster that lives under Edgar's bed.
"In most other countries, when dubbing the series, Cumberbatch was played by one actor and Eric played by another. In the original, Eric was voiced by Cumberbatch himself. In the version we did, I voiced both Cumberbatch and Eric," said Marvin.

Competition for the role was fierce, with voice actors from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all auditioning in the hope that they would have the right voice. The audition was tough, with each actor performing just one scene as Cumberbatch. The recordings were then was sent to Netflix, who made the final decision. "Why Netflix chose me specifically, I don't know," Marvin said. "You have to match the emotions and the tone of voice."
Marvin spent a week in Riga, where all his parts were recorded.
According to Marvin, there is a huge difference between reading a part and dubbing. "When it's a reading, I also have to change the timbre and the emotions, but dubbing is when the original sound is completely taken away and the actor does all the voices. The groans, the cries, the laughs, when he blows his nose," Marvin explained. "You're effectively playing the role of this great actor."
When it comes to money, Marvin said he was paid more for the role than he would have earned in a month working in in the theater.
However, Marvin doesn't see a bright future for himself as a voice actor. "I imagine that in the future this job will disappear for actors because you can take Cumberbatch's original voice and AI will be able transcribe it into any language. So, in that sense we will be out of a job."
---
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Annika Remmel, Michael Cole
Source: "Ringvaade," interviewer Jüri Muttika