The British voice artist formerly known as Marilla Wex
British voice artist Rill Askey (formerly known as Marilla Wex) is a multi-award-winning veteran of all genres of voiceover.
With 35 years of professional performance experience, Rill Askey can be dropped into virtually any medium and not create casualties.
Rill has a WoVO-approved, broadcast quality recording booth with Source Connect 4.0. A multi-award-winning talent, she holds a Gold Crystal Award for the best Radio Commercial Performance in Canada and has been shortlisted for Best Female Voice Artist of the Year three times at the OneVoice Awards. She won Best Animation Character Performance (Female) at OneVoice for the role she is perhaps most famous for: the bonkers computer M.A.R.I.L.L.A. in the Mojang YouTube series How We Make Minecraft, The Secrets of Minecraft, Around Minecraft in 80 Biomes and Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Minecraft.
Her nickname in both recording and tv studios is “The One-Take Wonder” (can we just have an extra one for safety…?)
Rill’s nonsensically broad vocal range means she has vast experience in every voice genre from audiobooks to videogames, from medical e-learning to children’s animation. You name it – she’s done it. Multiple times.
Commercials
Her tv and film experience enable Rill to break down copy quickly and deliver pitch-perfect performances in record time.
Explainers
Rill’s Bristol Old Vic classically-trained theatre background brings gravitas, strength, reliability and sophistication to corporate copy.
Gaming
Her advanced stage combat skills find their way into her videogame dialogue delivery and MOCAP performances.
Animation
Her 15 years of stand-up comedy and improv give Rill the flexibility and humour needed for commercial reads and animation.
Documentary
Rill has years of long-form audio narration and storytelling experience which make her a natural for documentary voice-over.
Rill is hired for her vocal and dialectical flexibility, her professionalism and her ability to nail a cold read immediately. Being a British voice artist her super power is her ability to sell without the hard sell – the accent and her delivery do all the heavy lifting. Her voice conveys authority and expertise while inspiring confidence and a sense of trust. As a dialect coach for tv, film and television she is also able to perform in a wide variety of UK accents.
But don’t just take our word for it – read some of her client testimonials below.
Working with Rill is a joy, not only because she’s hilarious and makes every recording session something to look forward to, but she can pretty much pull off anything you throw at her (in my personal experience, including but not limited to: sophisticated narration, quirky characters who vacillate between sincerity and menace, a robotic AI voice invoking the most chilling emergency broadcast system, a petulant child, the occasional musical number, and an endless variety of snorts, cackles and accents). When working with us, we often demanded all of this in a single episode. Not only does Rill take our bizarre requests in stride, she actively helps to ideate and shape every episode as a true collaborator, making everything we do better in the process and a huge part of the success of our work. I was so lucky to find Rill when seeking a truly versatile VO artist, and would cast her again and again – in fact, I do!
Below is a list of some of Rill’s recent clients. She works with dozens every year so this is by no means exhaustive.
To contact Rill Askey directly please use the form below. You can expect a response within 48 hours outside of major holidays. Rill is open to interviews regarding her voice work plus any and all interesting or juicy voice gigs! At the present time she is not accepting private dialect coaching students.
NB – if you’re contacting Rill regarding a voice over project please see the notes below on what you need to include in your message!
Photo by Zoë Gemelli
If you need to contact Rill Askey regarding potential voice work please be sure to include the following information:
- what kind of work is it? e.g. explainer video, elearning, videogame, online ad etc.
- will you need a directed session with Rill? If so – what time zone are you in? How would you like to connect? e.g. Source Connect, Skype, phone etc.
- what is the usage for the work? e.g. internal pitch, online without paid placement, local radio commercial
- how long is the usage? e.g. 13 week tv campaign, 6 month online ads, 1 year local radio
The more information you can provide about your project, the better since it will avoid an endless back-and-forth of follow-up questions.
Booth set-up
Rill has a broadcast quality booth comprising a Sennheiser 416 microphone, an Audient iD4 mk2 interface and Reaper is her DAW of choice. Her portable booth from Vocal Booths to Go travels with her when she’s working on the road, where live directed sessions are still possible with SourceConnect 4.0.
Rill travels a lot for work and pleasure so please check here for any extended vacation time that will impact her availability for new jobs and pick-ups.
Please note Rill does not generally work weekends!
Rill is currently in the UK on BST but is able to accommodate North American and European timezones for live directed sessions.