Amanda Buck
Recruited: December 2020
Retired: Valeria, October 2021.
Character(s) Voiced: Valeria Faustina, Abigayle Singh, Beatrice Faustina
Episodes Featured: View
Q&A
How did you get into Fallout?
My Fallout journey actually started with… Fallout Shelter. That’s right! I want to say I even downloaded it as an opportunity on the (sadly now defunct) FeaturePoints to get in-game currency for another game! The “Game Show Gauntlet” quest, which asks trivia questions about the various games in the franchise, did two things: one, it got me curious… and two, it sent me to Wikipedia to look for the answers to said questions. And after a little reading… I knew I’d been sucked in. I went to GameStop the next day to pick up Fallout 3. (As I did not have a PS4 yet to get Fallout 4, which I recall lamenting at the time.)
What’s your favorite Fallout game?
Honestly, I think it’s Fallout 76. I enjoy every game in a different way for different reasons, and it’s all of them combined that make Fallout what it is. But 76 has taken some of the best aspects of past entries and improved upon them – arguably making it difficult to go back and play older games. (Crafting and looting are 100% than they were in FO4, and that game was already such an improvement over its predecessors! Mutations are an incredible addition to gameplay, making for fantastic new build options, and the legendary system is far more interesting than it was in FO4.)
The story is where Fallout 76 really shines, however, and the atmosphere of the pre-Wastelanders Appalachia is the Wasteland we’d all been hoping to one day see. Exiting the Vault full of hope for the future, only to find devastation, death, and disease. Our only company being our fellow Vault Dwellers and the robots who took over the automation of West Virginia. Having to solve the mysteries of the downfalls of each faction, uncovering their holotapes and corpses as we learn the truth. This is the first time we’ve come out of the vault so soon after the bombs, and you can feel that devastation. Plus, the quests have some fantastic craftsmanship as well. (DMV, anyone?)
And then, of course, there’s the community aspect. I have met amazing people while playing this game. I started a relationship playing this game. I was cast in a podcast playing this game! 😉 I thought I’d sunk a lot of hours into FO4, but ha! This game is my happy place, and I’m grateful for it, and for everyone I meet out there in Appalachia. So yeah. 76 by a mile!
How did you get into voice acting?
I was a character performer at a certain magical theme park when I was younger, and that requires voice work (as acting tends to). I am also a singer, and while belting my favorite Disney tunes I noticed at some point that I could emulate certain characters (Belle in particular) and decided to try their speaking voices as well. I started lurking some voice acting project forums, and was cast in a couple of things that never got off the ground (including a Chronicles of Arkham project in 2009, where I was cast as Dr. Penelope Young alongside now pro Jason Marnocha as the Joker.) TMF is the first thing I’ve participated in that has actually launched!
Who inspires you/who do you admire in VAing?:
Oh, this is going to be a long one! So, those who know me know I’m a Disney nerd. Much of my desire to act/sing/VA came from the constant intake of Disney films and shows in my childhood. Constantly mimicking characters, performing scenes in my living room. Paige O’Hara as Belle was the first voice I truly grasped, followed by Linda Larkin as Jasmine. Arleen Sorkin became another favorite as I got older, for who doesn’t love Harley Quinn? As I really started to appreciate voice acting more in my teenage years, I started appreciating the great talents: Tara Strong, Grey Griffin, Jennifer Hale, Cree Summer, Russi Taylor… all these amazing women with hundreds of different voices and characters to their names. The ability to come up with, perform, and make each of these voices so different and unique. And I’ve not even scratched the surface! For as I get older still, I come across new people to marvel over, like Paula Rhodes and Nicole Tompkins and Courtenay Taylor.
Also, Mark Hamill is amazing.
Favorite voices/characters you’ve done?
Well, obviously Valeria! I also have a lot of fun with Harley Quinn.