Home Features Have you met Jeula? She’s the voice behind some of your favorite characters

Have you met Jeula? She’s the voice behind some of your favorite characters

Jeula’s journey into voice acting wasn’t exactly a childhood dream, it was more of a happy accident. For over four years, she worked as an advertising producer, spending her days on the other side of the studio glass watching professional voice actors bring scripts to life. She even cast a few for ad campaigns herself. Somewhere in the middle of organizing shoots, handling clients, and producing spots, the thought began to grow: maybe she could try it too.

An Artist at Heart

Before voice acting, Jeula had always been drawn to the arts. As a child, she filled sketchbooks with her own renditions of Card Captor Sakura, took dance classes whenever she could, dabbled in piano, and attended voice lessons. In college, she joined a music organization to be surrounded by fellow creatives. The artist in her was always searching for a home, but nothing stuck—until she discovered the microphone.

Her first paid gig came while she was still a producer. A friend who ran Point Bee Studios asked her to audition for a project, and she landed two radio ads for PayMaya. That spark was enough to make her wonder if voice acting could be more than a side hustle. At first, she found work the way many advertising voice talents did—sending samples to studios and watching for casting calls. She even scoured Facebook groups like ICAP for opportunities, landing a memorable early project singing for a Potato Corner ad. The nerves were real, but she pulled it off.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Career

Six years later, she’s a full-time voice actor with a growing portfolio of work in ads, dubbing, animation, and more. Among her most cherished roles is Zoey from KPop Demon Hunters, where she is the PH voice actor for the Tagalog dub—a character so much like her that recording felt effortless. She also loved the warm reception the Tagalog version received. Another career highlight was being the Filipino dubber for Mindy in Emily in Paris. That first day in the booth, her nerves were so intense her breathing was picked up by the mic, but once she relaxed, Mindy’s vibrant personality made the project pure fun. And then there’s Azula from Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, where she provided the Filipina dubbed voice, a dream role for Jeula, who has long admired the character’s grit and power.

Her process for preparing roles often begins with little to no background material. In such cases, she relies on years of script reading practice to quickly identify clues, embody the character, and adjust based on the director’s guidance. “The voice comes naturally once I understand who the character is,” she says.

Life as a Voice Actor

No two days look the same for her. Some months are packed with studio work, like weekly dubbing sessions—while others are quieter, giving her time for the gym, updating her website and reel, organizing workshops for VocAlliance, or preparing for events like Dexcon and Puso Wrestling, where she serves as ring announcer. She’s learned to stay adaptable.

One thing she wants people to understand is that voice acting is acting, it’s about making a character believable and relatable, not just having a “nice voice.” For aspiring talents, she stresses the importance of script reading and acting skills. “You need to set yourself aside so a character can bloom inside you,” she says. And the learning never stops. Even full-time, she practices regularly to avoid getting rusty.

The industry’s unpredictability doesn’t faze her. When one type of project slows down, she pursues another, whether it’s advertising, dubbing, animation, or video games. She also invests in training, knowing that growth keeps her competitive. For those starting out in the Philippines, she recommends joining Facebook groups like VocAlliance and Voice Actors at Home PH, and enrolling in workshops. “That’s where I learned the most in the beginning,” she says.

Full Circle and Future Dreams

Recently, she reunited with college friend Maronne Cruz for KPop Demon Hunters. Though they didn’t record together, they shared laughs at the viewing party and celebrated Maronne’s performance as Zoey’s Filipina singing voice. It was a full-circle moment from their days in the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool.

Looking ahead, Jeula is eager to take on more “bad guy” roles, which she affectionately calls “gremlin energy” characters. While she loves dubbing and will always continue it, she also wants to voice more original characters for video games and animation, building them from scratch and leaving her own creative fingerprint.

From a producer watching others behind the glass to a performer breathing life into characters that audiences love, Jeula’s career proves that sometimes the most rewarding paths are the ones you never planned.