Daniel Garcia (’08) gets to act like a 12-year-old. Garcia is the voice of the main character in the 3-D DirectTV cartoon Dream Defenders. He plays Zane, a highly energetic boy who fights monsters in the dream world with the help of his sister, Zoe.

The theatre arts graduate works full time at a children’s theater company in Hong Kong — a job he landed after college through a web cam audition. A friend suggested he should try voice acting for Chinese movies and cartoons that need to be dubbed into English. The work landed him several roles and led to Dream Defenders.

Even though he’s not seen on screen, Garcia says the work can be physically and emotionally draining because he uses his body as though he is acting and he talks for four hours straight. Also, he doesn’t get the script ahead of time, so he is looking at the screen, reading his lines and trying to act — all at the same time.

“I love a challenge and knowing I can overcome anything thrown at me,” he says. “I really do love going into the studio, putting on those headphones, and delivering the script in my own way. I am bringing a character to life for millions of people to see.”