Gabe Kunda used to pray for times like this.
The voice actor, who daydreamed about bizarre faceoffs between Marvel’s Iron Man and Disney’s Donald Duck in high school, landed his dream role voicing Blade in Marvel Rivals, a first-person fighter.
“I was so inspired as a kid seeing a Black man play that role,” Kunda says, referencing Wesley Snipes’ pre-MCU performance. “That film is the reason Marvel was able to stay on its feet.”
John DeVore
At 31, Kunda delivers his words with thunderous impact. His tone is bombastic yet crystal clear — a kind of annunciation that commands attention. As a teenager, he recalls his teacher, Ms. Edwards, asking the class to read aloud from a biology textbook. The students’ readings were flat and disengaged. In response, Kunda spiced things up by giving organisms different voices.
A self-described class clown, Kunda aimed for laughs with that impromptu performance, but what he got was a more engaged classroom — and a sign that his future would involve bringing fictional characters to life. From that day, classmates started calling him Popcorn Gabe, a nod to the cinematic experience his voice created.
Seated at his home workstation, Kunda reflects on manifesting the Blade role, losing royalties early in his career due to inexperience, and his baritone — a rich, bass-heavy octave that would get the thumbs-up from Boyz II Men’s Michael McCray.
LEVEL: Your parents are from Conga. Voicing superheroes is probably not what they envisioned as your occupation.
Gabe Kunda: It's kind of an interesting thing because you grow up and they want you to be a lawyer or a doctor or something official in government. I had a different passion. I loved music. My mom also loved music and she played music around the house. She loved theater and I loved it as well. And so that became my passion. Going to school, I didn't really do good in the educational space. I was constantly trying to make people laugh. My mind would just start rolling when I was in school reading books. I would not be present [and instead be] daydreaming.
What were you daydreaming about?
I would daydream of action figures and create scenes in my mind. What would happen if Iron Man went up against Donald Duck and what would that sound like? There were many times they had to snap me out of it. I would be so locked in. My mind was a place where I wasn't judged.
What do you remember about that day your teacher asked you to read aloud in biology class?
I just remember myself sitting and hearing all the other kids read, and I was like, “Oh, this is so boring.” Then called on me and I was like, “Finally, lemme put my James Earl Jones voice on” as a sophomore in high school. I started reading and the class was like, wait a minute, you should have him [read all the time]. Once I got done, they're like, “Popcorn Gabe! You read again.” It's funny.
What was your first professional job as a voice actor?
It's funny, it was also a gig that I was taken advantage of, actually. It was a commercial for a barbershop that ended up being a national commercial on Empire, the show on Fox. Typically, that's some good money that could pay a few books [laughs]. This was in college.
The guy told me he had this opportunity: “You got a great sound of voice. We'll pay you a hundred bucks, you get a be on this commercial that'll air during this huge show that you watch.” And so I said let's freaking do it. This is going to be amazing. I didn’t understand how big this was and typically how much something like this is paid or all that goes into it. I just wanted to work and get my voice out there.
When I got signed to an agency they asked if I had done anything before. I told them about the Empire commercial. They say “Oh wow, you must've made some good money.” I told them I made a hundred bucks. They were like, “Yikes. No residuals? Oh, man. We're going to have to teach you some things.”
How do residuals work in the business?
If you are voicing a national commercial, it's called a Class-A commercial. You're talking about six figures in residuals, and if they keep running it keeps going up. Them paying me a hundred bucks would've never flown if I was represented and knew the rates and all of those things, but again, I was just trying to get out there. That's some of the things I tell a lot of folks that I go talk to. There are going to be people offering you pennies.
There’s predatory practices in all professions.
And also, if you do a job like that, you can be in conflict with another job. So let's say I did this barbershop job and Sports Clips wanted to hire me to do something for them with that six-figure scale. I wouldn't be able to do it because I'm in conflict by doing that other barbershop. So a hundred bucks and now you’re in conflict.
How did you end up being the voice of Blade?
An audition that came in my inbox. It was codenamed but I could see that the character was Blade. I didn't know what it was for. I thought maybe it was for a mobile game. I've always wanted to voice Blade. The week prior to that, I was at a convention and somebody was interviewing me. They asked what Marvel character would I like to play or voice. I said I would love to try my hand at Blade. The following week I get the audition for [Marvel Rivals].
Outside of your voicework you’re a gifted baritone in the the R&B group, King’s Return. Does singing help with your voice work?
Oh my gosh, yes. It's been part of the reason why I've been able to do so many different types of voiceover work: being able to modulate my voice, because some things require a deeper sound, some much lighter, some are peppier, and then others are dark. In music, we're all about taste and how much darker, how much lighter, how much smoother does a lyric need to be. So yeah, it helps tremendously. I could not be where I am without the ability of music.