PACERS

Pacers C.J. Watson has hidden talent worth millions

Dana Hunsinger Benbow
dana.benbow@indystar.com
Indiana Pacers C.J. Watson found he had a hidden talent, his voice.

A smooth, polished voice comes across the commercial demo tape. Soothing. Silky. Kind of like Morgan Freeman, with a subtly higher pitch.

"Cadillac CTS sports sedan was designed with perfect balance, front to back," it says. "Perfect weight balance to give you exceptional control in all directions. The 2014 Cadillac CTS."

The inflection, the subtle nuances in tone, the pauses in just the right places. This demo tape is surely from a professional actor. Or at least a seasoned voice-over guy.

This couldn't be the demo tape of an NBA player. But it is.

This is the voice of Indiana Pacers point guard C.J. Watson. This is his tape that is now being sent out to agents all over Los Angeles, featuring Watson and his dream side job: voice-over commercial work.

How he discovered this secret talent is, well, kind of a secret. Watson says he didn't know he had it. But, he thought it would be cool to give it a shot.

"My strategy is you only live once, so just try it and if you're not good at it then go to something else," 30-year-old Watson said. "So I just tried it and ended up liking it."

He tried it 2,073 miles from Indianapolis with voice-over coach Marc Graue, a legend in the field. His Marc Graue Voice Over Studios are in Burbank, Calif., a place where Will Smith, Jack Nicholson, Joe Montana and Jaclyn Smith come to train. Watson marks Graue's first time working with an NBA player in his 32-year career.

The first day, Watson showed up with a "posse of friends." The crew joked with Graue. They had a great time, but got nothing accomplished, Graue said.

"I told him, 'If you're really interested in coming and doing this, you're going to have to come alone next time,'" he said.

Watson did. And Graue quickly figured out that Watson was on to something with that voice of his. He didn't need much training. He already had the Holy Grail of voice-over: a distinct, smooth voice.

No need to disguise it.

"C.J. is best when he is being himself," Graue said.

C.J. Watson of the Indiana Pacers trains for commercial voice over work at the Burbank, Calif. studios of legendary coach Marc Graue.

Watson laughs as he heartily agrees. When he first showed up at the studio, Graue had him try impersonating cartoon characters — robots, gargoyles and such.

That flopped.

"I decided and he decided I wasn't that good at it," Watson said. So on to voice-overs they went.

Despite the natural voice, Watson needed to hone his skills.

"People look at it as, 'I can talk,'" Graue said. "It's very much acting, but instead of being on stage or on screen, the audience is the microphone."

A first, Watson was shy at the microphone.

"It was a little interesting to get him out of his shell since he is somewhat introverted," Graue said. "Most of the people (in voice-over) are very out there, very gregarious."

The shy Watson soon emerged from his shell. The demo tape is finished, after just a few months.

Besides Cadillacs, Watson's voice pushes everything from Adidas to a public service announcement for a rescue animal shelter.

He also tries out selling baby back ribs, sounding much more energetic in that spot.

Marc Graue, a legendary voice coach in Burbank, Calif. trained Indiana Pacers' C.J. Watson on voice-over work.

"What does it mean to be master of the flame? It means having the patience to smoke our baby back ribs and the skills to sear our signature marinated rib eye," he says. "And it means firing up good times all day, every day, even late at night. Come find out what else makes us master of the flame today at Smokey Bones."

So far, Watson hasn't been paid to do any commercials. But if those L.A. agents like his demo tape, he could join a list of celebrities pitching their voices to sell products. George Clooney and Budweiser. John Goodman and Dunkin Donuts. Julia Roberts and AOL.

What Watson would be paid is tough to say. Voice-over work earnings range widely, said Graue. It wouldn't be unusual for an A-list Hollywood actress to rake in seven figures. Cameron Diaz made $20 million on the last "Shrek" movie as the voice of Princess Fiona. But most voice-over actors average a salary of $50,000 to $100,000 a year, he said.

Watson, with an NBA career, would likely pull in much more than that. But he isn't banking his future on voice-over gigs. Once his playing career is over, he'd like to be general manager of an NBA team.

"But I can do voice-overs on the side," he said. "From home."

It's really quite simple, Watson said.

"You just talk how you talk."

Follow Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.

PACERS AT CLIPPERS

Tipoff: 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Staples Center, Los Angeles

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

Radio: WFNI-107.5-FM, 1070-AM.

PACERS (8-17)

Pos.

Player

PPG

Key stat

PG

C.J. Watson

11.2

4.4 apg

SG

Rodney Stuckey

13.2

3.0 apg

SF

Solomon Hill

10.7

5.2 rpg

PF

David West

11.7

6.1 rpg

C

Roy Hibbert

11.5

7.3 rpg

6th

Luis Scola

9.2

7.1 rpg

CLIPPERS (17-7)

Pos.

Player

PPG

Key stat

PG

Chris Paul

17.4

9.7 apg

SG

J.J. Redick

14.4

41.2 3FG%

SF

Matt Barnes

9.5

3.0 rpg

PF

Blake Griffin

22.5

7.3 rpg

C

DeAndre Jordan

8.8

12.6 rpg

6th

Jamal Crawford

16.0

3.2 apg

STORYLINES

Bringing back Lance? Rumors have been circulating that ex-Pacer Lance Stephenson might be on his way back to Indiana. His current squad, the Charlotte Hornets, are looking into the possibility of trading the guard. "Who knows. If it happens, it happens," said George Hill. "I'm not saying that if it happens, I like it or dislike it but right now we have a lot of good guys, a lot of great guys who are filling that void so I think it would be unfair to them."

Snapped the streak: After losing eight straight games, the Pacers finally added one to the win column on Monday night when they beat the Lakers 110-91. "A lot of times it's like the dam breaking in getting a big win like that," said coach Frank Vogel. The team believed it was just a matter of time until the tide turned in its favor. "I don't think we every really got too far down on ourselves," said C.J. Miles. "Of course it's a little tense and guys are trying to just figure out ways to win games. But we still were pretty upbeat in knowing and believing in what we do."

Prediction: To start a winning streak, the Pacers are going to have to contain, contain and contain some more Wednesday. The Clippers beat the Pacers 103-96 on Dec. 10. Griffin and Jordan are going to cause issues for the Pacers' on both sides of the ball, but Los Angeles has one of the most balanced attacks in the league. If Indiana can continue the strong defense, both one-on-one and help, from Monday it'll help bring the high-flying Clippers, who rank second in field goal percentage (.481) and 3-point percentage (.388). Keep the Clippers down and bring along Monday's first half 39-point lead and the Pacers are looking at another win. But coast like the second half on Monday and its back to losing. Los Angeles 104, Indiana 98.

— Autumn Allison