Lt. Col. Andy Field is a teacher by day and robot by night.
The Army Reserve officer voices HandUnit, a sometimes-helpful, often-glitchy device that leads players through "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location," where they attempt to survive after-hours adventure in an entertainment rental company filled with animatronics gone wrong.
The game came out Oct. 7. A YouTube trailer released in May has more than 14.5 million views.
"As the creator [Scott Cawthon] said, I’m the only friendly voice in the game," said Field, who talks for a total of about 10 minutes.
Field found the gig via a job posting on a voice-acting website. He sent in an audition and was hired a few days later. Field had five or six recording sessions that would pop up sporadically as the game was being developed, with the last one recorded in August.
Field said he started reading the script out loud to his kids, who immediately knew it was from the next Five Nights at Freddy’s game. And while Field has provided his voice for other games, commercials and audio books, he said this project has given him the most attention, especially since he’s also an eighth-grade teacher.
"Some of my students are head over heels with the game," said Field, who is an operations officer for 1st Special Forces Command.
The game, geared toward teenagers and preteens, is the latest in a franchise that debuted in August 2014. Its mix of puzzles and scare tactics — including frequent "jump scares" when evil animatronics pop up in front of the screen or move through a dark room — has found an audience, leading to not just sequels but side items such as Halloween costumes offered by major retailers.
"Over time, [the series] accumulated this huge fan base who are looking for clues in the game to put the story together," Field said.
Some of those fans have gravitated to one of Field's lines in "Sister Location." In the game, players can type certain words into a keypad on HandUnit, but the device always auto-corrects the words to something else.
"On the last night, you get to choose a gift basket," Field said. "It messes up and changes to 'exotic butters.'"
Players of the game enjoyed the term so much that there's an #ExoticButters hashtag, as well as several YouTube videos and remixes. One such video, inspired by a single remark in a popular YouTube game review, had nearly 1.3 million views after being online less than two weeks.
"I've become a meme," Field said.
STAY-AT-HOME VOICE ACTOR
Field has been in uniform for 27 years, serving with both the Louisiana National Guard and the Army Reserve. He deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 and has been in his current position with 1st Special Forces Command Headquarters in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for two months.
Field said he’s always been a pretty good speaker, but it was his wife who sparked the idea of voice acting in 2013.
"One day I was in the house, and I was imitating the announcer at our football stadium at the University of Mississippi," he said. His wife told him he should be the announcer, and that prompted him to Google how to be a voice actor.
With today’s technology, he said, anyone can do it if you have the right gear at home, such as a microphone and sound-treated room.
Sometimes he’ll have to audition for a job, and other times companies hire him on the spot.
"It’s fun to talk about something different every few minutes," he said. "Diapers one minute, financial advice, video games the next."
Field’s first gig was talking like a zombie for the video game "Contagion," which debuted on the Steam platform in October 2013.
"I sat in a closet and made terrifying noises that kept my wife up all night," he said.
Even though he said he mostly uses his regular voice, he has sought out coaching to become a better speaker.
"All professionals should seek coaching," he said. "There are entire Army units dedicated to coaching other ones."
Field also seeks advice and camaraderie from the tight-knit voice actor community.
"We all encourage and build each other up," he said.
Field said he hopes one day he can use his experience to become a full-time voice actor.
Charlsy Panzino covers the Guard and Reserve, training, technology, operations and features for Army Times and Air Force Times. Email her at
Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
