- Birth nameCaroline Elizabeth Gilshian
- Hunter Austin knew she wanted to be in show business from the time she was a child in San Diego, CA. She shared a love of theater and classic movie musicals with her British mother, and a creative penchant for drawing and writing with her architect/civil engineer father. While still in kindergarten, Hunter discovered joy and excitement in watching sitcoms, as well as the televised Tony and Emmy Awards. She was determined to someday be inside the television screen. The family garage was transformed early on into a rehearsal hall for Hunter to practice tap dancing, put on shows and record her own voice overs. Although shy, she made her stage debut modeling tennis wear in a fashion show at the age of six.
After studying a book titled "How To Put Your Kid In Showbiz," Hunter took it upon herself to call a talent agency and set up her own meeting. Her wholesome look and ability to memorize dialogue impressed the agents enough to sign her. With her parents' support, she immediately began commuting to Los Angeles for auditions. She was called back on her first audition and soon landed jobs in commercials for Wendy's, Nissan, Titleist Golf Balls, Opal Fruits and AMC Movie Theaters. She also won roles in the musicals Yankee Doodle Boy and Bah Humbug. She continued to act, sing and dance in large theatre productions and was featured in pilot presentations for the then brand new HBO network.
Acting classes in Hollywood and days spent on sets were dreams come true. On weekends, her dad would also make the drive from San Diego so that Hunter could perform in Danielle Brisebois' Cabaret For Kids.
As an adult, she appeared in many television productions, anime dubs and video games.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- In June 2005, she won an Anime Dub Recognition (ADR) Award for her role as Michelle Cheung in R.O.D the TV (2003).
- In 2005, she was voted Best Actress in an Animated Series for her role as Michelle Cheung in R.O.D the TV (2003) by Anime On DVD.
- I started doing voice over when I was about fourteen. It was just one aspect of show business that seemed to go along with the on-camera acting I was also doing. I was acting on camera in commercials and TV shows for a long time, but had never heard of anime until just a few years ago [as of 2005].
- [on working in the voice over industry] I can dress however I want, I meet new people all the time, and I get paid for doing something that leaves me feeling good in every way. That certainly doesn't suck! These may seem like simple things, but I really appreciate getting to live out the dream I've had since I was a little girl imitating voices into a tape recorder!
- [getting involved with New Generation Pictures] I sent them a voice over demo, and they called me in to audition. They cast me in one show, and it just never stopped. I think I'm on my eighth or ninth series with them! Everyone there has been amazing to me. I have such an affinity for Jonathan Klein. He's just a really nice person. I've worked with all these other talented directors through them, and it's always a great experience.
- [on preparing for roles] I'm embarrassed to say I don't even read the scripts ahead of time. I used to but even for the 26 episodes of R.O.D the TV, I never read a script until I got into the booth and started recording. It just works better for me that way. I know some actors who study the show in Japanese and read ahead, which is great. I used to do that, but I tend to have more energy when I'm seeing it for the first time, right before I perform.
- [on working in the recording booth] If my character has a lot of long paragraphs, I make sure I read the lines out loud in English when they play back the preview of the scene in Japanese. That helps me to match the lip flaps, which can be tricky!
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