You've probably never seen him. His name might not ring an immediate bell. But chances are you've heard this man speak more than any other actor on the planet. Why? Because he owns the deep, sonorous and impossibly solemn voice you hear almost every time you've watched a movie trailer.

In a world where Hollywood is big business, and everything hinges on the box office gross a film can generate in its first week, only one man has the reverberating tones to convince an audience your film is worth seeing. That man is Don LaFontaine — and for the past forty years, there's been nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide, from his enduring imprint on movie trailers.

Forty years ago, the "coming attraction" as our generation knows it hadn't been invented yet. Trailers weren't made by slick production companies. Most were cut in-house by the film's editors, usually as an afterthought, and sent to the theaters with little fuss. Trailers weren't broadcast much on television or the radio, and none had much (if any) of a production budget.

"They all followed the same basic formulas, and used the same voice for almost every trailer," explains Don, who was kind enough to sit down with The Trailer Trash to discuss a life spent creating trailers, that famous golden voice of his, and — we couldn't resist — whether he's ever tempted to hide behind something and imitate God.

Trailers in the Sixties were for the most part bland and thoughtless affairs. Sure, they told you about the film. What they didn't do was grab your interest by the throat. But in 1962, a young recording engineer named Don LaFontaine was assigned to a radio producer named Floyd Peterson to work at National Recording Studios in New York. Floyd had been tasked with creating some spots for Dr. Strangelove, and an eager Don found himself making a number of production suggestions that Floyd thought really clicked. It wasn't long before Don was helping to put together trailers himself.

"My job [back then] consisted of writing, directing, recording, creating music and effects 'beds' for the spots," remembers Don. "Mixing them, mastering, packaging, addressing and even schlepping the packages to the Post Office ourselves. As a writer, I was one of maybe five people in the entire business, Floyd included." Because Don hadn't learned the proper "rules" of advertising, he spent the next several years breaking almost all of them.

These same broken rules would remain broken for the next forty years, eventually becoming the industry standard for how movie trailers are supposed to look and sound. By January of 1963, Don joined Floyd, making the venture a two-man company. Within two years they had their own building and forty employees.

Today, Don has lent his famous voice to over 4000 trailers. At his peak, he recorded an average of sixty promo sessions a week, or about twelve to seventeen per day. Chances are if you got lured into a movie by a convincing trailer pitch, you can thank Don LaFontaine and that deep, dramatic voice of his. And if the movie ended up sucking — well, don't blame him.

The Trailer Trash caught up with Don this past weekend, and he was gracious enough to answer a few of our questions — even the really dumb ones.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Don. I guess I'd like to start with the question I'm sure is on everyone's mind: What would you do if you were TRAPPED IN A WORLD BEFORE TIME, WHERE EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT WAS TRUE IS A LIE, AND THE ONLY PERSON YOU CAN TRUST IS YOURSELF?

[laughs] ...Try and survive, knowing only one man can save me...

Let's go back to 1963, and your company with Floyd Peterson. Can you remember when you first hit on "The Voice"?

One night I was trying to finish producing about six campaigns for different pictures, among them a totally forgettable goodie entitled Gunfighters Of Casa Grande. For some reason, the announcer I'd hired did not show up, and I went in and read the copy as a 'scratch' so I'd at least have something to play for Columbia Pictures in the morning. Much to my surprise, they bought the spots with my voice. I took the eighty dollar payment and ran like a thief. Over the next few years I did more and more radio, and eventually TV and trailers. Because I had written the copy, I knew how I wanted it to sound, so I had a distinct advantage.

Is "The Voice" something that you have to adjust your voice to do, or is that deep rolling bass actually close to your natural speaking voice?

"The Voice" — or "Voices" — is actually very close to my speaking voice. Only not. It's hard to explain. It's my voice, only bigger. I don't mean louder, although that certainly is the case sometimes. I emphasize certain elements of my voice — adding an edge or a cushion of air, and then slightly over-emote. It's not enough to sound like over-acting in the context of a trailer, TV or radio spot.

Probably not as effective in real life though.

Yes, if I used that voice in normal conversation, people would look at me and wonder who the pompous ass was.

I imagine it must be tempting, though. Ever hid behind something and tried to convince someone you were God?

I have, in fact, hidden behind a curtain and been the voice of God in my church. I'm hoping God isn't offended. If she is, I'll stop.

When you recommend a movie to a friend, how do you describe it?

As the white-knuckle rollercoaster ride of the summer. Or as a very special motion picture that speaks to the soul of every man and every woman who's ever been in love.

Is your voicebox insured?

I looked into insuring my voice. The premiums were ridiculous. I'd almost have to drink lye, just to make the investment worthwhile.

During your long career in trailer voice work and writing, you helped to invent a lot of the aspects we take for granted now — including those famous introductory phrases.

I do have the dubious distinction of being one of the first to write such deathless phrases as "In a world where…" Or "From the bedroom to the boardroom to..." "Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. And no way out..."

"A one-man army..."

[laughs] I have also been cursed to repeat those lines over and over and over.

Well, since you're the guy who helped invent them, you're probably one of the most qualified people to ask: what are the most overused trailer clich้s? Which ones grate your teeth when you see them on the script?

Far and away it's "In a world..." The funny thing is, even though it's sort of recognized as a clich้, when it plays in a theater, it's rarely greeted with hoots of derision. It just goes to show you how conditioned the audience is to accept it as a standard way to set the scene of a trailer.

What about you personally? Do you ever see something in a script and just think, "Oh, not this again."

Oddly enough, I don't react negatively to any piece of copy, no matter how clich้'d — It's my job to interpret the words, not criticize them.

Are there any words or phrases that are a strict no-no in the field?

Less and less as time goes on. When I started out, it was daring to use the word "sex" in a spot. Now the envelope is being pushed more every day. Part of it springs, I think, from the shock jocks like Howard Stern or Don Imus, who continually expand the borders of what is acceptable.

Do you still write a lot of your own copy? Ever get to ad-lib dialogue?

No, I don't write my own copy anymore. I do occasionally ad-lib a line or two that deviates from the copy, and the ad-lib sometimes is used, but for the most part, I just read what has been written.

Having produced so many different formats and genres over the years, do you still find the work challenging? Also, are there any particular film genres that are more aggravating to do than others?

At last count I've worked on approximately 4000 films, and I still do find it challenging. I'm constantly trying to come up with new ways to "bend" a phrase or "color" a word. I enjoy working in all genres of film. It's the fact that I have been able to work across the board, as opposed to being stuck doing only a specific kind of film, that keeps the work reasonably fresh and exciting for me. I'm like any other actor — I'm always looking forward to the next role.

4000 films is one hell of an impressive resume. Is it pretty competitive in the trailer voice-acting field?

Today it's very competitive. It's an extremely lucrative field to get into, and there are a ton of actors, both men and women who are toiling mightily in it. In fact, quite a few of them are enjoying much more success at this time than I am. It's to be expected. Each generation of producers wants to put their own 'stamp' on the product, and that usually means a new 'sound'. Even if it is just a variation on the old sound.

If you ever decided to leave the field of voice acting, what would you most like to do?

Sleep. [laughs] Actually, I have been blessed with a career that consists of doing exactly what I want to do. When and if I ever quit, I'm just going to relax, play golf, travel, read and make passes at my wife. I have been able to do virtually everything I've ever wanted to do over the course of the years, including sky-diving, scuba, flying on the trapeze, riding elephants and working with lions and tigers in the circus, traveling behind the iron curtain, attending great broadway shows, marrying the best and most beautiful woman on the planet and fathering great kids. I even had a tennis lesson from Andre Agassi. I could shuffle off this mortal coil tomorrow and have no regrets.

What are your impressions of the level of success you've enjoyed as the Trailer Voice?

I have been extraordinarily blessed in this business. I've worked consistently for forty years in the same game, and have had the opportunity to help create a whole new way of advertising things. I attribute my success to a number of things; The fact that I was one of the original writers of the "new" trailers; the fact that, as a producer, I had the opportunity to work in virtually every format — Action, Drama, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi — and mostly because I was one of the first to work in this area, and therefore had a part in establishing the sound and style of delivery that has become so popular over the years.

Above all, I owe my longevity to luck. Pure and simple. I have been enormously lucky to be in the right place at the right time with the right tools.

Last question. In total honesty: If I see just one movie this summer, which one should it really be?

Finding Nemo. It's beyond brilliant.