Will Lyman is the series narrator for PBS FrontLine and now spokesperson for BMW.
For over 25+ years Will’s voice has ensured this acclaimed documentary series has a unmistakable, deliberate, credible and provoking authority. I really do love his work. [Frontline is a regular feature on our Tivo]
Everything changes, though, when he speaks. Hearing his voice on his answering machine brings to mind PBS documentaries and nature films. In that voice, at once commanding and polished, yet seemingly effortless, he says matter-of-factly, “I’ve been the series narrator of ‘Frontline’ since ’82.” That one sentence placed him, for me. It is his voice that transports me to all those evenings of flipping the channels and pausing on PBS to listen to what was happening on “Frontline.” And I now realize it was Will Lyman telling it to me.
Now Will is lending that authoritative voice to some BMW spots and certain people in the blogishere took offense to that. I don’t, keeping the lights on at home and sharing his talent with a respectable and credible brand like BMW is fine with me. All said and done, I thought the spots seemed a little offbeat.
