May 24 update: Morgan Freeman's transit ads on hold after harassment allegations emerge
With all the buzz about a Hollywood legend voicing some announcements and advertisements on Metro Vancouver’s public transit, you’d think the current voice of the Skytrain would be jealous.
But Laureen Regan says she’s actually excited that she and Morgan Freeman will be sharing a stage – so to speak.
“I heard that Morgan Freeman was doing the announcements. I was so excited – if you’re going to be usurped by anyone you want it to be Morgan Freeman,” Regan said from Alberta, where CTV News caught up with her.
Regan was reacting to news that Freeman would be voicing a set of public service announcements and advertisements for Visa that coincided with an Compass system upgrade to take contactless credit card payments.
The announcements are slated to run for the next eight weeks, with an option to extend. Freeman won’t be voicing the regular transit announcements.
Regan’s familiar voice has greeted passengers at every station for around 15 years. She tells them what direction their train is going and gives a friendly reminder to change trains.
Getting the gig was a lucky break, she said. She owned a production company in Calgary that was doing some work on the audio, she said.
“They needed someone to lay down a sample. I laid the voice. And when Translink came back to us, they said, ‘You be the voice,’” she said.
Now, Regan runs a company called The Boom Group in Calgary, which provides employee reward programs to support employee engagement and retention.
She says she still gets out to Vancouver enough to ride the Skytrain – and when she does she gets a kick out of hearing herself.
“Every time I take the train and hear myself it’s extremely cool,” she said. “It’s been years and you can’t help but laugh and giggle and think, oh, that’s me!”
Maybe Freeman will feel the same way, she said.
“It’s been a privilege for sure. I do hope I get to keep doing it. In the meantime maybe Morgan and I could do a duet?”
Want to hear the Freeman ads? Listen to all 10 in this extended video.
