VIDEO: Dad who faced bankruptcy in youth makes £100k a year and buys £1.7m house after discovering a talent for voice overs in his mid-40s

A dad who faced bankruptcy in his youth but now owns a £1.7m property thanks his silver tongue for his good fortune as he is raking in £100k a year without leaving home as the voice of everyone from Gandalf to Santa.

Amrit Sandu, 46, was left feeling desperate in late 2019, as he struggled to make ends meet, splitting his time between his family’s ailing property business and other random mundane jobs, when a voice over actor friend suggested he followed in his footsteps.

Investing in a cheap microphone, he sat in an empty bedroom and made his first recording for an online business presentation in India, earning £15 and from there business boomed – with him now making at least £8k a month.

Amrit, who lives in Ealing, west London, with his HR business partner wife Arrinder, 44, and their sons Taran, 19, and Karam, 16, said: “We’ve had it so hard in the past and things are now finally turning around for me and my family.

“I feel so privileged every time I get in the recording booth.”

Setting out on his new venture by joining Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelance serves, in his first month, Amrit made £400.

Amrit, who has now hired two assistants to help him, said: “I even built myself a recording studio in the garden.

“I think something magical happens when you make a commitment.

“I think of myself as a voice actor now, which is incredible.”

He said: “This new career has been life changing.”

And his newfound wealth enabled him to move his family from a west London house with rooms so small he says he could not stretch his arms out without touching the walls, to a stunning five-bedroom £1.7 million home in Ealing in July 2021.

He also bought a dream sportscar – a Porsche 718 Cayman  – for £46k in February 2022.

“It’s just such a blessing.

“I got the house I dreamed of. I got the car I dreamed of. It’s been incredible.

“I will be able to give my family and my children a better life.

One of Amrit’s proudest moments was seeing his son’s excitement when he heard his dad’s voice announcing Ed Sheeran’s new album on Spotify.

Amrit said: “I was on Spotify the other day promoting Ed Sheeran’s new album. My son Taran listens to Ed so much, he’s the biggest fan, so for both of us it was a pretty surreal experience.”

Raised in Shepherd’s Bush, then a tough west London neighbourhood that has since been gentrified, Amrit’s life was once very different.

Drawn to showbusiness, even as a child he started cultivating his love for learning new accents, as he grew up in a diverse area, where everything from Cockney to Irish and Jamaican voices were common.

He said: “Being surrounded by all these rich voices. I started playing games. I’d mimic the voices I heard, so I picked up all the accents.”

But his dreams were usurped by harsh realities when tough times saw his family moving in with relatives in the late 90s.

As soon as Amrit turned 16, he started to juggle multiple jobs in order to help pay the bills.

Eventually, he quit his job in IT in order to help his family’s struggling business.

He said: “I was juggling a few jobs. I tried to find creative outlets, to keep my spirits up, but I also needed to make money and pay my bills – although nothing was working.”

Amrit’s eureka moment came in late 2019, when his voice over actor friend suggested he joined Fiverr to see if he could make a bit of money on the side doing the same thing.

And he says his first sale rekindled the creative passion which had driven him as a boy.

He explained: “As an adult, I became scared of dreaming, as nothing seemed to work out.

“I’d been made redundant twice by the time I was 26, but now I feel like I’m in control of my future.

“Doing this as my job, without any training, is completely insane to me.

“Every day is so interesting, as I get to do all these different voices. One day I’m Gandalf, another day I’m David Attenborough.

“I even have a wizard hat which gets me into character. I absolutely love this field, you get paid to have fun.”

Although he did not win, he was amazed to be in the same room as some of the world’s most talented actors.

He said: “I was surrounded by people with such iconic voices like X Factor’s Peter Dixon.

“I only started doing this at 44. It was amazing to even be in that room.

Offering advice to others who want to chase a dream, Amrit said people should find something they love so much they would do it for free.

He said: “Whatever you do, follow your highest excitement. Find a way to make money from that.”

You can hire Amrit on https://www.fiverr.com/britishvoiceart.