Finding His Voice: The Creative Journey of Hugo Pierre Martin
- riartistsroundtable
- Nov 17
- 4 min read
12 Nov
Rhode Island is home to a wealth of talented actors, including French–American actor and bilingual voiceover artist Hugo Pierre Martin, newly transplanted by way of California. Before starting a new creative pursuit in Providence—namely, his audio series The Diaries of Netovivius the Vampire — he has worked in film, television, animation, video games, and commercials. He has on-screen credits in HBO’s Westworld and Our Flag Means Death.
Other notable roles include voicing the character Chamber in Valorant, as well as Futomimi in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD — a worldwide popular video game set in a near-future Earth and features a growing lore around its characters and factions. Valorant remains one of the most popular video games in 2025, with over 17 million monthly players and millions logging in daily. Martin’s career has been diverse, with a focus on both acting and voice-over work.
Hugo’s path to living a creative life has been anything but linear. He spent over a decade navigating Los Angeles’s competitive film and voice-acting industry before deciding he needed a change of scene. When the pandemic hit, he decided he needed a change of pace. Seeking a different quality of life, Hugo packed up and moved across the country to Providence, a smaller, quieter city that offered a creative lifestyle different from that of Los Angeles.
In Providence, he built his artistic life from the ground up. Acting had always been his core pursuit but sustaining it full-time required a blend of side work and inventiveness. He began working part-time at Brown and RISD, assisting in Brown/Brown Arts Institute’s podcasting services (studios) and RISD event spaces, while beginning to teach short voice-over and filmmaking workshops across colleges in New England. Though these roles didn’t offer the spotlight of Hollywood, they became new stages, places where he could share his craft and remind students that creativity thrives more on persistence than opportunity.
At the center of his artistic world is The Diaries of Netovivius the Vampire, a homegrown audio drama that now spans seven seasons and more than 80 episodes. Hugo writes, produces, and voices the title character, surrounding himself with actors from the international voiceover community as well as local actors, visual artists from around the world and locally, and collaborators from Rhode Island’s creative scene. Each season unfolds with cinematic depth: music, sound effects, and artwork intertwining into a layered experience that reflects his belief in storytelling as a communal act. Funding has never been easy, but small grants, local partnerships, and the goodwill of fellow artists have carried the project forward.
Even Vampires Get the Blues
Netovicius delves into the life of an immortal vampire artist named Neto. After being kicked out of his Boston apartment, Neto finds refuge in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The series explores themes of trauma, recovery, and the complexities of life and grief. It features a richly built world saturated with magic and is narrated by Hugo. The series is known for its wistful and pensive vibe, with episodes ranging from ten to twenty minutes each, all without ads, intros, or outros. It is available on platforms like Spotify and YouTube, where listeners can experience the journey of Neto and the world he inhabits.
Hugo writes, produces, and does all of the character voices, with a guest star cast of more than twenty (including the talented Caroline Faber of video game Diablo IV fame.) Thanks to his many online fans, the series features a ton of awesome art co-creating the world Neto inhabits.
Not into vampires? “I wasn’t particularly either,” says Martin. “This series is a bit of fun, a bit melancholy, a bit of whimsy and magic, but ultimately it’s about trying to heal from old wounds and never giving up on a new beginning.” Netovicius or Neto for short, has almost a thousand years of cursed existence to mull over, run away from, and sometimes reckon with as the long shadow of trauma and lived experience comes knocking. This series begs the question, what if Marcel Proust wrote Twilight?
Sometimes heavy, and sometimes light, besides trauma, this series explores cults, loneliness, life and all its miraculous trappings — plus, the unmooring of oneself, brought on by grief — all within the context of a richly built world, saturated with magic that is constantly in flux.
Written, produced, and sometimes set in Providence, it speaks like a love letter to the city, as Neto explores and discovers the Creative Capital through the eyes of a newcomer who has embraced the ethos of living among the creative collisions of tradition and rebellion.
Yet, for all his creative momentum, Hugo remains candid about the challenges. The digital age demands constant promotion, and he often wrestles with the fatigue of social media. Instead of chasing algorithms, he focuses on building human connections, handing out business cards at events, engaging with local arts groups, and trusting that authentic storytelling will reach those who need to hear it.
Through it all, Hugo has learned that a creative life isn’t measured by fame or funding, but by the courage to keep creating. In a world that often overlooks small-scale artistry, he has carved out a sustainable rhythm of work that is both humble and profound. He tells other artists: “You don’t need permission to make art, you just need the will to keep doing it.”
What’s Next
Beyond Netovicius, Hugo continues to experiment with audio storytelling. His current project, a narrated recording of The Great Gatsby, channels the spirit of old-time radio with modern sound design. He dreams of turning his scripts into printed works or illustrated novellas, merging the visual and auditory worlds he loves. A small, illustrated booklet of the first episode of Netovicius will be available around Providence soon to pick up for free.
Judith Clinton is a playwright, producer and author, whose work explores myth, and transformation. Her plays and stories reflect her belief that storytelling can both heal and ignite change. She is Co-Executive Director of the Rhode Island Theatre Makers Roundtable www,ritheatremakersroundtable.com
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