Archives for : Voice Actor

Episode 30: “Interview” With Frank Welker

Posted by :storysequence On : July 7, 2019
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I made this last year as an April Fool’s joke that got out way too late.  It was an attempt at coming back from hiatus the first time, but no dice.

I would love the chance to interview the real Frank Welker, but he’s harder to pin down than me during tax season.  Did I just write that?  Oh boy…I pay my taxes, I swear unless my CPA is pocketing my money and running.  That would explain why he took off to Bermuda and has an office there now…

While I investigate my CPA, enjoy this “interview” with cartoon voice over king, Mr. Frank Welker.

Toon-In-Talk Episode 12: Interview with Veronica and Raina Taylor

Posted by :storysequence On : July 8, 2015
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Hello and welcome to twelfth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  Whitney has a treat for all listeners today!  Not only does she interview the fantastic voice actress Veronica Taylor, famous for her role as Ash Ketchum on Pokemon, Astroblast, Welcome to the Wayne!, and Mofy, but she speaks with Raina Taylor.  Raina is Veronica’s uber cool daughter, so this episode is a first for the show: a mother-daughter interview.  Veronica discusses her career and Raina shares her input on having a voice actress mom.

Episode 12

  • For the first time ever on the podcast, Whitney interviews a mother-daughter duo!
  • Veronica has always been an actress and went to college for acting.
  • Raina was never starstruck having her mom being a recognized voice actress.  It was very normal for her, although they do funny voices around the house all the time.
  • Veronica’s first go into voice over dubbing for anime.  Her first big role was Amelia from Slayers, then she became the voice of the kid who has to be the very best: Ash Ketchum from Pokemon.
  • Veronica loves acting, no matter if she’s dubbing or voice over in English.  She wants to make the character come to life.
  • Raina thinks her mom does an awesome job every time and Veronica likes having Raina help her practice.
  • She got the role of Ash, because the same production company that distributed Slayers in the US also had the license for Pokemon.  All she knew about the series is that one episode gave kids seizures in Japan.
  • Raina is very down to Earth when it comes to being the daughter of an iconic character.  It’s also great to make her laugh.
  • Whitney thinks Ash’s Pokemon trainer skills are lacking, but Veronica begs to differ as he follows his heart.
  • The differences for voicing Ash in a movie and in an episode is that for the first few movies it was in an actual movie studio and the sessions were bigger, but later they were similar for recording episodes.
  • Veronica and Raina both voiced the Pokemon Sentret, while Veronica also did Diglett and a few others.
  • Raina and Veronica were both in the movie The Boy Who Wanted to be a Bear.  She remembers her mother read the lines for her when they were in the studio.  This happened when she was a very young, so spends a lot more time reading than behind the mic now.
  • Raina is a John Green fan!
  • Raina’s favorite Pokemon is Charmander and Evee, while Veronica likes Pikachu, Lapras, and Treecko.  While they think Jigglypuff and Mr. Mime are weird.
  • She was the voice of Ash for eight years before Pokemon USA replaced the cast with new people.
  • Veronica’s favorite memories associated with Pokemon is that she was pregnant with her daughter during the first season and she so happy to play such a positive character.
  • It’s not hard for her to transition between characters as long as she has a solid hook in the character.
  • Raina loves that her mom plays a cute little bunny character.
  • Raina doesn’t want to be a voice actress, but she wants to do something related to the arts or  an accountant.
  • Veronica is evading her taxes!  No, they both declare peace and to eat healthy!

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Toon-In-Talk Episode 11: Interview with Ed Asner

Posted by :storysequence On : June 19, 2015
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Hello and welcome to eleventh episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  Whitney had the pleasure of interviewing a legendary actor of screen and stage, the incomparable Ed Asner.  Asher is famous for not only playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but he has lent his voice to many animated shows and movies.  You might recognize him as Hudson on Gargoyles, Granny Good from the DC Animated Universe, and as Carl Fredricksen from Up.  He even tells Whitney he hates her spunk to her delight!

Episode 11

  • Ed Asner has a prolific career ranging over fifty years, including Broadway, TV, movies, and more.
  • He was the voice of Carl Fredicksen on Up, he was also on Freakazoid!, Captain Planet, Gargoyles, Spider-Man, and Batman: The Animated Series.
  • The villain on Batman scared Whitney as a child.
  • He started out as a radio actor and when he switched over to visual performances, Ed had to retrain himself on using his voice.
  • They talk about the weather, the various places where Ed has lived, and how he dislikes New York.
  • On Gargoyles, Ed was intimidated by his fellow voice actors because of their talent. The show had a great staff and he especially notes Greg Weisman as a writer.
  • Ed sings the Jeopardy theme as Whitney searches for a number.
  • He loved playing Granny Good from the DC Animated Universe.
  • When he plays a villain, Ed draws influences from the characters in the Dick Tracy comics.
  • Carl Fredricksen wasn’t specifically made for Ed, he had to audition like everyone else.
  • Ed says that avuncular is the best way to describe old grumps.
  • The entire recording session for Up lasted about six to eight sessions totaling about four-six hours each.
  • Ed took a big spill in the Pixar recording room, but he went back to work without a problem.
  • Actors are regular people who love to play certain parts and indulge in certain character traits, but they especially love to keep people surprised.
  • Ed thinks of Up as a double love story, the first is with Ellie and the other is when Russell.
  • He wishes that dogs and cats could communicate with humans like Dug in the movie.
  • They talk about Up’s emotional impact on people and on Ed himself.
  • Ed says that he is most like Carl Fredricksen out of all the characters he has voiced.
  • We end the interview with a drug PSA.

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Toon-In-Talk Episode 09: Interview with American Dad Cast and Producers

Posted by :storysequence On : June 4, 2015
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Hello and welcome to ninth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  American Dad is a popular animated sitcom from the deranged, talented mind of Seth Macfarlane-Family Guy creator.  The show recently switched networks from FOX to TBS and American Dad is now free to explore more creative and lewd plots that push the envelope so far they are blinding the censors. At the New York Comic-Con, Whitney scored a roundtable interview with the American Dad cast: Dee Bradley Baker, Rachel Macfarlane, Wendy Schaal, and Scott Grimes and the producers: Brian Boyle and Matt Weitzman.

Episode 9

  • The first interview is with voice actors Dee Bradley Baker and Rachael Macfarlane.
  • Rachael Macfarlane and her brother Seth Macfarlane worked together for years and she is very complimentary about his work. Seth encouraged her to try voice acting.
  • The cast recorded the episodes a year before their release.
  • Rachael loves the freedom of being a voice actor, meaning it can go on forever and she is free to play anybody, anything, and from anywhere. Dee likes it, because it’s quick, air conditioned, and he doesn’t have to remember his lines.
  • Rachael and Dee both love the normalcy of being voice actors.
  • Dee wants to create an episode where Klaus and Roger start a fish stick factory.
  • The show is on TBS now, so the American Dad crew have more freedom to be creative.
  • Dee speaks German fluently.
  • Rachael’s favorite animated show is Pippa Pig and Dee loves Avatar.
  • The producers are well aware of the voice acting cast’s capabilites and limits. They are thrown voices during the table read to see what the voice actors can do.
  • The second interview is with producers Matt Weitzman and Brian Boyle.
  • The second interview features the producers
  • They never thought American Dad would be on the air for so long.
  • In the beginning the show was compared to Family Guy, but American Dad soon made itself distinct, such as time slot, dedication to story, and characterization.
  • They claim to be doctors of comedy.
  • With the move to TBS, they are allowed to cuss and show different forms of nudity.
  • Whitney explains how familial relations work.
  • Both are really happy where the series is going and hope it will continue. The “Chris” is Chris Robertson, an animator on the show and prior interviewee.
  • If Roger wasn’t an alien, he would be a duck because he is so adaptive.
  • The third interview is with voice actors Scott Grimes and Wendy Schaal.
  • Wendy loves the energy and attention American Dad is getting from TBS. Scott loves the advertising their giving the show.
  • American Dad has made 205 episodes and it is a lot of storylines for the actors to keep track of.
  • Kevin Bacon loves the show.
  • They don’t do group recording sessions anymore, because Seth is very busy.
  • Wendy and Scott discuss their favorite episodes.
  • Scott released a record years ago and the writers included those songs in the show as a joke.

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Toon-In-Talk Episode 07: Interview with Ronald M. Banks

Posted by :storysequence On : May 1, 2015
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Hello and welcome to seventh episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  Mortal Kombat X is the latest game in the legendary fighting series and Whitney scored a interview with the voice of the villainous Quan Chi.  Ronald M. Banks is the extreme opposite of the villain roles (meaning he’s a swell  guy) he tends to get cast for in his extensive musical and theater career.  In this interview, he discusses his journey into voice over and how he plans to grow his career.

Episode 7

Show Notes

  • Ron’s famous voice over role as Quan Chi in the Mortal Kombat series: Mortal Kombat X, Mortal  Kombat, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
  • He also played Jafar in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular at Disney California Adventure.  On stage, he is most famous for playing the king in the King and I as well as Sweeny Todd in Sweeny Todd.
  • Ron loves playing the bad guy and finds it very cathartic.
  • Ron describes Quan Chi as a sorcerer, who is evil but is not an epic villain.
  • He used to be a gamer and his game of choice was World of Warcraft, but he found that he needed to devout more time to real life.
  • When he voiced the role of Quan Chi, Ron is still learning what the character’s role in the game is.  As Jafar, Ron understands the menacing sorcerer’s mind quite well.
  • Whitney got the reference right (though it’s sweat, not silver blood).
  • The game has over the top violence and he thinks players will find it more humorous than gory.
  • Ron thinks that when CGI gets too real it won’t appeal to people.
  • He’s also been in some movies: No Connection and Sentimental Over You.  For Ron, when he acts on TV or in movies, he has to back off with his voice.  He’s used to projecting his voice.
  • Some of the challenges Ron faces is the newness of being a voice actor and keeping a show fresh when he’s on stage.
  • It’s important for actors on stage to be in the moment to keep their role fresh for the audience.
  • Ron is a vocal coach and he shares some advice on keeping your voice strong and healthy.
  • Whitney wants to know some funny theater stories and Ron reveals a whopper.
  • Both share their thoughts on Andrew Lloyd Webber.
  • SPOILER ALERT!  Ron explains Quan Chi’s fate.
  • They discuss the wonders of technology and the trouble of finding silence in a house.  (Whitney recorded this episode in her closet.)
  • Voice acting is a very competitive market.
  • During the day, Ron works as a Disney guest relations host, he teaches voice, and also works with kids.

 

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