How did you get started doing voice-over work?
I got started in the animation business as a result of my desire to be an actor, so I started out as a singer first...
a long time ago. In high school I had an interest in music - I was in a lot of music classes and a lot of rock
'n roll bands - a lot of classical music training. Then I got involved in theater, I spent a year in college and realized
that I was wasting my parents money and my time. In 1975 I spent a year traveling around the United States and Canada
doing theater. Went back to Michigan and joined another rock 'n roll band for another year and a half, then I moved
back here in 1978... so I've been here twenty-eight years, my goodness. I started doing a lot of on-camera stuff, a
lot of commercials. Before I moved out here I did a lot of local radio in Michigan, and so I had a real desire to do
voice work. So I got my first shot out here doing cartoons on GI Joe in 1983, I did that on and off for about a
year. Then I gradually started doing more and more animation work - the first real break I got was from Hanna and Barbara
- there was a second running of Johnny Quest, it was originally done in the 60's and of course I was too young for... when
it was done again in the mid eighties... Hanna Barbara asked me to be Hadji for a couple of years. And the first really
big show that I did was in 1987 - it was Ninja Turtles. I did that for about seven or eight years - that sort of
got me to the point where I got real excited. It was incredible fun. I started getting more and more work, it
was clear to me and my wife that is where my strengths where... because frankly there are a million average looking white
guys out here - half of them are good actors, but still the odds are pretty astonishing. So I was really lucky that
the voice-over thing started to work for me, and I think I had a bit of a leg up on some of the voice actors because I could
sing. When you can sing in character it helps a lot. Sometimes when they hire someone to do a voice, then they
hire someone to sing like that character. And, one thing led to another. I haven't done any on-camera for a while.
So that was how I got started, and I've been doing it pretty steadily for the past twenty years or so.
Do you remember the first voice you ever came up with?
As far as a voice that I came up with that was my own, I really don't. I remember listening to different dialects,
particularly British... because I was a big fan of Monty Python. I try to be pretty thorough when I break down a dialect,
it's not like it a real complicated thing - I listen to little things that make the characters more honest and more real.
So when I do a dialect I try to do it as... like most actors... of course I'll do it as well as I can, but I try to give it
little twists and turns that I've learned along the way to seperate the people who really speak that way from people trying
to imitate it. And I don't really remember the first one, it was probably me imitating stuff that I heard on Monty Python.
How has your career changed over the years?
First of all, there are lots of bigger series. In the 80's and 90's, with Animaniacs we knew we were doing sixty-five
half-hour episodes. Same thing with Darkwing Duck, Chip 'N Dale, and any of those other big shows. We knew that
the studio would buy sixty-five half-hours. That really doesn't happen very much any more, usually now you get a buyer
for thirteen... they start with thirteen or twenty then they see how things go. Also, I think the celebrity talent...
there are a lot of celebrities doing cartoons. I was in a movie called "Ant Bully" and "Barnyard" this summer, in just
those two... the four lead characters in "Ant Bully" had half a dozen Oscars between them. There are a lot of big
stars. Certainly having a celebrity in the mix doesn't guarantee you're having a hit, and that's evidence
by "Ant Bully". I mean, it was great and a lot of fun to work on... I think a lot of people looked at it and said, "What
a minute, this is Antz or A Bug's Life... we're already seen this, and if we have to make a choice on where to spend our money
then we better go somewhere else". Star power didn't do a damn thing, because most often the celebrities are hired to
do their own thing... their own voices, and what I do... the ultimate compliment for me is when somebody hears my work and
says, "Oh, I didn't know that the same guy who does Pinky is the same guy who did Yacko". You know what I mean?
That's a compliment to me, and that's what I try to do. So those are the two main ways, in the time that I've been doing
it... those are the two biggest things... oh, and also... there are a lot more animated features than there used to be.
Now we have our own Oscar category, and I think there should be because there's no secret that animated features are making
a shit load of money.
Looking back at all of the voices that you've done, which one is your favorite?
Boy, they're like your kids... I know it's clich'e, but it really is. It's hard to pick one because they've all
been really good to me in many different ways. I would say that my favorite over all would have to be Pinky because
I thought "Pinky And The Brain" was a great show. It was written beautifully, Maurice LaMarche (Brain) is an incredibly
talented fellow, and he made me better. And I won an Emmy for that character - so that was pretty special. So
I would say Pinky, and Raphael was pretty important because it was a huge - huge show... it was one of those... something
that became part of the culture. Now, you can say Ninja Turtles all over the world and people know what you're talking
about. And I like Carl a lot - from Jimmy Neutron. That's a really good show, it is really well rendered... the
computer animated is beautifully done considering that you're talking about a television show. I don't think it lost
anything from the feature, and quite often when you watch a feature like Little Mermaid... Quite often, the money that's spent
on animated features can't be spent on a television show, that's just too expensive. So, I would say that Pinky, Raphael,
and Carl are my three favorite characters.
Which voice is more like the real you?
Raphael. He sounds pretty much like me, a little higher pitched.
Do you get much freedom when you do a voice, are you able to do what you want with it?
I think probably both, Tim. Particularly when they're casting a show, the producers have ideas of what they think
they want. It's sometimes difficult to audition for things like that because you're starting off with a clean slate
and really don't know what they want. It's like shooting in the dark. Once they get me to where they think it
works best - I really like to adlib a lot. It's not because the scripts are bad, because usually I get to work with
a lot of good scripts... that allows me to try something else. It may end up in the final piece or it may not, but I
think quite often I get hired to do that ... people know that I like to manipulate the script, in my opinion when you're able
to feel comfortable enough to manipulate the script it makes that character that much more believable. Sometimes the
producers let me give it a shot, and sometimes what I do is not in there, and that's fine... it's their dime, they can do
whatever they want. Also, it depends on what type of show... I did an animated show of "The Mask", which I played the
Jim Carrey role... that let me adlib and go all over the place.
What does your family think of your career choice?
My immediate family - my wife and son think it's great because they get to eat. (laughs) My kid gets to drive
a car and go to college, and my wife gets to go shopping at Nordstom. When I started working, certainly my parents were
a little unsure and concerned with my choice. And since I got to be pretty busy doing voice work, they get a real kick
out of it. When I go back to visit my folks in Michigan, I don't care where we go... my dad will walk up to the hostess
in a restaurant saying, "Did you watch 'Pinky and the Brain'? My son is Pinky!", and I have no choice because I don't
want my dad to look like an asshole so I have to go up and say (in Pinky's voice), "Hey, how are you doing... I'm Pinky and
he's my dad... lalala". They get a real big kick out of it, and all my siblings get a hoot out of it. And it's
fun, it's a really cool profession and it doesn't matter how old you get, people love cartoons. Whether it's Bugs Bunny,
Animaniacs, or Casper the friendly ghost... whatever. Some of these mean a lot to people. So when people get a
kick out of what I do... I'm very flattered. Doesn't matter what are you are. Matter of a fact, my son just had
his 22nd birthday and he wanted to have a Ninja Turtle birthday party. So he and his ten or twelve buddies came over
and had birthday cake on Ninja Turtle plates, and they were thrilled to death. It was pretty fun.
What are you working on right now?
Right now I'm working on the TV series of "Barnyard" for Nickelodeon. The movie has done quite well, so the TV
series is just a logical followup. For years I've been doing the "Land Before Time" videos, they've been really successful
so we're doing a TV version of that for Cartoon Network. I've got "Curious George" that I'm doing now for PBS.
What voice are you doing for that one?
I do a lot of miscellaneous voices, the man in the yellow hat and George are Jeff Bennett and Frank Welker. Ten
years ago I did a show called "Biker Mice From Mars", that's back now... we did twenty-six episodes which are airing in Europe,
I don't know if they have a distributor here in the U.S. yet. I do a show for Nickelodeon called "Catscratch", which
we're waiting to hear if that picked up. And right now I'm heading to the wrap party for the finishing for a show I
did called "Danny Phantom". And I have a couple Disney things going on, one called "The Replacements", which just started.
Got a few things going on, so hopefully I'll keep busy.
