Speaking of improving and doing your own thing, what’s that like? Do they ever reign you in?
Oh yeah! [Laughs] I think one of their favorite lines is like, “This is only a 22 minute show, PJ!” [Laughs]
You don’t know what you’re looking at. They give you a very clear idea what’s happening, the description is sick, and after doing this for a while you kind of can feel how it’s gonna go. But there’s just times when I was like, “I will just turn it into a monologue.” And they’re like, “Okay!” Let’s stop! We got it!” [Laughs]
But you know, it’s funny, as time has gone on they have really written jokes for my voice. So actually, improv has become less and less important because it’s like, oh, they got it. That’s really funny.
I tell them this all the time – these guys don’t get enough credit for being really good comedy writers. Everyone’s like, the show is smart and it’s out there and it’s really intelligent and they’re great artists, etc. But they also write really good comedy. And partly because, it’s not like they think of themselves as comedic writers. They’re writing moments that are honest and true, and not trying to hit a joke on it’s head. And for me, I think that’s probably the funniest stuff.
What is your preparation process like?
In [a] sense, it’s kind of… tricky. When you’re rehearsing it, you kind of want to get exactly what they’re getting at. There are so many ways into a joke and you still want it to be organic, and you still want it to sound natural. Some of the beauty of improvising is it’s just like there, and it’s raw, and it’s happening – just by default, it sounds completely natural and normal.
So you’ve gotta play that balance of saying this for the first time again, and how would this have come out in your brain naturally? Not only if PJ would say it because he thinks it’s funny, how would Bolin say it naturally and honest[ly]? So it’s a different kind of attack. And all good, and good ways to work out.
Bolin was super optimistic in Book 1. Will we see that develop? Will that change for Bolin?
I think Bolin for perpetuity will forever be optimistic. It’s just that people might take advantage of that. I think they do that to a lot of people. He trusts people and he’s kind of always forward-thinking, that will always be there.
And what’s cool about it is the different ways the guys play with handling that. That’s kind of an interesting thing for me to take on, because it’s not just like, “Oh, he’s always positive thinking.” Well that’s a great thing, but you could have a lot of problems with someone who is so positive, and is so trusting. There’s a lot of ways, like I said before, for people to take advantage of that.
That’s also interesting, because Bolin’s relationships are such a huge part of what he is.
He loves people! He loves any and all people, and he always wants to do the right thing. He always wants to help people and he always wants to stand up for his friends, and that’s the core of who he is. And that can sometimes hurt him and get him trouble.
What are the differences in watching over something you’ve done voice work for, as opposed to live action?
I think you have a clear memory – when you’re doing a movie or a TV show – of what you did, because you have such a physical sense memory of it. And when you’re doing a voice-over, you so pop into your imagination that you’re just living freely in the moment. You don’t have to worry about, like, the camera’s there and you need to hit your mark, and all that other stuff. And it also takes so much longer for [the cartoon] to come out, I feel like I’m just a person at home who doesn’t know anything about the product. I’m just a fan, because I don’t remember as well what you actually laid down that day.
So I guess you can you really feel you can be more of a fan when you’re watching a cartoon… It’s harder to be in it when you’re watching yourself. I don’t know, maybe that’s vain because you’re always like, “Oh, I look terrible in that shirt!” You know, you can’t help but look at yourself and go, “Oh, hey, there you go. There I am.” It’s easier to stay in it when it’s a cartoon.
That’s really interesting.
I remember that – you can’t click in to the experience as well, because I’m sort of trying to see how they added up the dots together. Like how I did a take on this, now we’re doing that take, but they switched it in with that one, and you’re like, “Oh yeah, that’s funny.” And then you remember what the other actors did, and their take, and how the editor – it’s almost like you’re watching it as an editor. That’s sort of the best way to say it.
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