Backstage - Virginia Madsen Interview
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINEE VIRGINIA MADSEN DISCUSSES VOICING HIPPOLYTA,
QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS, IN “WONDER WOMAN,” THE NEXT DC
UNIVERSE FILM COMING TO DVD MARCH 3, 2009
Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen brings an
impassioned, stately voice to the role of Hippolyta,
Queen of the Amazons, for “Wonder Woman,” the next entry
in the popular series of DC Universe animated original
PG-13 movies.
Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation
are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009,
distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original
movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View
as well as available for download day and date, March 3,
2009.
Madsen has moved seamlessly through all genres of
performance – from mainstream feature films and
independent releases to primetime television and
animated films/series. No category is beyond her scope –
and the fanboy realm has a prominent place on her IMDB
roll call.
Madsen made a splash in one of her first films as
Princess Irulan in “Dune,” then forever endeared herself
to the horror fandom as Helen Lyle in “Candyman” (for
which she won the 1992 Saturn Award in the Best Actress
category). She has made guest starring appearances on
“Star Trek: Voyager” and “Earth 2,” helped Christopher
Lambert return in “Highlander II: The Quickening” and
done notable work in super hero animation. Madsen voiced
Dr. Sarah Corwin and Roulette in four episodes of
“Justice League” and Arella in an episode of “Teen
Titans,” as well as a two-episode turn as Silver Sable
in “Spider-Man.”
Along the way, she’s starred opposite Harrison Ford,
Meryl Streep, James Coburn, Jim Carrey, Billy Bob
Thornton, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, James Woods and
Whoopi Goldberg in dramatic feature films like “Ghosts
of Mississippi,” “The Rainmaker” and “Firewall.” She’s
also been recognized with an ongoing string of awards
and nominations for her work in independent films like
“Gotham” and “Artworks”
And of course, Madsen is best known for earning a 2005
Academy Award nomination as Best Performance by an
Actress in a Supporting Role for “Sideways.”
At the urging of an acting coach, Madsen actually began
performing voiceovers when she was pregnant with her
now-14-year-old son. She was able to find time in her
single-mother/busy-actress life to discuss subjects
ranging from her secret desire to play Batman and the
reading lessons inherent to comic books to working as a
waitress at the same Evanston, Illinois restaurant as
“Wonder Woman” co-star Marg Helgenberger.
All hail the Q&A with the queen ... Virginia Madsen.
QUESTION: Did you prepare for voicing the Queen of
the Amazons in any special way?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: Well, I prepared this morning by
writing several edicts for my son (laughs). Honestly, I
love when I get to play these characters that are bigger
than life. There are roles in animation that I never get
to do in real life – and it appeals to my ego as an
actor to play the Queen of Everything (laughs) Hey, I’m
honest. I admit it.
Hippolyta has a really wide range – I use a lot of notes
when I play her. She has a larger, more regal voice. I
liked the range we use to create her vocally, and the
way that she was written. It’s not that she’s over the
top, but she’s just a very, very big character. And I
don’t usually get to do that on onscreen.
QUESTION: Is that part of the allure of voice acting for
you – to gain satisfaction in performances that you
don’t find on camera?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: Voiceover work reminds me of old-time
radio. When I was little I used to sneak and stay up at
night and listen to Mystery Radio Theater – I loved all
those old radio plays. A radio play actually ended up
being the first acting job I ever had. A lot of times
when I’m on camera, I’m playing characters that are more
like myself, and I don’t get to do a lot of real
character work. But when you’re doing animation, you are
the very epitome of colorful characters. I think I’m
just really into make believe. In animation, there’s
silly things I get to do with my voice. I get to have a
wider range, so my voice gets to dance more than it does
on camera. So it’s almost like I get to be more
theatrical when I work in voiceover.
QUESTION: You’re voicing the Queen of the Amazons, but
she’s also the mother of Diana/Wonder Woman. Did your
standing as a single mother of a 14-year-old son
influence your taking the role or your performance?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: Well, I am a proud mother – that’s
another reason I love doing any kind of animation. When
my son was growing up, if he was watching something
animated and I was in it, that was way cooler to him
than seeing me in a movie.
Hippolyta is very protective, and she thinks she knows
it all, and I do as a mother in real life know it all
(laughs). And if my son would only listen to my advice,
he would lead a perfect life (laughs harder). I’ll still
be saying that to him when I’m 75. I like to imagine
that I have the control that Hippolyta does, but he’s a
teenager, so that never really happens (laughs).
This is a blockbuster voice cast – any thoughts on
your co-stars?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: Actually, Marg Helgenberger and I were
waitresses in the same restaurant in Evanston, Illinois.
I’m happy to say that that restaurant has since been
torn down. But Marg made it out first. We both had an
audition for ABC soaps – different soaps, but we
auditioned at the same time, and she got the part and
went off to New York. Three years later, I went to L.A.
So she was kind of an inspiration to me. And it makes
sense that we will both be in Wonder Woman together,
because we ARE Wonder Women (laughs).
I love Keri Russell. I watched every episode of
Felicity, and Waitress is my favorite film from last
year. She’s just an amazing actress. And I like her
voice a lot – it didn’t surprise me that she would be
doing voiceover work.
QUESTION: You’ve got some notable experience in the
sci-fi/fanboy world. Do you seek out these projects?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: I think it seems to find me, and that
might be because I’m a fan. I would have been a fan of
“Candyman” even if I hadn’t been in that movie. I’m a
huge fan of “Star Trek,” which is why I was in “Star
Trek: Voyager” – because I begged them to be a part of
that lore. I was always an actress, even as a little
kid, and fantasy, horror, sci-fi stories are really all
about playing make believe. I just never grew out of
that.
QUESTION: “Dune” was released 25 years ago. Do you have
any specific memories?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: That was really my first Hollywood job.
It was such a small part, but I opened the movie. I was
about 19 years old and I had to make this speech, and I
didn’t understand most of the words because they were,
you know, words from “Dune.” They were made up names
that I didn’t know how to pronounce, but I knew how I
should sound because I was a sci-fi fan myself. I hadn’t
read the book, but I knew that I was the princess of the
universe. I went in and sort of made her up, and David
Lynch thought it matched and cast me.
QUESTION: Were/are you a comic book reader?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: I was not a comic book reader, but my
son is. My son wasn’t really interested in reading
books, which was hard for me because I love to read. It
just didn’t come naturally to my boy. So we kind of
found comic books because they were fascinating to him.
They were great stories. Of course, I have to read them
all first, because now when you get into graphic novels,
they are definitely in deep graphic. But the stories and
the characters really interest him, so comic books kind
of taught him how to read. So we’re really into comic
books.
QUESTION: Is there a comic book role that your inner
geek covets?
VIRGINIA MADSEN: Sadly, I really want to be Batman
… and I just never will be (laughs). That’s the cross I
bear. When I was growing up, the really, really cool
super heroes were all male – so I wanted to be them. I
really didn’t like Batgirl. I was like, “No, if I’m not
gonna be Batman, I’m not gonna play.” Maybe they could
write an evil female super villain who takes over
Batman, and nobody knows. Then I could live my dream
(laughs). I think that’s a good idea.
Please visit the film’s official website at
www.wonderwomanmovie.com
Images/captions:
Hippolyta-closeup-intense.jpg
Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen provides the voice
for Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, in “Wonder Wonder,”
the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for
distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Hippolyta-hawkman-attack.jpg
Queen Hippolyta preares to fend off one of Ares’
villainous minion in “Wonder Wonder,” the all-new DC
Universe animated original movie set for distribution
March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
AresClenchesHippolyta.jpg
A prior relationship is revealed in an opening battle
between Ares (voiced by Alfred Molina) and Hippolyta
(voiced by Virginia Madsen) in “Wonder Wonder,” the
all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for
distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Hippolyta-Amazons.jpg
Queen Hippolyta (voiced by Viriginia Madsen) glances
back at her Amazonian subjects – including her daughter,
princess Diana (far right) – in “Wonder Wonder,” the
all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for
distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman"
and all related characters and elements are trademarks
of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.
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