Backstage - Andrea Romano Interview
CASTING/DIALOGUE
DIRECTOR ANDREA ROMANO DISCUSSES THE VOICES BEHIND WONDER
WOMAN,
THE NEXT DC UNIVERSE FILM COMING TO DVD MARCH 3,
2009
Andrea Romano, arguably the best known
casting/dialogue director on the animation scene today,
brings the voices of yet another DC Universe animated
original film to life with Wonder Woman. Warner
Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set
to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009, as
distributed by Warner Home Video. The action-packed
movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View
as well as available for download day and date, March 3,
2009.
Wonder Woman is the fourth DC Universe film in
the ongoing series, and Romano has returned – after the
first three successful ventures – to cast and direct the
likes of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina,
Virginia Madsen, Oliver Platt and Rosario Dawson. In an
industry that once treated voiceovers with the anonymity
of the witness protection plan, Romano has become a
household name to legions of animation fans. Just name a
show – Animaniacs or Smurfs, Batman:
The Animated Series and any of Warner Bros.
Animation's super hero series – and fans shout "Andrea
Romano" in their beloved credits roll call in harmony
with names like "Bruce Timm" and "Alan Burnett."
Romano began her career as an actress in New York before
switching coasts and paths, accepting a position as a
Hollywood voiceover
agent's assistant. Over five-plus years, she moved from
a large talent agency to a smaller boutique agency,
learning the business before shifting into casting for
Hanna-Barbera in 1984. Since then, Romano has been one
of the most in-demand voiceover casting and dialogue
directors, steering the vocal end of productions at
virtually all of the major studios.
She has been nominated for Emmy Awards a total of 18
times, and there are six Emmys standing tall in her home
– well, proud as they can stand when attired in Barbie
clothes. Romano enjoys dressing her statuettes.
Romano has made her mark in
every genre of animation, and her weekly workload today
is a perfect example. When she isn't orchestrating the
casting and voicing of the latest DC Universe animated
original movie or Warner Bros. Animation TV series,
she's directing SpongeBob SquarePants or skipping
across the globe directing the international casts of Kung
Fu Panda.
Renowned for considering 250-300 actors for lead roles,
Romano is as comfortable directing the voiceover world's
legion of "stars" as she is guiding feature film and
primetime television celebrities through their lines,
often times during the celeb's maiden voyages in
animation. She is revered throughout the industry for
her instant vocabulary with her actors, and treated with
rock star status at fanboy conventions from North
America to Australia.
Romano found time between recording sessions to discuss
the stellar Wonder Woman cast, the intricacies of
matching voices to roles, a little advice to the masses
of hopeful voiceover artists, and a short list of actors
she one-day hopes to direct.
For your entertainment and education, a Q&A with
Wonder Woman casting/dialogue director Andrea
Romano ...
Question: You seem to glide easily between a diverse
array of projects, running the gamut from silly shows
for Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. to the wacky world of
SpongeBob SquarePants, and then into the more
serious, action-oriented Avatar: The Last
Airbender and DC Comics super heroes. Do you have a
preference between the different genres?
Andrea Romano answers: I love the fact that my job gives
me the chance to do every different kind of animated
project, and these days the projects couldn't be more
varied or diverse. I can't say that I specifically have
a favorite. Moreover, it's the variety that keeps me
stimulated, keeps me interested. There was a period of
time when I was doing a lot of action shows, and I do
love them and I'm not complaining one bit, but I missed
the silly. So I really do enjoy the variety.
Question: You've stated previously that you have trouble
narrowing a list of favorite actors with whom you've
worked. But do you have a list of actors you've yet to
engage whom you'd still like to get behind the
microphone?
Andrea Romano answers: There are several actors that I
have not yet had the chance to work with that I'm
determined to work with at some point. Actors like James
Woods, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, to name a few.
I'd kill to direct Jeremy Irons. I think George Clooney
is a wonderful, versatile actor, and I think he could do
really incredible, silly things in animation – things
that he doesn't really get the chance to do in
live-action. Most of those actors are so busy that they
wouldn't be able to say 'yes' to an animated project,
but that doesn't mean I'm not going to go after them.
I'm not afraid to go after any actor.
What's the worse that can happen? They might turn me
down, but maybe they'll say yes. I'm going to work for
another 25 years and so, as
long as they can continue to speak and sing and be
silly, I will hire them. I'm not done yet.
Question: Voiceover work is
still a relatively anonymous role, and yet Andrea Romano
walks into a Con panel before a 1,500-seat capacity
crowd and she's greeted like a rock star. What's that
like for you?
Andrea Romano answers: I'm always astounded that people
know who I am and what I do. I'll go to San Diego and
people will actually follow me through the building and
very politely tug on my shirt and say, 'Excuse me, are
you Andrea Romano?' I'm blown away every time it
happens. I still have a lot of anonymity and that's
good. I don't get bothered in restaurants and stuff like
that. But when I'm at events that are really geared
toward animation fans, they know who I am. And I'm so
very pleased and so flattered by it. People are
extremely complimentary to me, and that only encourages
me to continue to do more really good work. I get paid
by the studios, but I know I work for the fans.
Question: Seemingly everyone believes they could do
voiceovers for animation. What's your ultimate advice
for those seeking to make that career move?
Andrea Romano answers: I know what advice I won't give
anymore. At the last Comic-Con, I gave my stock answer
to that question, which was 'Send large expensive
presents directly to my office.' A few months later, I
get this enormous gift basket. It was stunning -- a
bottle of wine, three different kinds of cheeses, pesto
sauce, pasta … and a demo tape. I had to call the guy
and say 'I can't accept this, I'm uncomfortable with
this,' but he said 'No, no, no – I work in the industry.
It's okay, it's legal. I admire your work, and this is
really just a thank you for everything you've done. If
you have chance to listen to my demo tape, that's just
great, if you don't that's fine, too.' But it was still
a very weird moment for me.
For people who seriously want to get into voiceover
acting, clearly the most important thing is that you
must be a good actor. That comes first. That's why
celebrities get so much work in voiceovers – we've seen
their work, we know they're good actors. So take acting
classes. Then take voice acting classes – and there is a
difference. There are techniques specific to voice
acting that you must learn. Not popping your Ps and how
to stay on-microphone, especially during the physical
scenes, and how to create the impact sounds. Getting
punched and throwing a punch are two different sounds.
Sneezing, burping, whistling and kissing all require
silly little tricks. These are very specific techniques,
and all are taught in voiceover classes.
Once you feel very secure in your acting and voiceover
techniques, put together a voiceover demo – and only
showcase your best work. Include things that are novel
and new. If you do impressions, great, but let it be an
impression that's unusual and different. We don't need
to hear John Wayne. Include examples of accents,
dialects, singing,
singing in character, character voices. And you don't
have to be massively versatile if you have an
interesting voice and you're a good actor. Sterling
Holloway and Ben Stein are good examples of people with
interesting voices. But you do need to be able to act
through your interesting voice. Finally, once you've put
together your demo, you need to get it to all the agents
and casting people and animation companies in town.
Follow-up and keep following up, and hopefully somebody
bites.
Question: The DC Universe films are very celebrity-laden
voice casts. Do you ever purposely cast against types
for those roles, and when is it okay to have an actor
reprise a role or be cast in consecutive films?
Andrea Romano answers: Sometimes it's really fun to cast
against type just to let the actor stretch a little bit
more, to do something they don't normally get the chance
to do on camera. It's very liberating for an actor when
they don't have to worry if they're blonde enough or
young enough or tall enough. If the voice is right and
they can act, they can do a role for me.
Casting is sometimes like going to a party. You get
there and everybody at the party is wonderful. They're
funny, they're interesting, and the next time you go to
a party, you kind of want those same people there. I do
find myself going back to a lot of the same actors I've
worked with because it was fun, it was good and I know
they can do the job. When we have tight deadlines to
cast a project, that's how some decisions are made.
We've all seen animated projects and thought, 'That
person was the perfect voice for that role,' but what
few people know is what it took to get that performance.
Was it 50 takes per line or did they nail it on the
first try? When the schedule is tight, you go with the
people you know will get the job done quickly and well.
Question: How often are you surprised by an actors'
performance?
Andrea Romano answers: Quite often, and I mean that in a
good way. A lot of times we cast actors who haven't done
voiceovers before, and because voiceover work is
different from on-camera, you're not sure what's going
to happen in the booth. Wonder Woman is Keri
Russell's first animated role, and she was amazing. Then
there are moments when everything just clicks and the
impossible happens. There was a project I did years ago
in which Rob Paulsen, the wonderful voice of Pinky in
Pinky and the Brain and Yakko Warner in
Animaniacs, had to sing all the countries of the
world, from start to finish. The man did it in a single
take! Then he asked if he could have a second take? (she
laughs) Of course, he could have a second take. But the
truth is he nailed it the first time, which is stunning.
So you never know what you're going to get.
Question: Which leads us to that stellar Wonder
Woman cast. What exactly does Keri Russell bring to
the title character?
Andrea Romano answers: Keri Russell has such a
wonderful, youthful sound to her voice and yet, there's
a really nice underlying tone of strength. That's
exactly what you need for Wonder Woman. This is the
story of her first finding out what civilization is
like, so there has to be a youthful innocence and, at
the same time, she's got to have the strength to kick
butt and not take garbage from anybody. Keri absolutely
has that. She's a terrific actress, and that combination
of vulnerability, youth and strength in the voice is
perfect for this role.
Question: What made Nathan Fillion right for Steve
Trevor?
Andrea Romano answers: I'm just so in love with Nathan
Fillion. He is this great, silly, playful, fun-loving
actor who also knows when and how to get down to
business. Nathan brought all of that to the voice work
in this project, and that made him exactly right for
Steve Trevor. The character has to be smart, he's got to
be trustworthy, but also silly and vulnerable and, in
his own way, kind of a buffoon. He's going to make a
fool of himself overseeing these ridiculously beautiful
amazons. Nathan just fell into that role perfectly.
Qustion: How did you settle on Alfred Molina as Ares?
Andrea Romano answers: Who
doesn't like Alfred Molina? I have admired him for so
many years and he had done some work for me before. He's
extremely busy, constantly working – we lucked out that
he was available. Ares is strong and full of himself –
there's a huge ego there. Fred doesn't have that kind of
ego, but he can act it beautifully. He also has the
physical strength in his voice that mirrors the
character, and an aspect to his voice where you could
believe that he could convince someone to do what he
wanted in a way that they don't even know they're being
convinced. Finally, because Ares is the God of War, his
presence creates violence around him – and as gentle a
soul as Fred is, there's something about what he brought
into the booth that makes that emotion completely
believable.
Question: Rosario Dawson was a natural fit as the
warrior Artemis?
Andrea Romano answers: Rosario Dawson is such a
beautiful woman and a beautiful person, and a comic book
fan. I had always been looking for something that I
thought was appropriate for her and, with this strong
female character, Rosario's name popped to mind
instantly. She's got a presence in her voice that is so
right that you immediately believe this is an Amazon
warrior. Artemis is tough and strong and smart, and I
believe Rosario is all of that as both a person and an
actress. So we had a perfect match.
Question: Were you looking to balance all of that female
bravado with Virginia Madsen in the stately role as
Hippolyta?
Andrea Romano answers: I needed a strong, somewhat
mature female voice for Hippolyta and, as the Amazon
women are all stunning, I needed voices that also
brought that beauty into it. That made Virginia Madsen
kind of a no-brainer. She's got that beautiful, husky
quality to her voice that resonates with strength and a
little bit of maturity, and she's got real femininity to
her voice that embodies the beauty. It was a great
marriage of actress and character.
Question: Oliver Platt is another virtual rookie to
voiceovers. What did he bring to the role of Hades?
Andrea Romano answers: For Wonder Woman, I hired
more on-camera actors that I admire than almost any
other project that I've ever worked on. I have been an
enormous fan of Oliver Platt. I just think he is funny,
touching, talented, strong and sympathetic. When you
listen to his voice, there's a real distinctive quality
to it. He's a great example of a voice with character.
And wait 'til you hear him as Hades – his voice and the
character match so brilliantly and the acting is spot
on. He was the absolute right guy for the voice.
Please visit the film's official website at
www.wonderwomanmovie.com
"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.
The direct-to-video Wonder Woman animated feature
hits DVD and Blu-ray on March 3rd, 2009.
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