Backstage - Vicki Lewis Interview
VERSATILE
ACTRESS VICKI LEWIS RETURNS TO DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED
ORIGINAL MOVIES AS AMAZON WARRIOR PERSEPHONE IN “WONDER
WOMAN”
Versatile actress Vicki Lewis makes her second
foray into the world of super heroes as Persephone, a
key character among the Amazons in “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 “Wonder Woman” 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.
Lewis is best known for her performances in 96
hilarious episodes of NBC’s “NewsRadio” as Beth, the
sarcastic secretary to Dave Foley’s lead character. An
actress with notable awards and credits on Broadway,
Lewis has been featured on numerous primetime sitcoms
(“Home Improvement,” “Seinfeld,” currently recurring
role on “ ‘Til Death”) and hit films (“Godzilla,” “Mousehunt”).
The star of stage, film, television and animation,
Lewis made her DCU film debut in “Justice League: The
New Frontier” as Iris West, fiancé to the Flash.
However, Lewis is no stranger to animation, having had a
key role in Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” as well as TV
series work on, to name a few, “Wild Thornberrys,” “King
of the Hill,” “Rugrats,” “Phineus and Ferb,” “Ben 10:
Alien Force” and the upcoming “Penguins of Madagascar.”
Lewis found time in her busy schedule to talk about
playing the Amazonian “bad girl,” finding the voice of a
character, channeling Velma Kelly, and an addiction to
Tetris.
Heed the words of Vicki Lewis …
QUESTION: When you read the “Wonder Woman” script, what
was your first impression of Persephone?
VICKI
LEWIS: I’ll be honest, I knew nothing about the
mythology of any of this. I got the script, and often
times I just kind of look at my part, but this is a
fascinating story. I ended up spending half a night on
Wikipedia going through the real mythology of the
character. Persephone is a very fascinating character in
Greek mythology and the comic books. I wasn’t a great
student, so I love any opportunity at my age to learn
something new. So that’s how I prepared.
QUESTION: What endeared you to the role of
Persephone?
VICKI LEWIS: I do a lot of animation,
and mostly I get cast as the whacky character. I play a
lot of kids, or the strange neighbor next door, or the
really off-the-wall person in the script. But this was
really enticing because Persephone is a solid,
commanding woman. It was an interesting process to find
and place her (vocally) – she’s a powerful character,
and the direction was ‘less is more’ in the grand scheme
of this Greek tragedy. I’m very rarely asked to play the
powerful, centered part of myself. It’s always there,
but I don’t get to use it often (in performance). I
played Velma Kelly in “Chicago,” so I think I drew
mainly on that character. But this was a great
experience. I expected to come in and they would ask me
to act like an idiot, which is what I usually get paid
to do. So this was an interesting recording session.
QUESTION: Was there a favorite moment for you during
the recording session?
VICKI LEWIS: When you have
900 people staring at you through the glass of the
recording booth, and whispering but you can’t hear them,
you really want to make sure you give them what they
want. And I felt like I got it, because I understood the
emotion. This character, Persephone, has some very
heartfelt and sad moments, and it was really vulnerable
and really human. It wasn’t cartoony – it touched
something somewhat real. So I was actually affected by
it in a way I didn’t expect to be.
QUESTION:
Was it fun playing the bad girl?
VICKI LEWIS:
It's always fun being the bad girl. When I was young, I
had Barbie dolls and I made them fly. And then my
friends deserted me because I turned them into witches.
I was always THAT kid. I didn’t even know what a comic
book was.
QUESTION: Much of the fan boy populous
is into gaming. Are you a gamer?
VICKI LEWIS: I’m
not into the games like the kids play today, but I was
addicted to Tetris. I had the Trio, and the Tetris was
on it and then my fiancé got me the iPhone for my
birthday and I love it. But it doesn’t have Tetris. So
I’ve kept the Trio’s battery alive to play Tetris. I
used to be addicted to Pacman. We were doing “The Wizard
of Oz” at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre, so we were
stuck in the middle of Kansas and we would go to the
House of Pies every night because they had a Pacman
machine in their lobby. And we were obsessed with it.
QUESTION: You glide smoothly between stage,
film, television and animation voiceover performances.
All three require different techniques. What’s the trick
to making the transition for voiceover work?
VICKI LEWIS: I started out in theatre in New York and
then I did movies and I’d been out (in Hollywood) for
nine months when I got “News Radio” and it was all a
really interesting transition. Somebody who’d been
around for a long time came up to me and basically said
that the difference between stage and film and
television is that on stage the proscenium is where you
can see it. Film and television, it's really got to be
here (spreads her arms wide). In terms of turning that
into voice work, sometimes the voice is very subtle, and
sometimes I’m so loud they have me move away from the
mike. So in voiceovers, you learn where the proscenium
is in your voice. As far as acting, I’ve been working
for so long that I can basically tap into any emotion.
I’m like a little trained monkey at this point. So it’s
just a matter of finding that place, and adjusting
vocally as you would onstage or in film.
For voiceovers, like ‘Wonder Woman,’ I feel really
blessed that I’m able to do this and that Andrea
(Romano) continues to hire me. She always lifts my
spirits, she always makes me better, and she’s always so
gracious. I keep thinking, ‘When is she going to see
through me, that I don’t have any of this talent she’s
thanking me for?’ She’s just so great, such an amazing
director.
Please visit the film’s official
website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com
Images/captions: Persephone-angry.jpg
Amazonian warrior Persephone prepares for a fight in the
all-new DC Universe animated original movie, “Wonder
Woman.” Actress Vicki Lewis provides the voice of
Persephone. “Wonder Woman” is slated for distribution
March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Persephone-closeup.jpg Persephone is one of the key
characters in the Amazon’s battle with Ares in the
all-new DC Universe animated original movie, “Wonder
Woman.” Actress Vicki Lewis provides the voice of
Persephone. “Wonder Woman” is slated for distribution
March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Vicki and
Darwyn.jpg Actress Vicki Lewis and comics legend
Darwyn Cooke pause for a moment during an autograph
session at WonderCon 2008. Lewis, who voiced Iris West
in Cooke’s “Justice League: The New Frontier,” has now
provided the voice for Amazonian warrior Persephone for
the all-new DC Universe animated original movie, “Wonder
Woman,” which is slated for distribution March 3, 2009
by Warner Home Video.
Trademark information for
the images: "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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