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INTERVIEWS
Robert
Englund expands his legacy of creating engaging, iconic
characters within the fanboy realm as the voice of
Vulture, Spider-Man’s initial super foe in the premiere
episode of “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”
An all-new animated television series, “The Spectacular
Spider-Man” debuts Saturday, March 8 with back-to-back
episodes airing at 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on
Kids’ WB! on The CW.
In the premiere episode, "Survival of the Fittest,”
summer is over for Peter Parker and school's ready to
start -- both literally (it's his junior year of high
school), and in the real world of crime-fighting -- as
Spider-Man faces his first real challenge (The
Enforcers) and his first real super-villain (Vulture).
Victor Cook directed the script, which was written by
Greg Weisman. Based on Marvel Entertainment’s popular
super hero, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is produced by
Culver Entertainment, a Sony Pictures Television
Company.
Englund said the voice for Vulture came organically from
looking at the early designs of the character prior to
the cast’s first recording session.
“They gave us test drawings when we first came to
record, and I used that for my inspiration, my basis for
the choice of Vulture’s voice,” Englund said. “I sort of
screech – he is a large bird, after all. Mostly I’ve
been doing a lot of screaming as Vulture because, as
fans know, he flies – and most of the time I’m chasing
Spider-Man across the sky.”
After establishing the baseline voice of his character,
Englund has worked with “The Spectacular Spider-Man”
voice director Jamie Thomason and producer Greg Weisman
to further craft Vulture’s personality and particular
vocal inflections.
“So far I’ve been conversational, and we’ve spent some
time finding Vulture’s sense of humor,” Englund said.
“He’s older and a little frustrated, because he feels
he’s just as good as the other villains. He actually has
a bit of pomposity about him -- so he can be a smart-ass
at times with a one-liner here and there. It’s really
coming out more as the season progresses – I’ve only
just begun to explore that. I think ultimately I’d like
to put in a little bit of Clifton Webb -- there’s a bit
of his kind of wit.”
Unlike many animated television series today, “The
Spectacular Spider-Man” records most episodes in a
single day with massive ensemble sessions – often times
split into a morning and afternoon segment. The result
is a room of 10-14 actors recording together, a scenario
that Englund finds especially appealing.
“Jamie is a great voice director – he’s very funny, and
he keeps it all nice and loose, which is important
because there’s usually a lot of us around,” Englund
said. “This is a huge cast – for every episode – and
that makes it more fun for everyone. We all get to
participate and work off each other. It’s wonderful to
finally work with some of these actors – like Peter
MacNicol. I’ve been a fan of his since he did ‘Dragonslayer.’
Peter really gets into it.”
Aside from the usual joys of voice acting (“You can show
up in your pajamas,” “You do it until you get it
right”), Englund finds the nuances of the medium to be
both entertaining and educational.
“What’s interesting to me is that voiceover acting and
direction has its own different vocabulary that I’m
still learning,” Englund said. “It’s kind of like little
short cuts of jargon that the director uses to
communicate with the actors. It’s pop culture short-hand
to cue us to a certain sound or attitude. It’s a
learning process, but I like to learn. And it’s fun.”
Images and interview provided by Sony Television Entertainment.
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