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INTERVIEWS
The
next time you drop the "I'm too busy" excuse for some
undone deed, consider the career of Peter MacNicol.
Over the past year, MacNicol could be found pulling the
unheard-of simultaneous double duty as a core cast
member in two hit primetime television series – "24" and
"Numb3rs" – and was still able to devote an afternoon
every other week to creating the voice of Dr. Otto
Octavius and his villainous flipside, Doctor Octopus (aka
Doc Ock), for the breakout animated series, "The
Spectacular Spider-Man."
Now THAT'S busy.
While Dr. Octavius has had a submissive role in the
first seven episodes of the series, Doc Ock makes his
explosive debut this Saturday, May 3 in an all-new
episode entitled "Reaction." The episode premieres at
10:00 a.m. ET/PT on Kids' WB! on The CW.
MacNicol has crafted an extremely diverse and successful
career, balancing primetime series starring roles (the
aforementioned following the likes of "Ally McBeal" and
"Chicago Hope") with numerous guest performances
("Boston Legal," "Cheers," "Tales From The Crypt"), not
to mention feature film appearances ("Ghostbusters II,"
"Sophie's Choice") and, of course, his first starring
role as Galen in the fan favorite, "Dragonslayer."
Despite
all the on-camera work, MacNicol maintains a steady flow
of voiceover roles in animated television series and
movies, as well as being very popular in the books-on-CD
arena. MacNicol's animated voiceovers cover a wide range
– from lighter series like "The Wild Thornberrys,"
"Olive, the Other Reindeer" and "Buzz Lightyear of Star
Command" to the super hero-laden "Justice League," "The
Batman" and now, "The Spectacular Spider-Man."
"Cartoon work is pure recreation for me, pure playtime,"
said MacNicol. "But 'Books-on-CD' – now that's work!
Keeping even the minor characters straight in my head,
giving each bit-part his/her/its own voice, working for
days in that airless chamber of the recording booth,
with my eyes playing tricks on me as the hours drag by,
and the pages I'm narrating, which must be noiselessly
turned, and the sheer whiteness of those pages, which
begins to create a kind of snow-blindness by
mid-afternoon.
"Once for an epic fantasy series, I had to voice
literally dozens of elves, fairies, and ogres, all of
different ages, sexes, and from many lands – with the
hill dwarves needing to sound different from the valley
dwarves. Had there been a window I would have jumped out
of it."
Still, there is joy for MacNicol within the world of
animation voiceovers. "My favorite moment on the job is
that magic instant when you've got the voice just right
and you can let go of the steering wheel and let the
character drive."
MacNicol has found great pleasure in bringing villains
to animated life – Doc Ock follows his previous
portrayals of Chronos and Manbat ("I was very proud of
the possibly-too-piercing shriek I devised for him").
For Doc Ock, MacNicol opted to channel the persona of a
classic actor far outside the reference points for most
Spidey fans.
"The
voice I chose for Dr. Octopus was something of an homage
to Laird Cregar, one of Hollywood's greatest 'heavies,'
and I do mean 'heavies,' " MacNicol explained.
"Throughout his brief 1940s career, Cregar waged a war
to the death against his own obesity, ultimately losing
too many pounds too quickly; he was barely 30 when he
died. In his two greatest movies, 'Hangover Square' and
'The Lodger,' he seemed so haunted and hulking, and I
loved that soft menacing voice of his. Still, I'm no
mimic and it was Cregar's quality rather than his voice
which gave me my model."
MacNicol admits he enjoys devouring the role of a
villain, pointing out the extreme texture the dark side
adds to any story – particularly in super hero tales.
"It's all relative – this business of hero or villain,"
MacNicol said. "After all, villains are somebody's hero
– certainly they've won the devotion of their cronies,
their parents, and perverse fans like myself who
actually prefer them over the title characters. Yep, it
would be a pretty dull universe if we didn't have Rhino,
Sandman and Doc Ock trying to destroy it."
Images and interview provided by Sony Television Entertainment.
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