December 10, 2025 • 35 mins
Want to connect with Tj & Plaideau? Send us a text message.
If you think voice acting starts with funny sounds, Gregg Berger will change your mind in five minutes. We dive into how he builds unforgettable performances by starting with character—motives, history, and choices—then lets the voice emerge as the natural consequence. From Grimlock and Mysterio to Spirit in G.I. Joe and a stellar run on Men in Black: The Series, Greg opens the door to the creative process that made those roles stick in your head and your heart.
Voiced by Brian Plaideau
Have you been injured? New Orleans based actor, Jana McCaffery, has been practicing law in Louisiana since 1999, specializing in personal injury since 2008. She takes helping others very seriously. If you have been injured, Jana is offering a free consultation AND a reduced fee for fellow members of the Lousiana film industry, and she will handle your case from start to finish. She can be reached at janamccaffery@gmail.com or 504-837-1234. Tell Her NOLA Film Scene sent you
Follow us on IG @nolafilmscene, @kodaksbykojack, and @tjsebastianofficial. Check out our 48 Hour Film Project short film Waiting for Gateaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5pFvn4cd1U . & check out our website: nolafilmscene.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:10):
I'm TJ.
And as always, I'm Play-Doh.
We are back again.
Not only did we do a live streamyesterday, we did one earlier.
TJ, that's three in less than 24hours.
I need a raise.
SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
It's in the mail.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
Wait a sec.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
Email knowing you and your team.
Anyway, what's the other thing?
SPEAKER_00 (00:29):
It's in the mail.
Yeah, it's in the email.
It's in the email.
SPEAKER_03 (00:32):
We have another great guest who's gonna join us
for CajunCon.
And you are, sir.
Me Grimlock, me Dynobot Leader.
SPEAKER_02 (00:42):
I mean, uh, it's me, Greg Berger.
How's it going?
That is so awesome.
Greg, nice to have you.
Hey, thanks.
I only go where I'm invited.
SPEAKER_03 (00:54):
We'll invite you more and more.
SPEAKER_02 (00:56):
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (00:57):
I know a few of your compatriots.
I took some voice acting lessonswith Michael Bell.
SPEAKER_02 (01:03):
An excellent choice.
SPEAKER_03 (01:04):
He's fantastic.
Who else?
I know Charlie Adler.
SPEAKER_02 (01:07):
Perfect.
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
So some of your Joes, some of your Transformers,
Rob Paulson.
Ickus Chrome.
You're late for class.
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Charlie was such a Charlie is such an Ichus.
I love Charlie Adler.
I love everybody you justmentioned.
SPEAKER_03 (01:22):
Yeah, Charlie's a force of nature.
When I took his class, it wasover Zoom, and it was in uh
October of 21.
And we had a hurricane comethrough and took our power out
in like a month before.
And I couldn't even send anemail.
I was like all nervous.
And I'm like, I don't know ifI'm gonna have power back.
Long story short, we got thepower and the cable, my wi-fi,
(01:45):
back the day of the class.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Sometimes it works out.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
And I I emailed him, I'm first in first on the Zoom.
Oh, and he goes, let me ask youa question.
When are you gonna move fromthat city?
I said, okay, Charlie, let meask you a question.
You're in California, right?
You have wildfires, earthquakes,mudslides.
SPEAKER_02 (02:09):
That we do.
SPEAKER_03 (02:11):
And he went, fair enough.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Sounds like my Charlie.
SPEAKER_03 (02:16):
Yeah.
Force of nature, wonderful guy.
SPEAKER_02 (02:19):
Yep.
SPEAKER_03 (02:21):
We were talking before we got on, folks, and
kind of the way things areworking, people we know in
common, like a harmonicconvergence.
So we did a live stream earlier.
I got off, and I know you as, ofcourse, Grimlock.
I'm a super Transformers fanback from the 80s.
But one of my other favoritecartoon series has just started
(02:43):
on Tubi.
I've waited years for it to comeon.
Men in Black, the series.
I'm overjoyed.
SPEAKER_02 (02:56):
Golden Days.
Four incredible seasons, and wefinished on a cliffhanger and
felt pretty confident we werecoming back, but it goes to show
you don't know, nobody knowsnothing.
But but man, what what writingand what a what chemistry.
It just was such a joy to do andopen each new script.
(03:18):
I thought it was a very wellwritten.
And we had uh David Warner isAlpha.
Uh it doesn't get any better.
SPEAKER_03 (03:24):
And Rob Paulson told us about David, how he put it
into his contract for Titanic.
He got to go play voices and godo anime uh freakazoid, excuse
me.
So it wasn't Rob, it was PaulRogue told us.
So that man loved what he did.
SPEAKER_02 (03:43):
You know what?
Uh it's kind of contagious.
Uh, there's so many of us thatfeel so grateful and so gifted
for for the good fortune thatthat we've been able to hold
down.
I mean, I've been tied to someiconic characters.
Uh that's why I uh tend to doreal well on the convention
circuit.
It's taken me around the world.
(04:04):
That part nobody could havepredicted.
It wasn't really a thing when wewere when we were doing it, nor
was voice chasers on the web orbehind the voice actors.
They've gone out of their way toattach faces to the voices.
And uh boy, it's it's uh I justgot back from Australia, flew
(04:25):
thousands and thousands ofmiles, and had a long line
waiting at my table when Istepped out on the floor.
It's just crazy.
The reach is global.
Uh, you don't think about thatwhen you're when you're you know
knee deep uh in scripts in astudio, but it's quite amazing
to wake up to that.
It's humbling and empowering.
SPEAKER_03 (04:47):
Very cool.
I got a little embarrassedthere.
Um and and it's I'm not, butit's that people always told me
I watched cartoons.
I was too old to watch them.
I watched them too long, and itwas like be quiet.
But that little nervousness justcame out like the bullies jumped
in my head.
But my thing was I would listento a voice and like, oh, this
person did this, this, and this.
My ear was IMDB before IMDB.
SPEAKER_01 (05:10):
That's very nice, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:12):
Not that I was perfect like IMDP, but I always
loved you know hearing yourwork.
I think you did uh was itMysterio?
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
Yes, Quentin Beck, master of special effects and
treachery.
SPEAKER_03 (05:29):
Always good, always good.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
I was Craven on the same show.
I was two Spider-Man villains inSpider-Man the Animated series.
Yeah.
Craven wants to mount Spider-Manon the wall as his trophy.
unknown (05:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
So, Greg, one of the things I like to ask voice
actors particular, were you goodat voices when you were a kid,
or was that something that youdeveloped into later on in life?
How did that work out for you?
SPEAKER_02 (05:59):
Were you It's a really cool question.
My mother used to tell me thatwhen she I would ride on the bus
with her, and I guess I wouldwas so taken with the way I
thought people were going tosound that I would engage
strangers in conversation justto see if they sounded like they
looked.
(06:19):
So I've always I mean I'm anactor, stage first, last, and
always, but my characters tendto be voice driven.
Not that they're not realized inthree dimensions, but that's
kind of a secret for those whowant to be in the industry.
They're not really castingvoices, they're casting
(06:40):
characters.
And a character who's realizedin three dimensions, you know
immediately how they sound, oryou find out in the audition
process.
Either way, you have to be sortof grounded in a character
before the voice makes anybelievable sense.
And once you're there, the goalin the audition is to surprise
(07:01):
yourself while you're surprisingthem.
Because no matter what you bringin, they're going to tinker with
it to find out how directableyou are.
Sure.
So to get, you know, and I'm allabout in life in in animation on
stage, in any pursuit, you tryto make every effort
collaborative.
So if the writer's giving you amillion clues, pay attention.
(07:24):
If the artist is giving you amillion more, pay attention.
They got there way before westep into the booth.
We're like the last in and thefirst out, and we get a
disproportionate amount of theuh, you know, adoration,
approval, pick a word.
Anyway, I like the collaborativenature of it.
(07:45):
So, yes, I've always beensmitten by by voices and what
they reveal about the people whohave them.
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
That's awesome.
And you're not the first actorthat has said that that's one of
the things that they enjoy aboutvoice work is the collaborative
nature of it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:02):
Yeah, man.
Otherwise, you know, you'remissing uh you're missing a
large percentage of theopportunity to work artist to
artist, uh, and and everybody,everybody pushes everybody to a
higher level.
SPEAKER_03 (08:18):
When you were recording in the days of
Transformers or Men in Black,any of those, was it the Andre
Romano style where everyone wasin the room, like a teleplay, or
was it like nowadays where it'ssingular?
SPEAKER_02 (08:33):
For me, in those days, I was doing Transformers
and G.I.
Joe at the same time.
Wally Burr was directing both,and he insisted that everybody
in a scene be in the room at thesame time.
He said, and I absolutely agree,that whatever it is becomes more
(08:55):
contagious when everybody'spresent.
If it's if it's saving thegalaxy, it becomes more urgent.
If it's combat and and you know,G.I.
Joe kind of reality, thatbecomes, you know what I'm
saying, more contagious, moreenergetic, more more bonded.
At the same time, I was doingGarfield and Friends, and
(09:18):
everybody recorded ensemble atthe same time in the same
studio.
That becomes contagiously sillyand stupid and fun, but it also,
you know, it builds chemistrybetween characters.
In interactive gaming and morerecent animation, it's become
the exception rather than therule.
(09:38):
It you tend to record isolatedwith the relationship between
you and the director on theother side of the glass.
We see each other, but not theway we did in the golden days.
Have made friends for lifebecause we were spending as many
hours in the studio, in thegreen room, in the parking lot,
(10:00):
as we were, you know, with ourfamilies when we when we left.
There was there was time toreally get to know each other,
and I bumped into those samepeople through the course of my
career, you know.
Friends for life, but we seeeach other in studios like
regular, regular, because G.I.
Joe and Transformers inparticular, I think the casting
(10:24):
launched a lot of careers, notjust the gig, not just the
series, but people who hadthankfully, like me, uh, careers
for a lifetime.
A lot of versatility in theroom.
SPEAKER_03 (10:36):
And I I think it's when we talk to me as Rob
Paulson, but the energy is likea stage show.
Totally.
Life and live.
SPEAKER_02 (10:47):
I don't know if you know the actor.
My brain.
Um, never mind.
We'll go back to that.
SPEAKER_03 (10:54):
Yeah, not a problem.
When it pops in, just interruptwith it.
SPEAKER_02 (10:57):
Oh my god, it just was like a total brain lapse.
SPEAKER_03 (11:01):
I have that all the time.
I call it picture of the cardriving down the highway, and
then you hit a speed bump, andall four wheels are off the
ground, and you can't get anytrack.
Start spinning faster andfaster.
Oh my god, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (11:12):
So that's what just happened.
On we go live, you know.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (11:20):
I talk myself out of a question.
We're both doing it.
Yeah, it's like, uh, what do Isay now?
Oh my god, that's it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:27):
So let's cut to a record and we'll oh no, this
it's not radio.
SPEAKER_03 (11:33):
We're back.
SPEAKER_01 (11:33):
TJ, jump in and save me at any point.
I'm liking watching you floundera little bit.
SPEAKER_03 (11:38):
So I I I I think my personality might be a little
bit bigger than TJ's, but indifferent ways.
Like he's a little moreintroverted and great with tech
and you know, and quiet, butwhen he comes with that stuff,
it's cutting, it's different.
SPEAKER_02 (11:51):
I think you're you compliment each other
beautifully.
SPEAKER_03 (11:54):
Thanks.
I I I just I think he gets madwhen I talk a lot.
No, I actually I I I don't I gotyou.
I'm just I'm just trying torecover, TJ.
Thanks for going on with a bitthat bit.
I got you.
Yeah, yeah.
I can't follow you, Brian.
You're an idiot.
Wait, that's what my wife says.
Never mind.
Never mind.
So let's let's switch to cons.
(12:16):
I'm sorry if I've got somebuzzing going on.
(12:57):
I can't mute at this point, TJ.
It's trying to reconnect eventhough I'm connected, so I'm not
touching anything.
Pardon me to the audio gods.
SPEAKER_02 (13:05):
Frank Welker used to have the ability to make it
sound like the whole studio wasarcing.
People would dive for cover.
SPEAKER_03 (13:11):
I I was lucky.
SPEAKER_02 (13:12):
Then he then he turned to me and said, Well, it
was this or college.
He went to college.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
Yeah, I met him and Peter on a GalaxyCon live call.
SPEAKER_00 (13:21):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03 (13:22):
And I I made him laugh.
I had both the auto-buttonDecepticon symbols, they were
silver, and you know, they takea picture for your video.
And I held them up here and theycracked up.
Which perfect that's my goal inthe life is to make people
laugh.
So I was very happy for that.
Let's switch to cons since we'rehere promoting Cajun Con,
December 6th and 7th, LamarCenter, Gonzalez, Louisiana.
(13:45):
And you kind of said they had afew comic conventions back in
the day in the 70s stuff, but itexploded so much more, you know,
in this millennium.
Let's explore that for.
What were your thoughts when itfirst started?
A favorite story from it?
Anything along those lines tosave me from talking?
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
I kind of became aware of the reach of the
convention phenomenon at a botcon.
It was me and Michael Bell, whoyou mentioned, and John
Stevenson, all fromTransformers.
It was a bot con.
It was my first bot con.
And we were tired from travel,and we walked into the lobby of
(14:22):
the hotel, and we might as wellhave been the Rolling Stones.
It was it was rock startreatment from the minute we
walked in.
We were surrounded by people.
It had been some years since I'dbeen involved with the
franchise, and I was kind of notaware of the twists and turns
that the storyline and evenincarnations of Transformers had
(14:45):
taken.
People enveloped us.
Uh, we checked in, and it was, Imean, it was kind of sensory
overload.
There was so much love coming atus that none of us were prepared
for it.
We uh we checked in, and thethree of us were kind of
sticking to each other.
We got our room keys, we got onthe elevator, and before the
(15:06):
elevator doors closed, therewere probably 40 people in the
elevator, all uh just kind ofthrowing love and interest and
stuff at us, and in fact, beingincredibly informative about how
G1 had almost a demigod statusfor them, and so I started doing
(15:28):
homework, you know.
I wanted to know more about howeverything fit together, and
they were throwing around theword realignment, and
generations were existing andcoexisting and coming around and
and coming back, and anyway, itopened my eyes not only to
(15:48):
fandom as sort of the invisiblemember of the ensemble, but just
the fact that that I wanted torefresh my mind on the story
because I knew there would bequestions about it.
So, anyway, I think Irededicated myself to to sort of
watching the episodes and the 86feature and reacquainting myself
(16:13):
with which with what I alreadyknew so well.
But but since then, I I I'veliterally been around the world.
I just got back from two showsin Australia, I do shows in the
UK, I have more upcoming, butit's just a mind blower.
Uh earlier I used the wordshumbling and empowering.
(16:35):
It's both of those things, youknow.
You don't want to beat yourchest too hard because you're
you're just trying to exceedexpectation when you walk into
the studio.
But these are all things I couldnever have foreseen, and it's
just a real sort of fringebenefit that I didn't know that
I was creating over the let'ssay decades, because it's been
(16:59):
decades.
But there are so many people asfamiliar with my work as I am
that it it blows my freakingmind.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
And when G1 was pre-internet, so you've seen
ratings, and you know, you hadyour salary, so you know you
were accepting and you had thenext season, but you didn't have
that interaction.
And we talked with BillySlaughter, he's our friend.
SPEAKER_02 (17:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:24):
I'll introduce you to him at the con.
Or T.
All right.
And he's he's been in MayfairWitches, Twisted Metal, you
know, so he's he's our SAG vicepresident.
Uh huh.
You know what I mean?
So just to get his credentials,and just he talked about that
community building, that faninteraction where he has touched
someone's lives and then theytouch his at the cons, which not
(17:47):
only does everybody a goodboost, but it also, as actors,
will get us through the leantimes.
SPEAKER_02 (17:52):
More than you can possibly imagine.
We don't know what the things wedo mean to the people who
embrace them.
And it and it is sometimesheartbreaking.
It's like for me, everything'sin opposites.
It's it's heartbreaking and itand it's heart uh filling at the
same time.
It's beautiful and uh they'resharing hard memories and what
(18:15):
having those shows to cling tomeant to them.
And I just every time I hear it,I it it it um it never loses its
impact.
It's great, it's great.
SPEAKER_03 (18:27):
Yeah.
Have have you had any I'm surethere have been bad things at
cons, but anything where peopleI don't even almost re regret
asking the question.
There's always gonna be badapples, but let's let's change
that.
Let's let's be positive like welike to be.
Can you think of one of yourfavorite, one of the most
positive experiences you hadwith a fan?
(18:48):
And if you can't, I'll move on.
SPEAKER_02 (18:50):
I'll give you a good one.
SPEAKER_03 (18:51):
Cool.
SPEAKER_02 (18:53):
I I was tasked with spirit, the Native American
member of the G.I.
Joe, who who says possibilityand impossibility are states of
mind.
In my mind, there is only thepossible, that which can be
done.
And I tried to bring to him, I'mnot Native American.
My wife's my wife's family is,but that wasn't significant.
(19:18):
I tried to, I mean, it's verysignificant, but I I couldn't
claim that as my own.
So I tried to invest Spirit, whohas this epic uh battle over
seasons with Storm Shadow andtheir their respected
adversaries and and esteemedopponents.
(19:38):
Anyway, I was at a conventionand someone came to my table and
introduced himself as NavajoNation.
And I said, I know where this isgoing, thinking that he was
going to talk about diversityand casting, which I approve of,
I endorse.
But he said he said, That's notwhy I'm here.
He said, I grew up feelinginvisible.
(20:00):
And when Spirit appeared oncamera, and all of the traits
that you gave him made me feelseen, made me I said, get over
here and give me a hug.
And wow, you just made my day,my week, and my month.
So things like that are justvery, very powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (20:20):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (20:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (20:21):
And you had a respect for the character and
and his I want to say history,because I guess that's the right
way to put it.
SPEAKER_02 (20:28):
Well, like I was saying about three
dimensionality, you you you lookfor traits and you look for
backstory, which sometimes youhave to write for yourself, but
you try and present a wholeperson or a whole character
rather than just, you know, avoice or a silly voice.
Voice or an intense voice or adeep voice, whatever it is, um,
(20:50):
it has to be tied to somethingor it's just floating in space
and it's kind of meaningless.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Right.
And I agree with you ondiversity.
People should be given thechance.
And of course.
If if I had to do something likethat, to be to be respectful and
not be do a stereotype.
That's correct.
You know, I'm admiring your theway you handled it, and I'm
fumbling away to say it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:17):
That's all right.
You know, there was much moreversatility in casting.
They would the they wereentitled to three voices.
So those of us who who wereversatile tended to be
considered for lots of rolesoutside of the initial ones that
we auditioned for.
Anyway, I I I I'm proud of it.
(21:39):
I'm proud of what I did, andthat moment was like a payoff
decades later.
Big payoff.
SPEAKER_03 (21:46):
Exactly.
I didn't see any.
I did a little re IMDB researchon it.
Did you have any live actionexperience?
SPEAKER_02 (21:53):
Well, heck yes.
SPEAKER_03 (21:54):
I was sure you did, I just don't know.
SPEAKER_02 (21:56):
I did a lot of episodic TV in the 80s.
I co-starred in a just abig-hearted movie called Spaced
Invaders, which still runs mostHalloweens.
SPEAKER_03 (22:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
That was uh about the night that the Martians land
in Big Bean, Illinois.
And I'm I'm Steve W.
Klembegger, the president of theFarmers Trust of Big Bean.
So we we we do uh we do bumpinto each other and hilarity
ensues.
It's a really sweet movie.
Um I did I spent four months inRussia in and around Moscow
(22:34):
doing police academy.
I'm Yuri Tolinsky from Russianpolice, yeah, man.
unknown (22:40):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:42):
And we were there during the attempted overthrow
of the Russian government, sowe're trying to do slapstick
comedy, and things got extremelynervous for a while until they
settled down.
Yeah.
Um, and lots of I did pilots forCBS.
Anyway, I yeah, there's anextensive on-camera career.
It's just animation so becamethe sweet spot that I think it's
(23:06):
kind of wise when your directionis trying to find you to let it,
you know.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (23:13):
Police Academy, I knew there was one that I was
that was awesome.
I you were great in that one.
SPEAKER_01 (23:18):
So talk to me, talk to me about that.
The preparing an accent likethat, a Russian accent, what did
you do to to prep that?
That's something accents issomething that is not a strong
point for me.
I had to do one where I had anIrish accent and I worked on it
(23:39):
and worked on it.
It it didn't have to be perfectbecause my character was playing
somebody that was playingsomebody that was Irish.
So I would so i I had a littlebit of grace there, I think.
Yeah, that's a buys you out.
But staying staying in itconsistently is a a challenge to
me.
SPEAKER_02 (23:59):
Well, my story begins at the audition.
I had been, you know, I I'mfessled with uh with dialect,
but it was all in the material,and I find what I need to find.
So I read and they laughed, andAlan Metter, the director, said,
What am I gonna do with you?
I said, Why?
(24:20):
And he said, Everybody lovesyou.
He said, But what am I gonnatell that lobby full of Russian
actors who were waiting to comein?
And I said, please tell themthat my ancestry is is full
Russian.
Both sides of my familyemigrated uh at great personal
expense so that I could be bornin a free country.
(24:41):
I don't take that, you know, Idon't take that lightly.
But I said, I said, it's it's Icome by it honestly and I come
to it honestly.
And it he said that's uh that'sa really appropriate answer, and
that we can use.
So when I was there, and theRussian crew who discovered that
(25:02):
I was full Russian, and none ofmy family had returned to that
soil since 1918, um they theyembraced me.
They said, Here, your name isGrisha, from now on the year
Grisha.
I said, That's good for me.
Um I just I had you know, I hearabout Irish people, English
(25:25):
people who find the family crestor pub or you know, the roots,
and I I had that experience formyself there and and felt very,
very looked after.
Because kind of fine found my myhistory.
Well, you know, the movie issilly and the movie is fun and
(25:45):
the movie is good times, but Ihad this personal experience
that I wouldn't trade foranything.
Talk about community.
SPEAKER_01 (25:53):
Hey, you asked.
That's community, that'sawesome.
Thanks.
SPEAKER_03 (25:58):
Yeah, I think that's our overall overarching theme of
cons.
SPEAKER_02 (26:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:03):
Finding your tribe, finding community.
SPEAKER_02 (26:06):
Cool.
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (26:08):
And in the acting community too.
I started in 2019 in background.
TJ's a little bit after me.
And then same.
And we've done 48-hour films ifyou're familiar with that
contest.
Huh?
Yep.
Short films, independent films.
We haven't hit our sag strideyet, but we're trying.
Making those connections withthose people, just like at the
cons, it's not that we're alljust trying to do a job, but
(26:31):
it's finding that art form.
SPEAKER_02 (26:33):
Well, you know, I said these words earlier.
I it doesn't matter whetheryou're gainfully employed or or
doing as well as you think, orworking with who you think you
should be working.
None of it matters.
What matters is on every levelexceeding expectation.
You know, you have to be willingto work harder, stay longer,
(26:53):
whatever it takes, you know,most of that work, it's like
there's a meme of an icebergwith a tiny piece of ice above
the surface and this gianticeberg below the surface.
And it's a the below says, youknow, preparation, and the above
says performance.
So, you know, just being ableand being encouraged to create
(27:16):
art of any kind is a reallyto-be desired status.
You know, it makes us fortunatefrom the get-go because you're
doing doing what you want to do.
And in in whether it's 48-houror whatever, which is an
incredible grind and pressure,but I'm sure you learned
semesters worth just bysurviving that experience and
(27:39):
getting it done.
I think that's that's what thewhole thing is about.
If you if you want the entireexperience of being an artist,
if you want to create, thencreate.
We have we have a poster whichis not hanging currently.
I have to go find it.
It says go to your studio andcreate something.
SPEAKER_03 (27:58):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (27:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:01):
Very cool.
SPEAKER_02 (28:02):
Or sit, you know, or sit and twiddle your thumbs, and
that's how you get old.
That's a fact.
It's not when you're moving,it's when you stop moving.
That's when it gets that's you.
SPEAKER_03 (28:14):
Oh, sorry, I thought you were saying something.
SPEAKER_01 (28:16):
Did have I thought I did think of a question.
Since the shutdown with COVIDand distancing and all that, how
much of an impact did that haveon you with voice work?
Did you did you have to shiftand start doing remote
recordings from home?
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
Yeah, totally insane change.
I mean, we were all trying tofind new solutions to a problem
that nobody anticipated.
Not only remote, but uh you hadto get your setup improved
because if it was coming from aremote location, you wanted it
to be consistent with whateversubmissions were being heard
(28:59):
before and after it.
You know, you want consistencyso that increases the level of
the relationship between you andthe agent, and the because
you're still submittingprimarily through your agent.
Um, you want them to tell you ifit's swaying from the
consistency that they need.
(29:20):
So we all became betterengineers.
I'm I'm using the word better,not great.
I know just enough buttons topush to go to compress files and
send them so they open soundingdecent.
Don't ask me to press one morebutton because I'm lost.
Studios, there there is a verywell-known animation studio in
(29:42):
LA.
You would be instructed to parkin space D, which was directly
next to a door.
You go through the door andyou're on you're on mic.
You basically you walk throughthe door into the microphone.
This was it became important forstudios to assure their clients
that everything would behappening in a safe environment.
(30:06):
So you finish recording, uh, yousee everybody through the glass
and wave like you're like you'reactually hanging out, but you're
you're isolated, and then you'reinstructed to go back through
the door, pull your car out asquickly as possible from space D
because that's where the nexttalent needs to park and was
probably waiting for you to pullout.
(30:27):
You know, we we all, I mean, andgood for us, we look for for new
answers to unexpected problems,and we all we we uh Which opened
the door for us to talk topeople like you.
SPEAKER_03 (30:42):
So there's always something good gonna come out of
something bad.
SPEAKER_02 (30:46):
TJ, you told me you shaved last week.
That's really impressive.
I'm right.
Wow.
That's that's some beard.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_03 (30:54):
Our first episode with was with our friend Hick
Sherimi, and they both havebeards like that.
And I I'm a little long becauseI'm playing a Cajun Wizard, a
Cajun Jedi this coming Friday.
But I was like, um I got nobeard.
So bottle the beards for twoyears, and we're gonna go to our
two-year anniversary.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
I had a I had a decent one in the in the 60s.
How old am I?
SPEAKER_03 (31:20):
We'll never tell.
SPEAKER_02 (31:21):
Nah, why?
But that I mean, in in the voiceworld, you're any age, the only
limitations are the ones you puton yourself.
You can be any age, any species,any, you know, any uh any
creature, any animal.
Nothing you don't you don'tnecessarily age unless you allow
(31:43):
yourself to.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:45):
Yeah.
And your voice is smooth likebutter.
Thanks, ma'am.
Pass me a slice.
Do you do you have a routine?
Do you have hot honey, hot teawith honey every day, or is it
just natural for you?
SPEAKER_02 (31:58):
I used to do a lot of vocalizing and a lot of care,
and I I still am very economicalwith my voice, especially if if
I have a session tomorrow ateight, I'm not gonna be the last
one to leave the lounge.
I'm not gonna tell the moststories, I'm not gonna laugh the
hardest, and I'm just gonna takecare of myself because that's my
(32:22):
instrument.
But there's that thing aboutanybody is 10,000 hours from
mastery of anything.
So, by that theory, by MalcolmGladwell, I can sort of pick up
the instrument and play it.
If you need it, I can do it.
But I I'm I'm protective.
Why wouldn't you be protectiveof the thing that you're hanging
(32:44):
your career on, you know?
SPEAKER_03 (32:47):
You'd be surprised at how much.
SPEAKER_02 (32:48):
Well, yeah, no, there's some people that say if
you really want to work in thistown, start drinking and smoking
and gargling razor blades.
SPEAKER_03 (32:56):
So what you're saying is your voice is the
Keith Richards of animation.
Why, thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:02):
Yes.
Sitting in a date taking eitherway.
Yeah, sitting in a date palm uhtree waiting for the next
session.
SPEAKER_03 (33:09):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (33:10):
Or to fall.
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
Yes, that's right.
SPEAKER_03 (33:14):
I thought you were talking about autumn, and I'm
like, duh.
Have you been to New Orleansbefore?
SPEAKER_02 (33:21):
Yeah, it was some time ago, and it was actually I
was doing a show called Duckman,where I'm corn fed pig and I
have to keep the duck out oftrouble.
So that was on USA Network whenit first appeared.
SPEAKER_03 (33:33):
I loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:34):
Why it's not on Adult Swim or some late night
format, I really don't know.
It's outside my control.
But they're they were doing thenetworks do upfronts for their
upcoming season to to get theiradvertisers enthused and anybody
else at the network enthused.
Well, this was the equivalent ofthat, and it was held in New
(33:56):
Orleans, and I went with mywife, and it was I feel like it
was just five minutes after thejazz festival had concluded,
because there were there weremusicians of note on the streets
just playing because that's whatthey do, and so it was kind of
an enchanted stay.
(34:17):
Uh the streets of New Orleanswere like were were like
Disneyland, but it was notDisneyland.
It was just it was just playersplayers being players.
SPEAKER_03 (34:28):
Yeah, back in the back in the 80s, it was not
Disneyland.
No, it was closer to TimesSquare.
SPEAKER_02 (34:36):
I j yeah, I'm just I'm just saying it was it was an
enchanted weekend, long weekend.
But yeah, beautiful, beautiful,beautiful.
Can't wait to go back and likeyou mentioned, Cajun Khan is
coming up quick.
SPEAKER_03 (34:49):
Yep, three weeks away.
You're gonna be closer to BatonRouge than New Orleans, but
we're still gonna get you somegreat food.
Works for me.
We're not gonna feed TJ though,yeah.
That's it.
SPEAKER_01 (35:01):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:02):
Don't want to say this, TJ.
I think we're done.
I think we're out of time.
SPEAKER_02 (35:08):
Yeah.
Well, we met we met as strangersand we leave as friends.
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:14):
And you'll see on my feeds, I love taking selfies.
So we are taking plenty ofpictures at CajunCon.
SPEAKER_02 (35:20):
All right, cool.
I I look forward to seeing youthere.
I look forward to seeingeverybody there.
SPEAKER_00 (35:25):
Looking forward to I'm looking forward to meeting
you.
SPEAKER_03 (35:28):
First, Cajun Con.
We're gonna blow the doors off.
See you there, folks.
SPEAKER_02 (35:32):
Okay, see you there, folks.
Leave the leave the doors onuntil I get there.
SPEAKER_03 (35:36):
Oh, okay, cool.
SPEAKER_02 (35:37):
Thanks again, guys.
SPEAKER_03 (35:38):
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (35:39):
Appreciate it.
I'm TJ.
And as always, I'm Play-Doh.
We are back again.
Not only did we do a live streamyesterday, we did one earlier.
TJ, that's three in less than 24hours.
I need a raise.
SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
It's in the mail.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
Wait a sec.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
Email knowing you and your team.
Anyway, what's the other thing?
SPEAKER_00 (00:29):
It's in the mail.
Yeah, it's in the email.
It's in the email.
SPEAKER_03 (00:32):
We have another great guest who's gonna join us
for CajunCon.
And you are, sir.
Me Grimlock, me Dynobot Leader.
SPEAKER_02 (00:42):
I mean, uh, it's me, Greg Berger.
How's it going?
That is so awesome.
Greg, nice to have you.
Hey, thanks.
I only go where I'm invited.
SPEAKER_03 (00:54):
We'll invite you more and more.
SPEAKER_02 (00:56):
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (00:57):
I know a few of your compatriots.
I took some voice acting lessonswith Michael Bell.
SPEAKER_02 (01:03):
An excellent choice.
SPEAKER_03 (01:04):
He's fantastic.
Who else?
I know Charlie Adler.
SPEAKER_02 (01:07):
Perfect.
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
So some of your Joes, some of your Transformers,
Rob Paulson.
Ickus Chrome.
You're late for class.
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Charlie was such a Charlie is such an Ichus.
I love Charlie Adler.
I love everybody you justmentioned.
SPEAKER_03 (01:22):
Yeah, Charlie's a force of nature.
When I took his class, it wasover Zoom, and it was in uh
October of 21.
And we had a hurricane comethrough and took our power out
in like a month before.
And I couldn't even send anemail.
I was like all nervous.
And I'm like, I don't know ifI'm gonna have power back.
Long story short, we got thepower and the cable, my wi-fi,
(01:45):
back the day of the class.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Sometimes it works out.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
And I I emailed him, I'm first in first on the Zoom.
Oh, and he goes, let me ask youa question.
When are you gonna move fromthat city?
I said, okay, Charlie, let meask you a question.
You're in California, right?
You have wildfires, earthquakes,mudslides.
SPEAKER_02 (02:09):
That we do.
SPEAKER_03 (02:11):
And he went, fair enough.
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Sounds like my Charlie.
SPEAKER_03 (02:16):
Yeah.
Force of nature, wonderful guy.
SPEAKER_02 (02:19):
Yep.
SPEAKER_03 (02:21):
We were talking before we got on, folks, and
kind of the way things areworking, people we know in
common, like a harmonicconvergence.
So we did a live stream earlier.
I got off, and I know you as, ofcourse, Grimlock.
I'm a super Transformers fanback from the 80s.
But one of my other favoritecartoon series has just started
(02:43):
on Tubi.
I've waited years for it to comeon.
Men in Black, the series.
I'm overjoyed.
SPEAKER_02 (02:56):
Golden Days.
Four incredible seasons, and wefinished on a cliffhanger and
felt pretty confident we werecoming back, but it goes to show
you don't know, nobody knowsnothing.
But but man, what what writingand what a what chemistry.
It just was such a joy to do andopen each new script.
(03:18):
I thought it was a very wellwritten.
And we had uh David Warner isAlpha.
Uh it doesn't get any better.
SPEAKER_03 (03:24):
And Rob Paulson told us about David, how he put it
into his contract for Titanic.
He got to go play voices and godo anime uh freakazoid, excuse
me.
So it wasn't Rob, it was PaulRogue told us.
So that man loved what he did.
SPEAKER_02 (03:43):
You know what?
Uh it's kind of contagious.
Uh, there's so many of us thatfeel so grateful and so gifted
for for the good fortune thatthat we've been able to hold
down.
I mean, I've been tied to someiconic characters.
Uh that's why I uh tend to doreal well on the convention
circuit.
It's taken me around the world.
(04:04):
That part nobody could havepredicted.
It wasn't really a thing when wewere when we were doing it, nor
was voice chasers on the web orbehind the voice actors.
They've gone out of their way toattach faces to the voices.
And uh boy, it's it's uh I justgot back from Australia, flew
(04:25):
thousands and thousands ofmiles, and had a long line
waiting at my table when Istepped out on the floor.
It's just crazy.
The reach is global.
Uh, you don't think about thatwhen you're when you're you know
knee deep uh in scripts in astudio, but it's quite amazing
to wake up to that.
It's humbling and empowering.
SPEAKER_03 (04:47):
Very cool.
I got a little embarrassedthere.
Um and and it's I'm not, butit's that people always told me
I watched cartoons.
I was too old to watch them.
I watched them too long, and itwas like be quiet.
But that little nervousness justcame out like the bullies jumped
in my head.
But my thing was I would listento a voice and like, oh, this
person did this, this, and this.
My ear was IMDB before IMDB.
SPEAKER_01 (05:10):
That's very nice, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:12):
Not that I was perfect like IMDP, but I always
loved you know hearing yourwork.
I think you did uh was itMysterio?
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
Yes, Quentin Beck, master of special effects and
treachery.
SPEAKER_03 (05:29):
Always good, always good.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
I was Craven on the same show.
I was two Spider-Man villains inSpider-Man the Animated series.
Yeah.
Craven wants to mount Spider-Manon the wall as his trophy.
unknown (05:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
So, Greg, one of the things I like to ask voice
actors particular, were you goodat voices when you were a kid,
or was that something that youdeveloped into later on in life?
How did that work out for you?
SPEAKER_02 (05:59):
Were you It's a really cool question.
My mother used to tell me thatwhen she I would ride on the bus
with her, and I guess I wouldwas so taken with the way I
thought people were going tosound that I would engage
strangers in conversation justto see if they sounded like they
looked.
(06:19):
So I've always I mean I'm anactor, stage first, last, and
always, but my characters tendto be voice driven.
Not that they're not realized inthree dimensions, but that's
kind of a secret for those whowant to be in the industry.
They're not really castingvoices, they're casting
(06:40):
characters.
And a character who's realizedin three dimensions, you know
immediately how they sound, oryou find out in the audition
process.
Either way, you have to be sortof grounded in a character
before the voice makes anybelievable sense.
And once you're there, the goalin the audition is to surprise
(07:01):
yourself while you're surprisingthem.
Because no matter what you bringin, they're going to tinker with
it to find out how directableyou are.
Sure.
So to get, you know, and I'm allabout in life in in animation on
stage, in any pursuit, you tryto make every effort
collaborative.
So if the writer's giving you amillion clues, pay attention.
(07:24):
If the artist is giving you amillion more, pay attention.
They got there way before westep into the booth.
We're like the last in and thefirst out, and we get a
disproportionate amount of theuh, you know, adoration,
approval, pick a word.
Anyway, I like the collaborativenature of it.
(07:45):
So, yes, I've always beensmitten by by voices and what
they reveal about the people whohave them.
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
That's awesome.
And you're not the first actorthat has said that that's one of
the things that they enjoy aboutvoice work is the collaborative
nature of it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:02):
Yeah, man.
Otherwise, you know, you'remissing uh you're missing a
large percentage of theopportunity to work artist to
artist, uh, and and everybody,everybody pushes everybody to a
higher level.
SPEAKER_03 (08:18):
When you were recording in the days of
Transformers or Men in Black,any of those, was it the Andre
Romano style where everyone wasin the room, like a teleplay, or
was it like nowadays where it'ssingular?
SPEAKER_02 (08:33):
For me, in those days, I was doing Transformers
and G.I.
Joe at the same time.
Wally Burr was directing both,and he insisted that everybody
in a scene be in the room at thesame time.
He said, and I absolutely agree,that whatever it is becomes more
(08:55):
contagious when everybody'spresent.
If it's if it's saving thegalaxy, it becomes more urgent.
If it's combat and and you know,G.I.
Joe kind of reality, thatbecomes, you know what I'm
saying, more contagious, moreenergetic, more more bonded.
At the same time, I was doingGarfield and Friends, and
(09:18):
everybody recorded ensemble atthe same time in the same
studio.
That becomes contagiously sillyand stupid and fun, but it also,
you know, it builds chemistrybetween characters.
In interactive gaming and morerecent animation, it's become
the exception rather than therule.
(09:38):
It you tend to record isolatedwith the relationship between
you and the director on theother side of the glass.
We see each other, but not theway we did in the golden days.
Have made friends for lifebecause we were spending as many
hours in the studio, in thegreen room, in the parking lot,
(10:00):
as we were, you know, with ourfamilies when we when we left.
There was there was time toreally get to know each other,
and I bumped into those samepeople through the course of my
career, you know.
Friends for life, but we seeeach other in studios like
regular, regular, because G.I.
Joe and Transformers inparticular, I think the casting
(10:24):
launched a lot of careers, notjust the gig, not just the
series, but people who hadthankfully, like me, uh, careers
for a lifetime.
A lot of versatility in theroom.
SPEAKER_03 (10:36):
And I I think it's when we talk to me as Rob
Paulson, but the energy is likea stage show.
Totally.
Life and live.
SPEAKER_02 (10:47):
I don't know if you know the actor.
My brain.
Um, never mind.
We'll go back to that.
SPEAKER_03 (10:54):
Yeah, not a problem.
When it pops in, just interruptwith it.
SPEAKER_02 (10:57):
Oh my god, it just was like a total brain lapse.
SPEAKER_03 (11:01):
I have that all the time.
I call it picture of the cardriving down the highway, and
then you hit a speed bump, andall four wheels are off the
ground, and you can't get anytrack.
Start spinning faster andfaster.
Oh my god, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (11:12):
So that's what just happened.
On we go live, you know.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (11:20):
I talk myself out of a question.
We're both doing it.
Yeah, it's like, uh, what do Isay now?
Oh my god, that's it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:27):
So let's cut to a record and we'll oh no, this
it's not radio.
SPEAKER_03 (11:33):
We're back.
SPEAKER_01 (11:33):
TJ, jump in and save me at any point.
I'm liking watching you floundera little bit.
SPEAKER_03 (11:38):
So I I I I think my personality might be a little
bit bigger than TJ's, but indifferent ways.
Like he's a little moreintroverted and great with tech
and you know, and quiet, butwhen he comes with that stuff,
it's cutting, it's different.
SPEAKER_02 (11:51):
I think you're you compliment each other
beautifully.
SPEAKER_03 (11:54):
Thanks.
I I I just I think he gets madwhen I talk a lot.
No, I actually I I I don't I gotyou.
I'm just I'm just trying torecover, TJ.
Thanks for going on with a bitthat bit.
I got you.
Yeah, yeah.
I can't follow you, Brian.
You're an idiot.
Wait, that's what my wife says.
Never mind.
Never mind.
So let's let's switch to cons.
(12:16):
I'm sorry if I've got somebuzzing going on.
(12:57):
I can't mute at this point, TJ.
It's trying to reconnect eventhough I'm connected, so I'm not
touching anything.
Pardon me to the audio gods.
SPEAKER_02 (13:05):
Frank Welker used to have the ability to make it
sound like the whole studio wasarcing.
People would dive for cover.
SPEAKER_03 (13:11):
I I was lucky.
SPEAKER_02 (13:12):
Then he then he turned to me and said, Well, it
was this or college.
He went to college.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
Yeah, I met him and Peter on a GalaxyCon live call.
SPEAKER_00 (13:21):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03 (13:22):
And I I made him laugh.
I had both the auto-buttonDecepticon symbols, they were
silver, and you know, they takea picture for your video.
And I held them up here and theycracked up.
Which perfect that's my goal inthe life is to make people
laugh.
So I was very happy for that.
Let's switch to cons since we'rehere promoting Cajun Con,
December 6th and 7th, LamarCenter, Gonzalez, Louisiana.
(13:45):
And you kind of said they had afew comic conventions back in
the day in the 70s stuff, but itexploded so much more, you know,
in this millennium.
Let's explore that for.
What were your thoughts when itfirst started?
A favorite story from it?
Anything along those lines tosave me from talking?
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
I kind of became aware of the reach of the
convention phenomenon at a botcon.
It was me and Michael Bell, whoyou mentioned, and John
Stevenson, all fromTransformers.
It was a bot con.
It was my first bot con.
And we were tired from travel,and we walked into the lobby of
(14:22):
the hotel, and we might as wellhave been the Rolling Stones.
It was it was rock startreatment from the minute we
walked in.
We were surrounded by people.
It had been some years since I'dbeen involved with the
franchise, and I was kind of notaware of the twists and turns
that the storyline and evenincarnations of Transformers had
(14:45):
taken.
People enveloped us.
Uh, we checked in, and it was, Imean, it was kind of sensory
overload.
There was so much love coming atus that none of us were prepared
for it.
We uh we checked in, and thethree of us were kind of
sticking to each other.
We got our room keys, we got onthe elevator, and before the
(15:06):
elevator doors closed, therewere probably 40 people in the
elevator, all uh just kind ofthrowing love and interest and
stuff at us, and in fact, beingincredibly informative about how
G1 had almost a demigod statusfor them, and so I started doing
(15:28):
homework, you know.
I wanted to know more about howeverything fit together, and
they were throwing around theword realignment, and
generations were existing andcoexisting and coming around and
and coming back, and anyway, itopened my eyes not only to
(15:48):
fandom as sort of the invisiblemember of the ensemble, but just
the fact that that I wanted torefresh my mind on the story
because I knew there would bequestions about it.
So, anyway, I think Irededicated myself to to sort of
watching the episodes and the 86feature and reacquainting myself
(16:13):
with which with what I alreadyknew so well.
But but since then, I I I'veliterally been around the world.
I just got back from two showsin Australia, I do shows in the
UK, I have more upcoming, butit's just a mind blower.
Uh earlier I used the wordshumbling and empowering.
(16:35):
It's both of those things, youknow.
You don't want to beat yourchest too hard because you're
you're just trying to exceedexpectation when you walk into
the studio.
But these are all things I couldnever have foreseen, and it's
just a real sort of fringebenefit that I didn't know that
I was creating over the let'ssay decades, because it's been
(16:59):
decades.
But there are so many people asfamiliar with my work as I am
that it it blows my freakingmind.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
And when G1 was pre-internet, so you've seen
ratings, and you know, you hadyour salary, so you know you
were accepting and you had thenext season, but you didn't have
that interaction.
And we talked with BillySlaughter, he's our friend.
SPEAKER_02 (17:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:24):
I'll introduce you to him at the con.
Or T.
All right.
And he's he's been in MayfairWitches, Twisted Metal, you
know, so he's he's our SAG vicepresident.
Uh huh.
You know what I mean?
So just to get his credentials,and just he talked about that
community building, that faninteraction where he has touched
someone's lives and then theytouch his at the cons, which not
(17:47):
only does everybody a goodboost, but it also, as actors,
will get us through the leantimes.
SPEAKER_02 (17:52):
More than you can possibly imagine.
We don't know what the things wedo mean to the people who
embrace them.
And it and it is sometimesheartbreaking.
It's like for me, everything'sin opposites.
It's it's heartbreaking and itand it's heart uh filling at the
same time.
It's beautiful and uh they'resharing hard memories and what
(18:15):
having those shows to cling tomeant to them.
And I just every time I hear it,I it it it um it never loses its
impact.
It's great, it's great.
SPEAKER_03 (18:27):
Yeah.
Have have you had any I'm surethere have been bad things at
cons, but anything where peopleI don't even almost re regret
asking the question.
There's always gonna be badapples, but let's let's change
that.
Let's let's be positive like welike to be.
Can you think of one of yourfavorite, one of the most
positive experiences you hadwith a fan?
(18:48):
And if you can't, I'll move on.
SPEAKER_02 (18:50):
I'll give you a good one.
SPEAKER_03 (18:51):
Cool.
SPEAKER_02 (18:53):
I I was tasked with spirit, the Native American
member of the G.I.
Joe, who who says possibilityand impossibility are states of
mind.
In my mind, there is only thepossible, that which can be
done.
And I tried to bring to him, I'mnot Native American.
My wife's my wife's family is,but that wasn't significant.
(19:18):
I tried to, I mean, it's verysignificant, but I I couldn't
claim that as my own.
So I tried to invest Spirit, whohas this epic uh battle over
seasons with Storm Shadow andtheir their respected
adversaries and and esteemedopponents.
(19:38):
Anyway, I was at a conventionand someone came to my table and
introduced himself as NavajoNation.
And I said, I know where this isgoing, thinking that he was
going to talk about diversityand casting, which I approve of,
I endorse.
But he said he said, That's notwhy I'm here.
He said, I grew up feelinginvisible.
(20:00):
And when Spirit appeared oncamera, and all of the traits
that you gave him made me feelseen, made me I said, get over
here and give me a hug.
And wow, you just made my day,my week, and my month.
So things like that are justvery, very powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (20:20):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (20:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (20:21):
And you had a respect for the character and
and his I want to say history,because I guess that's the right
way to put it.
SPEAKER_02 (20:28):
Well, like I was saying about three
dimensionality, you you you lookfor traits and you look for
backstory, which sometimes youhave to write for yourself, but
you try and present a wholeperson or a whole character
rather than just, you know, avoice or a silly voice.
Voice or an intense voice or adeep voice, whatever it is, um,
(20:50):
it has to be tied to somethingor it's just floating in space
and it's kind of meaningless.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Right.
And I agree with you ondiversity.
People should be given thechance.
And of course.
If if I had to do something likethat, to be to be respectful and
not be do a stereotype.
That's correct.
You know, I'm admiring your theway you handled it, and I'm
fumbling away to say it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:17):
That's all right.
You know, there was much moreversatility in casting.
They would the they wereentitled to three voices.
So those of us who who wereversatile tended to be
considered for lots of rolesoutside of the initial ones that
we auditioned for.
Anyway, I I I I'm proud of it.
(21:39):
I'm proud of what I did, andthat moment was like a payoff
decades later.
Big payoff.
SPEAKER_03 (21:46):
Exactly.
I didn't see any.
I did a little re IMDB researchon it.
Did you have any live actionexperience?
SPEAKER_02 (21:53):
Well, heck yes.
SPEAKER_03 (21:54):
I was sure you did, I just don't know.
SPEAKER_02 (21:56):
I did a lot of episodic TV in the 80s.
I co-starred in a just abig-hearted movie called Spaced
Invaders, which still runs mostHalloweens.
SPEAKER_03 (22:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
That was uh about the night that the Martians land
in Big Bean, Illinois.
And I'm I'm Steve W.
Klembegger, the president of theFarmers Trust of Big Bean.
So we we we do uh we do bumpinto each other and hilarity
ensues.
It's a really sweet movie.
Um I did I spent four months inRussia in and around Moscow
(22:34):
doing police academy.
I'm Yuri Tolinsky from Russianpolice, yeah, man.
unknown (22:40):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:42):
And we were there during the attempted overthrow
of the Russian government, sowe're trying to do slapstick
comedy, and things got extremelynervous for a while until they
settled down.
Yeah.
Um, and lots of I did pilots forCBS.
Anyway, I yeah, there's anextensive on-camera career.
It's just animation so becamethe sweet spot that I think it's
(23:06):
kind of wise when your directionis trying to find you to let it,
you know.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (23:13):
Police Academy, I knew there was one that I was
that was awesome.
I you were great in that one.
SPEAKER_01 (23:18):
So talk to me, talk to me about that.
The preparing an accent likethat, a Russian accent, what did
you do to to prep that?
That's something accents issomething that is not a strong
point for me.
I had to do one where I had anIrish accent and I worked on it
(23:39):
and worked on it.
It it didn't have to be perfectbecause my character was playing
somebody that was playingsomebody that was Irish.
So I would so i I had a littlebit of grace there, I think.
Yeah, that's a buys you out.
But staying staying in itconsistently is a a challenge to
me.
SPEAKER_02 (23:59):
Well, my story begins at the audition.
I had been, you know, I I'mfessled with uh with dialect,
but it was all in the material,and I find what I need to find.
So I read and they laughed, andAlan Metter, the director, said,
What am I gonna do with you?
I said, Why?
(24:20):
And he said, Everybody lovesyou.
He said, But what am I gonnatell that lobby full of Russian
actors who were waiting to comein?
And I said, please tell themthat my ancestry is is full
Russian.
Both sides of my familyemigrated uh at great personal
expense so that I could be bornin a free country.
(24:41):
I don't take that, you know, Idon't take that lightly.
But I said, I said, it's it's Icome by it honestly and I come
to it honestly.
And it he said that's uh that'sa really appropriate answer, and
that we can use.
So when I was there, and theRussian crew who discovered that
(25:02):
I was full Russian, and none ofmy family had returned to that
soil since 1918, um they theyembraced me.
They said, Here, your name isGrisha, from now on the year
Grisha.
I said, That's good for me.
Um I just I had you know, I hearabout Irish people, English
(25:25):
people who find the family crestor pub or you know, the roots,
and I I had that experience formyself there and and felt very,
very looked after.
Because kind of fine found my myhistory.
Well, you know, the movie issilly and the movie is fun and
(25:45):
the movie is good times, but Ihad this personal experience
that I wouldn't trade foranything.
Talk about community.
SPEAKER_01 (25:53):
Hey, you asked.
That's community, that'sawesome.
Thanks.
SPEAKER_03 (25:58):
Yeah, I think that's our overall overarching theme of
cons.
SPEAKER_02 (26:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:03):
Finding your tribe, finding community.
SPEAKER_02 (26:06):
Cool.
I love that.
SPEAKER_03 (26:08):
And in the acting community too.
I started in 2019 in background.
TJ's a little bit after me.
And then same.
And we've done 48-hour films ifyou're familiar with that
contest.
Huh?
Yep.
Short films, independent films.
We haven't hit our sag strideyet, but we're trying.
Making those connections withthose people, just like at the
cons, it's not that we're alljust trying to do a job, but
(26:31):
it's finding that art form.
SPEAKER_02 (26:33):
Well, you know, I said these words earlier.
I it doesn't matter whetheryou're gainfully employed or or
doing as well as you think, orworking with who you think you
should be working.
None of it matters.
What matters is on every levelexceeding expectation.
You know, you have to be willingto work harder, stay longer,
(26:53):
whatever it takes, you know,most of that work, it's like
there's a meme of an icebergwith a tiny piece of ice above
the surface and this gianticeberg below the surface.
And it's a the below says, youknow, preparation, and the above
says performance.
So, you know, just being ableand being encouraged to create
(27:16):
art of any kind is a reallyto-be desired status.
You know, it makes us fortunatefrom the get-go because you're
doing doing what you want to do.
And in in whether it's 48-houror whatever, which is an
incredible grind and pressure,but I'm sure you learned
semesters worth just bysurviving that experience and
(27:39):
getting it done.
I think that's that's what thewhole thing is about.
If you if you want the entireexperience of being an artist,
if you want to create, thencreate.
We have we have a poster whichis not hanging currently.
I have to go find it.
It says go to your studio andcreate something.
SPEAKER_03 (27:58):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (27:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:01):
Very cool.
SPEAKER_02 (28:02):
Or sit, you know, or sit and twiddle your thumbs, and
that's how you get old.
That's a fact.
It's not when you're moving,it's when you stop moving.
That's when it gets that's you.
SPEAKER_03 (28:14):
Oh, sorry, I thought you were saying something.
SPEAKER_01 (28:16):
Did have I thought I did think of a question.
Since the shutdown with COVIDand distancing and all that, how
much of an impact did that haveon you with voice work?
Did you did you have to shiftand start doing remote
recordings from home?
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
Yeah, totally insane change.
I mean, we were all trying tofind new solutions to a problem
that nobody anticipated.
Not only remote, but uh you hadto get your setup improved
because if it was coming from aremote location, you wanted it
to be consistent with whateversubmissions were being heard
(28:59):
before and after it.
You know, you want consistencyso that increases the level of
the relationship between you andthe agent, and the because
you're still submittingprimarily through your agent.
Um, you want them to tell you ifit's swaying from the
consistency that they need.
(29:20):
So we all became betterengineers.
I'm I'm using the word better,not great.
I know just enough buttons topush to go to compress files and
send them so they open soundingdecent.
Don't ask me to press one morebutton because I'm lost.
Studios, there there is a verywell-known animation studio in
(29:42):
LA.
You would be instructed to parkin space D, which was directly
next to a door.
You go through the door andyou're on you're on mic.
You basically you walk throughthe door into the microphone.
This was it became important forstudios to assure their clients
that everything would behappening in a safe environment.
(30:06):
So you finish recording, uh, yousee everybody through the glass
and wave like you're like you'reactually hanging out, but you're
you're isolated, and then you'reinstructed to go back through
the door, pull your car out asquickly as possible from space D
because that's where the nexttalent needs to park and was
probably waiting for you to pullout.
(30:27):
You know, we we all, I mean, andgood for us, we look for for new
answers to unexpected problems,and we all we we uh Which opened
the door for us to talk topeople like you.
SPEAKER_03 (30:42):
So there's always something good gonna come out of
something bad.
SPEAKER_02 (30:46):
TJ, you told me you shaved last week.
That's really impressive.
I'm right.
Wow.
That's that's some beard.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_03 (30:54):
Our first episode with was with our friend Hick
Sherimi, and they both havebeards like that.
And I I'm a little long becauseI'm playing a Cajun Wizard, a
Cajun Jedi this coming Friday.
But I was like, um I got nobeard.
So bottle the beards for twoyears, and we're gonna go to our
two-year anniversary.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
I had a I had a decent one in the in the 60s.
How old am I?
SPEAKER_03 (31:20):
We'll never tell.
SPEAKER_02 (31:21):
Nah, why?
But that I mean, in in the voiceworld, you're any age, the only
limitations are the ones you puton yourself.
You can be any age, any species,any, you know, any uh any
creature, any animal.
Nothing you don't you don'tnecessarily age unless you allow
(31:43):
yourself to.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:45):
Yeah.
And your voice is smooth likebutter.
Thanks, ma'am.
Pass me a slice.
Do you do you have a routine?
Do you have hot honey, hot teawith honey every day, or is it
just natural for you?
SPEAKER_02 (31:58):
I used to do a lot of vocalizing and a lot of care,
and I I still am very economicalwith my voice, especially if if
I have a session tomorrow ateight, I'm not gonna be the last
one to leave the lounge.
I'm not gonna tell the moststories, I'm not gonna laugh the
hardest, and I'm just gonna takecare of myself because that's my
(32:22):
instrument.
But there's that thing aboutanybody is 10,000 hours from
mastery of anything.
So, by that theory, by MalcolmGladwell, I can sort of pick up
the instrument and play it.
If you need it, I can do it.
But I I'm I'm protective.
Why wouldn't you be protectiveof the thing that you're hanging
(32:44):
your career on, you know?
SPEAKER_03 (32:47):
You'd be surprised at how much.
SPEAKER_02 (32:48):
Well, yeah, no, there's some people that say if
you really want to work in thistown, start drinking and smoking
and gargling razor blades.
SPEAKER_03 (32:56):
So what you're saying is your voice is the
Keith Richards of animation.
Why, thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:02):
Yes.
Sitting in a date taking eitherway.
Yeah, sitting in a date palm uhtree waiting for the next
session.
SPEAKER_03 (33:09):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (33:10):
Or to fall.
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
Yes, that's right.
SPEAKER_03 (33:14):
I thought you were talking about autumn, and I'm
like, duh.
Have you been to New Orleansbefore?
SPEAKER_02 (33:21):
Yeah, it was some time ago, and it was actually I
was doing a show called Duckman,where I'm corn fed pig and I
have to keep the duck out oftrouble.
So that was on USA Network whenit first appeared.
SPEAKER_03 (33:33):
I loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (33:34):
Why it's not on Adult Swim or some late night
format, I really don't know.
It's outside my control.
But they're they were doing thenetworks do upfronts for their
upcoming season to to get theiradvertisers enthused and anybody
else at the network enthused.
Well, this was the equivalent ofthat, and it was held in New
(33:56):
Orleans, and I went with mywife, and it was I feel like it
was just five minutes after thejazz festival had concluded,
because there were there weremusicians of note on the streets
just playing because that's whatthey do, and so it was kind of
an enchanted stay.
(34:17):
Uh the streets of New Orleanswere like were were like
Disneyland, but it was notDisneyland.
It was just it was just playersplayers being players.
SPEAKER_03 (34:28):
Yeah, back in the back in the 80s, it was not
Disneyland.
No, it was closer to TimesSquare.
SPEAKER_02 (34:36):
I j yeah, I'm just I'm just saying it was it was an
enchanted weekend, long weekend.
But yeah, beautiful, beautiful,beautiful.
Can't wait to go back and likeyou mentioned, Cajun Khan is
coming up quick.
SPEAKER_03 (34:49):
Yep, three weeks away.
You're gonna be closer to BatonRouge than New Orleans, but
we're still gonna get you somegreat food.
Works for me.
We're not gonna feed TJ though,yeah.
That's it.
SPEAKER_01 (35:01):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:02):
Don't want to say this, TJ.
I think we're done.
I think we're out of time.
SPEAKER_02 (35:08):
Yeah.
Well, we met we met as strangersand we leave as friends.
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:14):
And you'll see on my feeds, I love taking selfies.
So we are taking plenty ofpictures at CajunCon.
SPEAKER_02 (35:20):
All right, cool.
I I look forward to seeing youthere.
I look forward to seeingeverybody there.
SPEAKER_00 (35:25):
Looking forward to I'm looking forward to meeting
you.
SPEAKER_03 (35:28):
First, Cajun Con.
We're gonna blow the doors off.
See you there, folks.
SPEAKER_02 (35:32):
Okay, see you there, folks.
Leave the leave the doors onuntil I get there.
SPEAKER_03 (35:36):
Oh, okay, cool.
SPEAKER_02 (35:37):
Thanks again, guys.
SPEAKER_03 (35:38):
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (35:39):
Appreciate it.
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