Animated voice-over work has always seemed like a pretty good gig for an actor.  You show up for a couple sessions for a few hours and voila you’re the star of a film.  A far cry from the usual twelve-hour-a-day three-month shoot required for those pesky live action films.  But in talking with Genesis Rodriguez and Jamie Chung, it quickly becomes apparent how difficult an animated feature is for an actor to gage their performance.  By acting out so many different permutations for each line reading, a performance can be skewed in any number of directions.  It’s a real testament to the trust developed between an actor and director (here Chris Williams & Don Hall) – that Rodriquez and Chung’s performances not only work but also feel consistent.  In Big Hero 6, the two actors co-star as Honey Lemon & Go Go, two wicked smart science students, suddenly thrust into a situation where they must use their technical prowess to battle a masked vigilante.

In the following interview with Rodriguez and Chung, the duo discuss the preparation process for Big Hero 6, how many different variations they do for a line reading and the most difficult lines to deliver.

Genesis Rodriguez and Jamie Chung:

• Was there a chance to look back at the comic Big Hero 6 for reference?
• Is it liberating not having to rely on the source material for the performances?
• How does the preparation process for an animated picture differ from a live action film?
• How many different variations are there for a scene or line?
• How long are these sessions and how many are there?
• Do the characters change based on the actors’ personas?
• What is the research process for delivering technical jargon?
• What were the most difficult lines to deliver?