Interview with Ben Schwartz- the Man behind Sonic’s voice
After revamping the terrifying, distorted Sonic– with odd body proportions, weirdly tapered legs and a horrifying mouth full of teeth-into the original 16-bit hero that everybody loves, Paramount Pictures is finally back in the game to release, with gusto, its upcoming production- Sonic the hedgehog. However, the hype isn’t only about the zestful return of everyone’s favorite hedgehog, but also for the life instilled in him by Ben Schwartz’s amazeballs voice performance. Here’s what he had to say about finding Sonic’s voice and where he’d like to see it head in an interview with Screen Rant.
The Man Behind The Voice
Emmy Award-Winning Writer/Actor, Ben Schwartz is best known for portraying the iconic Jean Ralphio in the American Comedy TV Series Parks and Recreation. Apart from playing a lead in the Showtime show House of Lies and leading his own segment on HBO’s Funny or Die Presents called Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz, he has co-written 4 books and has also worked in animated series like DuckTales. He recently shared some interesting insights with Screen Rant about his role in giving voice to Sonic in the upcoming movie set to come to screens on February 14, 2020.
How he found Sonic’s Voice
On reading the script after playing the first two sets of Sonic video games to rekindle the memories, Schwartz could get a peek into Sonic’s character (whose voice is hardly heard in the video game) saying that “He’s like a little kid that so badly wants to get out into the world and, like, just do everything. He’s so excited.” He felt that this ‘excited’ demeanor would be relatable to kids and adults alike. So, he tried to keep it that way, “where the performance never feels too big, broad and crazy. It always feels like it’s coming from an excited little youth.”
Adding a little pizzazz
Talking about the set-up in the audio-recording booth, he explained how he had considerable leeway in making jokes that could be used to enhance the character and the scenes. He also often used to go back to check the recordings and rethink alternative jokes he can make, “always trying to make it better”, given how much he cared about the movie.
When asked about where he wished to see Sonic go, he responded saying, “They’re going after it in a way that I would want as a fan.”
Sources: Screen Rant, Ars Technica
