This was originally posted on cpluscomedy.com in 2020.
Your career as a voice actor has one of the most substantial resumes. And your voice itself is incredibly malleable, which you obviously need when you have such a huge catalogue of characters. Where do you find your inspiration for developing a character outside of the script?
Carlos Alazraqui: It’s hard to say where inspiration for characters comes from specifically. It could come from Ed Orgeron - LSU’s guttural New Orleans football coach, could be a voice I use to play with my dogs, a person I grew up with, a bad impression of a celebrity (an original character) if I get a character picture or an audition I can really draw from physical cues like big eyes, an overbite etc. . If the character is an animal you might add some of those traits, like panting or bird squawks. I wouldn’t say that my character Sergio is the most authentic sounding parrot but I give him life in other ways through sarcasm and spice!
I hear a lot from voice actors that they started doing voices in their adolescence. How did you develop the skills of mimicry?
Alazraqui:Oh, started at the wee age of 6 the path of really mimicking everybody! MY parents are fromArgentina. My dad went to a British School, St Albans in Loma, Argentina and my mom did not. Grew up hearing the Argentinean accent in the house and even speaking a little Spanish.Then I meet my soon to be best friend, Kevin and his parents and relatives are from Glasgow Scotland and I am gone! Fascinated by dialects. Then add television, movies and cartoons as a kid and forget it. I am soaking it all in!
Rocko’s Modern Life came back after two decades with its surrealist take on our technology obsessed modern society. What was it like revisiting a character and world unseen since the early 2000’s?
Alazraqui: Recording Static Cling was like a “Make A Wish” experience again. Like an old band deciding to get back together and jam again. I revere everyone associated with Rocko - from Joe Murray down. Rocko is and will always be my first love - my favorite voice. Rocko was always Winnie The Pooh like. He is very zen and fits in any decade , but the craziness of this world compared to the 1990’s really made his personality that much more disparate from today’s reality.
You’ve had to take the reigns of Mike Wazowski, Spyro the Dragon, and Bane -- characters that have been performed on countless occasions with many other actors. Is there a process you undertake to make these characters your own?
Alazraqui: Well, I was the original Spyro so the joy was in creating that voice specifically for the game. Bane has had many iterations and Andrea Romano steered me toward deep and Latin. Al credit to her. Mike Wasowski - the beautiful mold is all Billy Crystal’s work but I pride myself on perfecting it and first learning it by watching Billy Crystal in “Forget About Paris” SEVERAL times to get him, before getting MIke. It then becomes my job to let people think it’s Billy doing it!
So many of your characters are inconsequential or background to the main story that they’re labeled as “additional voices.” Do you ever forget about doing a project only to be reminded because of press stuff or seeing a trailer?
Alazraqui:
Absolutely ! I remember traveling to Big Bear a few years back and we had a DVD of “Sing” and from the back of the car I heard , “daddy it’s you!”. I had one line as the monkey waiter and my daughters picked it out. I was way more susstantial in “Inside Out” as the Brazilian Helicopter Pilot and Fear In Dad’s Head
I just finished Reno 911!’s return on Quibi. Even though the show ended a short while ago, fans have been waiting for a return to the Nevada Sheriff’s Department (another movie would be great too). Making a show is hard but you and the rest of the cast of Reno 911make comedic acting and improv look so effortless. Did the approach to show have to change for today’s climate? What about scripting the scenarios the department got into?
Alazraqui: Was great that Reno came back and Tom, Ben and Kerri wanted to address the changes in attitudes about COPS between 2010 and now. That is why the department was looking for an unarmed white man to shoot! Can’t dodge it - so go right after the elephant in the room and lampoon it!
Your stand-up career is as long as your acting one. How do you go about crafting a set?
Alazraqui:
I am not doing stand up as much these days> It was always a means to an end for me, although I enjoy it at times. YOu just craft your set according to your audience. Virtual shows are a bit more tricky. I prefer to “rant” rather than do actual set ups and jokes when I am online
How does stand-up inform and help you develop your live action and animated characters?
Alazraqui: Stand up can inform me when the project is requesting more real and/or less cartoony sounding voices. It helps you to define a character that is more realistic.
You’re lucky to have a solid career built out of both live action and animated roles. Is there one that plays more to your strengths?
Alazraqui: I would say that I am equally strong with both on camera and voice over. I tend to get more opportunities with voice over so I wrote and produced my own film and I had a fun role in “Take The 10” on Netflix and have done some fun pilot presentations beyond Reno 911!
There aren’t many well known people of color who are voice actors. You’re essentially the go to pick for Latino voices. What does your family think of your nontraditional career?
Alazraqui: Proud and lucky to have my Latino background. It has definitely informed me on dialects and performing Latino characters. Once I transitioned from being a comic on the road to more voice over and TV I think my family was way more in my corner on my career - less worried, that is!