Fox Movie Channel

Behind the Voice by Marie

I recently got the honor of interviewing Mike Henry from Fox's The Cleveland Show - a spin-off of Family Guy. And wow, did I ever luck out. He's a voice actor among other career titles such as comedian and writer. Now, I have to confess, I didn't know what Mike Henry looked like in person, but on Cleveland (and Family Guy), he voices the character of Cleveland Brown- the warm, not-so-intimidating, friend of Peter Griffin. Yep, he is that fun-loving neighbor who likes to have fun with his buddies, often being completely irresponsible and even inappropriate. But, he is interesting enough, that he has his own show, family, and friends in a new town within Cleveland. And of course, he is black. Now that might not be such a big deal, but then that is where I have to explain that Mike Henry is white. And that's one of the biggest reasons for the love I have for voice-overs and voice acting. An actor can play anyone, and anything, and you will never even know it. My dream is to one day turn myself into a cartoon and voice away!... Or I could become a cat character.

Either way, you'd never know who I really was just by watching. The possibilities are endless: a talking sponge, a mermaid, a flying toaster, the Taco Bell dog, a family of bears (also in Cleveland), or one of my favorites- that radio guy who does the Miller beer commercials. That's the genius of the voice acting world. In fact, within Cleveland, African-American actor Kevin Michael Richards voices the character of the white redneck Lester, while Mike takes on yet another black character, Rallo- basically a 5-yr-old thug-wanna-be. All I have to say is, if the voice is good, I will go with it.

 

What I loved about the interview with Mike was that he understood his characters, even developing them out of his own life experience. He was not just doing random voices, but performing characters he spent a lot of time building and creating a history around. And true to his comedic nature, even while answering questions, he was able to jump into at least four different character voices quick and clean. And then there was the table read for next year's Halloween episode...

So, picture this: a room full of about ten actors sitting around a table and then about 40 other people sitting around this table. Actress Sanaa Lathan is sharing a text her mom sent about a double moon that should be coming out that night. Reagan Gomez is chilling with her orange juice. Kevin is at the table in his ball cap that he probably puts on most days. There are a bunch of waters on the table as well of course. Basically, no grandiose make-up and perfect wardrobe, lights, cameras, or actors "getting-into-character." Just people sitting around the table with scripts in hand. Then there are the shows' creators, Richard Appel and Mike at the end of the table. Richard starts the read by speaking the script directions as if we are watching the animated show. Everyone starts jumping in on their lines, and just like magic, those incredible voices come out and we are hearing the whole Cleveland Family, their friends, and others come to life- sometimes multiple characters out of one actors' mouth.

And this is where I saw Mike in full action: Richard reads directions in the script between Rallo and Cleveland. Mike is sitting at the table. Richard stops talking. Mike speaks in Cleveland's voice. Richard speaks a direction about Rallo. Mike speaks in Rallo's voice. Mike as Cleveland... Mike as Rallo. Cleveland yells. Rallo now. Somewhere in there, Mike voices Gus (voiced by David Lynch who is gone today). Rallo. Cleveland. Rallo! Cleveland! And then suddenly Donna breaks in. (Thank goodness Mike can't do this woman's voice so convincingly). Did you keep up?

I was amazed by Mike's switches between all these characters. I think one could seriously lose her mind. So you see, it was a privilege to see/hear such a gifted entertainer and understand what is going on behind the art and animation of a show such as Cleveland. An actor has the ability to be something or use their voice in a way they never could with live action, on stage or in front of the camera. Black, white, animal, inanimate object or a mix of them all. What you see is not necessarily what you get, and with this show, and other shows similar to Mike Henry's animated series, it works!