BSCkids recently got to sit down with famed voice actor Trevor Devall to talk about his recent project, Big Time Movie. He spoke with us about the various animated voices he has done as well as future projects and his role in his latest film.
Devall has had a flourishing voice-over career spanning over 12 years in the industry. He recently returned on-screen to play the lead villain role in “Big Time Movie” as Sir Atticus Moon, a multi-billionaire James-Bond-style villain with an evil plan to rule the world. The movie originally aired on Nickelodeon in March and brought in huge numbers for the network—with over 13 million viewers tuning in. He is also responsible for some of the voices of the animated world’s most beloved characters. He currently plays three characters on the successful children’s television series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. The characters include: Fancypants, a Canterlot high society unicorn; Hoity Toity, a fancy pony who is a major representative of the fashion world from Canterlot; and Iron Will, a Minotaur who hosts assertiveness seminars. Trevor’s extensive and ongoing list of animated series work includes the roles of: Dukey on “Johnny Test”, Dad in “Kid vs. Kat”, Mu Laflaga and Neo in “Gundam Seed”, Mr. Palmer, Ike and a variety of other characters in “Zeke’s Pad”, Pyro in “X-Men: Evolution”, Wild Weasel in “G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom”, Moordryd Payne on “Dragon Booster”, Alpha Q in “Transformers: Energon”, Scourge in “Transformers: Cybertron”, Mr. Match and Mysterious Man in “Megaman: NT Warrior”, the alien helmsman Hermiod on “Stargate: Atlantis”, and many more.On the big screen, Trevor has been featured in numerous films. He has performed roles including Baramanda in the CG feature “A.R.K.”(with James Woods), Toa Pohatu in “Bionicle: Mask of Light”, Toa Nuju in “Bionicle: Legends of Metru Nui”, and Shesta in “Escaflowne”.
BSCkids: Trevor Devall
Tell us about your character in Big Time Movie, Sir Atticus Moon.
He’s basically the quintessential Bond villain – white suit, lap cat, villainous British accent. He’s trying to take over the world by threatening to knock the moon out of its orbit with a giant laser. There’s even a wonderful scene in which he is about to pull the typical Bond villain mistake of giving away his master plan, but it turns out he’s “watched too many spy films” for that.
Was the character specifically modeled after James Bond villains from the beginning?
I think so. He’s British, disgustingly wealthy, and completely insane. I think I remember the producers talking about how he was modeled on the original Bond villain Blofeld. In my version of the character, he winds up as more of an evil Richard Branson.
Did you do an kind of preparation for the character?
The biggest thing was trying not to spill my coffee on that pristine white suit.
Do you have any funny stories or mishaps that happened on set of the film?
The various cats that were used in the film hated me. They kept trying to squirm out of my grasp and claw my eyes out. I think they hated my British accent or something…
You also voice several animated characters, who has been your favorite and why?
I’ve played hundreds of animated characters over my 12 year animation career, so that’s a very difficult question to answer. Probably some ones that stand out for me are Pyro on Xmen: Evolution, Dukey from Johnny Test, and recently Colossus in Joss Whedon’s Astonishing Xmen.
Since you lend your voice to several characters from the popular series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” do you ever get people hearing your voice and wondering where they know you from?
Heh. I’m a bit of a vocal chameleon, so not really. What I more often get is people who had no idea I was in some of their favorite cartoons, until I do the voice for them. That always makes me smile.
Who is the biggest star you have hosted on your podcast, “Voiceprint with Trevor Devall and Guests?”
Why, they’re ALL the biggest stars, of course! Seriously though, that depends on who you ask. I have a lot of anime fans who listen to the show, and they would probably give you a different answer as to who’s more famous than someone who watches more mainstream cartoons. Certainly some of the bigger names have been Scott McNeil, David Kaye, and James Arnold Taylor.
You voice a lot of comic book characters, were you a comic reader growing up?
Not really, no. I never really got into the whole “soap opera” feel of comic books. I was more of a fantasy buff than anything (Lord of the Rings, that sort of thing).
What is the most difficult part of voice acting that most people probably don’t realize?
The fact that you have to be a really good actor first. What we do is far, far more complicated than putting on “funny voices”. There’s a very specific instinct that you have to have as a voice actor that you don’t really get to use in many other media.
Tell us about your project, “The Plaids.”
It’s a short film I wrote, produced and directed in 2000, about a guy who gets abducted by a couple of Scottish aliens and discovers their heinous plans for humanity. It was born of a drunken campfire conversation one summer in the late 90’s. We were giggling at the various classifications of alien types by UFO enthusiasts (the “Greys”, for example) and I started improvising an alien abduction scenario with a Scottish accent. My friends looked at me and said, “There’s your next movie”. And so it was. It aired for three years on two major networks here in Canada, and won some fairly prestigious awards.
Do you have any upcoming live action project in the works?
I don’t tend to do a lot of on camera work; Big Time Movie was a bit of a departure for me. Normally, I tend to stick behind the mic. But it was so much fun, who knows what the future will bring?
If your career in the entertainment industry hadn’t worked out, what would have been your alternative career choice?
A firetruck.
You can visit Devall’s official website for more information!
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