Big City Greens Marieve Herington Talks Tilly Green – Exclusive Interview

We have an exclusive interview with Marieve Herington from Big City Greens who plays the role of Tilly and we just had a great time. Marieve is a wonderful interview and probably one of the more enjoyable ones we have done for the site. Originally from Canada, she gives us some insight into her role on the show and we really appreciate her time. Enjoy the interview below.

BSCKids: Big City Greens is one of our favorite new shows, how did you get the role of Tilly?

Marieve Herington: So glad you’re enjoying it! We love making it. I auditioned for the role back in spring of 2015 from my studio under the stairs (yes, it looks like a Harry Potter closet!) Then, I had a callback and booked the pilot. We started recording the actual series a year and a half later and have been rocking and rolling ever since!

BSCKids: How do you prep to read for Tilly whole filming an episode?

Marieve Herington: I definitely read the full episode before we record. Sometimes twice if there’s complicated action I want to get clarity on, but usually, I can figure that out by looking at the storyboards which are up on a screen when we record. This is my first “board driven show” which means you can get a sense by looking at the boards of what the final animation will look like. This takes some guess work out of the performance for things like how much projection you should have in a scene. If the other character in the scene is only a foot away, the answer is not much. And of course, we have our fearless directors and co creators Shane and Chris Houghton there to help get performances just right.

BSCKids: Tilly really nails her lines, our favorite is when she tells Cricket she was bored to death while holding the flower? What had been your favorite line so far?

Marieve Herington: I love the line “Hey hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am also a raccoon” from Raccooned. Tilly is so confident in her Davy Crockett hat disguise, trying to infiltrate the horde of raccoons that have overtaken the family home. Such a fun, silly moment!

BSCKids: We loved the parade episode seeing Tilly “filling in” for Miss Splish. What is your favorite episode of the series so far ?

Marieve Herington: This is SO hard to pick. I think my current favorite is “Photo Op.” The stakes are so high for each character and it was so much fun to see Tilly get devious and learn to lie.

BSCKids: Do you have any traits in common with Tilly?

Marieve Herington: I wish I had more in common with Tilly! She’s so confident in exactly who she is and doesn’t need approval from others. That said, I think I see the world differently than most people do and have a wild imagination the way Tilly does. I just wish I had the guts to let it all hang out the way she does!

BSCKids: Who is your favorite character on the show besides Tilly and why?

Marieve Herington: I love Cricket, with his big ideas, enthusiasm and desire the jump into any challenge head first. Sure, his unbridled enthusiasm can get him into some sticky situations but I love his willingness to go for it and truly embrace all that city life has to offer.

BSCKids: Do you find voice acting or being in front of the camera more challenging?

Marieve Herington: They both pose different challenges and work different parts of your brain I think. Of course it’s nice not to have to memorize your lines for animation, however the acting in animation can be even more demanding, the comedy bigger, wilder, the emotional moments need to be even deeper because you’ve only got one channel through which to communicate emotion. All in all, I love both… makes for a balanced diet!

BSCKids: Besides shows you have been involved in, what is your favorite animated series/movie and why?

Marieve Herington: I loved Arthur (I believe it’s a Canadian series – I’m Canadian.) Growing up I would watch it with my sister who is 7 years younger than me. I tried to pretend I didn’t like it (how horrifying to like something your baby sister liked, right?!) but I did because there were jokes for younger kids, older kids and adults. I think Big City Greens does a great job of creating storylines and jokes that appeal to lots of different age groups too.

BSCKids: Where can we find you on social media ?

Marieve Herington: Come join the party on both instagram and twitter @redherington!

BSCKids: In seven words or less in your Tilly voice, why should everyone be watching Big City Greens?

Marieve Herington: “Because it’s even more entertaining than milking Miss Brenda!”

BSCKids: Besides Big City Greens, do you have any other kid friendly projects coming up that you can talk about ?

Marieve Herington: This for more of the older kids, but the show FLCL (Fooly Cooly): Alternative premiers on September 8th on Adult Swim/ Cartoon Network. I play the role of Pets. It’s a beautiful, surreal coming of age story of a group of high schoolers. And keep your ears peeled for some more Disney guest stars coming soon. I’ll be posting as soon as I’m able about those on social media, so come by and say hello there.

Thanks BSCKids!