TONY JAY INTERVIEW
1) How did you get your start in acting?
I did quite a bit of amateur acting at
school and later, but didn't take it up professionally until I was 32!
Then, I just decided to compete and surprisingly made progress first in
England, then South Africa for 7 years and finally here in the U.S. where
I've been for the past 17 years. By the way, I'm 71 now and still
working, but not on camera any longer, only voice work.
2) What are your main memories of performing as part of
the Royal Shakespeare Company, and how does it compare to your career on
television and voice acting?
I have very fond memories of that
period, but, of course, what stands out is the ground-breaking production of
"Nicholas Nickelby" which brought me to the U.S. As far as
acting on stage is concerned, I know that it's as a theatre actor that you are
finally judged, something that is sorely missing from today's young actors,
especially on television. My enjoyment of TV and film acting was
somewhat limited, although there are certain roles I loved to do, like
Paracelsus in "Beauty and the Beast" and Lazlo in "Golden
Girls". Essentially though, I think I felt more at home on stage.
3) How did you get the role of Megabyte and what were
your first impressions of doing the show?
I auditioned and won, which I was very
happy about as the writing was superb and the graphics were landmarks.
4) You've played many villains in your voice acting
work- from Megabyte to Galactus to Judge Frollo. What is it that attracts you
to playing the villains?
Villains are usually the most meaty
roles and therefore parts that one can get one's teeth into. They're
just plain fun.
5) How much freedom did you have in developing the
character?
Well, when casting takes place, they
usually know what kind of thing you can do, so I've been lucky enough to find
directors who value my input. Eventually, if it's a series, the
writers begin to write especially for me, as they can envisage what my
interpretation will be. That's not to say, of course, that I don't value a
good director.
6) As ReBoot went on, Megabyte's acts become far more
evil- torturing Hexadecimal and Phong in Season 3, playing mind-games with Dot
in Season 4... What are your views on this? Did you prefer getting play an
ever-more villainous Megabyte or did you at times feel the writers were going
too far?
I loved playing Megabyte and certainly
never thought the writers went too far. As I said before, the more evil,
the more fun.
7) Megabyte made a triumphant return in Season 4- and
then it ended two episodes afterwards. What are your feelings on coming back
to play the role, only for the show to stop after such a short time?
I was very disappointed that Reboot
came to such an abrupt end and to this day don't know what happened.
8) What do you feel is the key to playing an effective
villain?
Just let your dark side take over,
since we all have that side of us. But with Frollo, for example, I
tried to make him a 'thinking man's' villain, not just some crazy murderer
killing people gratuitously. He was a true zealot who honestly believed
that God had told him to commit these acts.....rather like Usama Bin Laden
today.
9) Are there any special memories or thoughts you
have about the filming of ReBoot?
Only that it was joy throughout and
that they don't seem to write them like that these days.
10) Finally- Season 4 ended on a cliffhanger, with
Megabyte seeming to have won. Yay or nay on this ending?
As I mentioned before, I never
did discover why Reboot ended so suddenly, so I guess the cliffhanger ending
was as suitable as any.
THANK YOU, CHARLES, FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHAT TO YOU ALL.
SINCERELY,
TONY JAY.
(This article was original published in ReBoot Mayhem #5)