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I'm
happy to have been given an
opportunity to interview Katie
Griffin, who has taken over
the role of Alex in the upcoming
third season of Totally Spies.
Some of you may not recognize
her name but you'll know her
voice from Sailor Moon (Raye/Sailor
Mars) and Braceface (Nina Harper)
among a long list of voice over
credits. Katie's a very
busy lady, acting in numerous
TV shows and feature films on
top of her voice acting roles
and her budding music career.
Even with such a busy
schedule she found some time
to answer a few questions about
her new role on Totally spies...
someguy959:
I think the one question on
everyone's mind is when (and
how) did you learn about the
Alex role? Also, what was the
process you went through to
land the role.
Katie
Griffin: The truth is,
I had never heard about "Totally
Spies" before auditioning
for the role last summer. I
was pretty busy promoting my
CD and finishing up my other
animated series "Braceface"
(I played Nina Harper), so I
wasn't following cartoons as
much. I actually auditioned
originally for Sam, Clover,
Mandy and Alex, but I now know
they were just testing me to
see what I could do. They
sent me voice references from
the show, and I had to basically
do my best impressions of them.
I fell in love with Alex
right away. She's adorable!!!
sg959: Were
you familiar with Totally Spies
and Alex before you started
to work on the show? What are
your thoughts and first impressions
about the show and the character
you play?
KG:
I guess I just answered
the 'familiarity' question,
but like I said I wasn't familiar
at all with the show prior to
auditioning. I fell madly
in love with it just based on
the 'spies'. I'm a pretty
big fan of martial arts to begin
with...........and to top it
off, girls kicking butt??? How
can you beat that?!! Plus
I loved how fun the scripts
were. Non stop action!!
sg959:
There's some concern that your
Alex won't be the same lovable
character as Katie Leigh's Alex.
How have you approached the
role of Alex? Have you seen
older episodes of the show and
based your acting off of those
performances or have you approached
it differently?
KG:
I actually have seen
a few of the older episodes,
and Katie Leigh was brilliant
as Alex. Very lovable.
I honestly haven't really
thought about whether or not
I can live up to Katie Leigh's
Alex. I can only hope
I bring a little something different
to the table without changing
the sweet fiestiness of Alex'
character.
sg959: What's
your favourite thing(s) about
playing Alex?
KG:
Alex gets the best
lines!! I love her loyalty,
and I love that she's naive,
but if you backed her in to
a corner........she's like a
dragon!
sg959: Are
you providing the voices for
any additional Totally Spies
characters?
KG:
I have actually played
a few other characters on Totally
Spies..........but I think it
would be fun to see if you can
guess who I am, rather than
me just give it away. I
promise I'll tell you if you
ask!!!
sg959: Of
all the episodes you worked
on for the third season, which
ones are your favourites?
KG:
The Season finale is
wicked cool!! There's
also an episode where Alex has
to get a job.......and it's
hilarious!! And I don't
want to give it away, but there's
a really fun 'Mandy' episode!!
sg959: What
do you hope will be the reaction
of Totally Spies fans when they
hear Alex in season 3?
KG:
Alex is a very strong
character. I just hope
people fall in love with Alex
the way I did. I hope
I do her the justice she deserves!!
sg959:
Have you started any work on
season 4 yet?
KG:
Nope. No word on
Season 4 yet. But I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally
hope they do another one. I
love working with Jennifer (Sam),
and Andrea (Clover). Even
though we've actually never
met, (they record in L.A, and
I record in Toronto), we do
all the shows as an ensemble.......through
a phone patch, and they are
the BEST! We have such
an awesome time with each show.
sg959: What's
a typical recording session
for you when you're working
on Totally Spies and how long
did it take to record all the
dialogue for the third season?
Did you have to go to L.A. to
record your voice for the show
or was it done somewhere else?
KG:
A typical recording session
(with the exception of the Season
Finale), is with Sam and Clover
in L.A, and me in Toronto. We
do something called a 'Phone
Patch', which is just the craziest,
'cause it feels like the girls
are right in the booth with
me. Anyway, each episode
takes about an hour and a half
to record, and usually we would
do two episodes a week. I
guess it took about eight months
(I'm totally guessing.....I
have a terrible sense of time
lines) to record season three??
sg959: Did
you get a chance to meet the
other voice actors in person?
KG:
I worked with the actor
who played Jerry (Adrian Truss)
a lot. He's an incredible
actor. He brings a wicked
sense of humour to Jerry. We
had a blast!!
sg959: Not
only are you an accomplished
voice actor but you've done
quite a bit of work in front
of the camera as well. Is there
one type of work you prefer
over another?
KG:
That's a tough question.
hmmmmmm. I've been
acting for a really long time,
(on camera) and it's a very
challenging and rewarding experience.
I've been singing for
a while as well, which is a
very personal thing, totally
rewarding as well............but
I guess the truth is I love
cartoons, and acting in them
is truly who I am. I was
so sad when "Braceface"
ended last spring (I played
Nina Harper). That was
an awesome experience. But
then, along came "Totally
Spies", and it has to be
the coolest cartoon I've worked
on. Yup! Cartoons
are my favourite type of work!
sg959: What's
your most memorable professional
accomplishment and why?
KG:
Ok. Now I'm going
to sound crazy after proclaiming
that voice over work is the
best thing in the universe,
but the most memorable professional
accomplishment to date is getting
my CD produced. I had
written these very personal
songs on my guitar, and after
a lot of VERY hard work, I actually
have a CD! I really think
that's my biggest accomplishment
to date.
sg959: I
have to ask out of curiousity...when
you played Sailor Mars on Sailor
Moon, did you think the show
was going to become such a phenomenon?
It's still the role for
which you're most well known,
isn't it?
KG:
When I played Sailor
Mars, I had NO idea how huge
it was going to become! I
guess that's what I'm well known
for. I've never really thought
of it as being the role I'm
MOST well known for . Braceface
was pretty huge too........but
I guess not really the same.
sg959: Thanks
for taking the time to do this
interview Katie. Do you have
any final words you'd like to
pass on to the fans?
KG:
It was my pleasure!!
As far as final words...............I
really hope you enjoy the new
season. Lots of crazy
stuff happens!! It's my
favourite cartoon ever, so I
hope I do Alex proud!! Bye
for now!!
Katie
has her own website at www.katiegriffin.com
Check it out for more
info on Katie, her work, and
her music!
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