With a huge number of characters voiced across seasons two and
three of Digimon, fan-favourite Steven Jay Blum quickly became
one of "the" names to associate with Tamers early on,
providing the voices of three major players in the series, and
writing numerous episodes. Blum - whose voice can also be heard
in the roles of DarkScream and W.A.R.S. on "Transformers:
Robots in Disguise," Tom the Robot on "Toonami"
and Drago Wing on "Dinozaurs" - took the time recently
to answer the many questions I had.
Chris
McFeely: On Digimon, you're known as both an actor and a writer.
Which do you consider to be your favourite to do, and why?
Steven Jay Blum: Definitely acting. I get to express every
possible emotion and body sound through a cartoon face - and get
paid for it! How can life get better than that?
The process itself of ADR writing can get very tedious. Shows
like Digimon allow for a good amount of creativity, but are also
very involved. We're never quite sure what's going to happen in
future episodes, so we have to take great care not to write
ourselves into corners. We continuously have to be aware of the
evolution of the characters and how the other writers in the team
have executed that in their scripts. Fortunately our producer and
director are very knowledgeable and available to us when we get
stuck!
CMcF: When did you decide you wanted to build a career
for yourself in acting?
SJB: Officially, about 4 years ago. I've been doing voice work
for over 12 years now, but it took a long time to build the
confidence to try it full time.
CMcF: When did you get your "big break" into the
industry? What were you doing beforehand?
SJB: I guess I'm still waiting for it. It was a gradual process.
I started in Anime - just got lucky. One day a friend asked me to
see if I could loop in some silly voices on a new show from Japan
- and I never stopped working since! I've held all kinds of crazy
jobs, but the last one was as the head of marketing for a Sci-Fi
film company. I was actually at that company for 14 years in
several departments!
CMcF: With season three, you've been elevated from a
voice actor to one of the dominant writers of the season. How did
this come about?
SJB: The two are very different animals. One really didn't have
much to do with the other except for the fact that acting helps
me to understand some of the subtleties of language and the
importance of avoiding diphthongs. I have a pretty good sense of
what syncs and what doesn't - that helped too. I had to submit
scripts from other shows just like everybody else.
CMcF: Is there any connection between your position as a
writer, and the fact that you voice three important characters in
the series (Guilmon, Yamaki and Kenta), or were those jobs
assigned separately?
SJB: Very separately. I auditioned for the parts in exactly the
same way as all the other actors. Kenta just sort of happened
when he showed up in the story. It was an on-the-fly kind of read
that I did during a Yamaki session. Yamaki was the only one I was
originally cast for. Guilmon came later too. He was a tough one
to cast. We actually had to backtrack episodes to record him.
CMcF: Out of the many, MANY voices you've provided on the
series (you're right up there with Derek Stephen Prince for sheer
number of characters voiced), who would you consider your
favourite?
SJB: I love them all and I'm very fortunate to have been
given the opportunity to work out every muscle in my throat
between them, but I'd have to say Guilmon. His sense of
vulnerability, loyalty, trust and general joy of life are
qualities I respect and try to emulate in my own life.
CMcF: In season two, most of your voices had a similar tone
(Poromon being the exception), but in season three, you've
totally moved beyond what you did in season two, with a
remarkably different range of characters. But if there was one
other character in the show who you would like to be able to
voice, who would it be?
SJB: Season two would have been Veemon. Loved that little guy. In
season three, hard to say... I was very happy with the voices I
landed. I got all the ones I wanted. Maybe Beelzemon/Impmon.
Nobody could have done it better than Steve Prince, tho.
CMcF: As a writer, is
there one episode, or maybe one character, above any others, that
you particularly enjoyed writing for? Anything you didn't?
SJB: Kazu, Rika, Terriermon and Impmon. They all had such high
snot factors. I used to giggle to myself in the middle of the
night writing for them. Seth Walther killed me with some of his
dialogue for those guys. I had a hard time with Renamon
sometimes. I really had to hold back. She was just so cool. I
guess that means I'm not.
Calumon took me a little while to catch on to, but after a while,
writing for him became like playing with a puppy. Just a bouncing
little ball of innocence and unencumbered joy.
CMcF: The writing of season three is, on the whole,
somewhat darker than that of past seasons. Do you think that it
is perhaps going over the target audience's heads a little bit?
Does having a childish character like Guilmon help keep it more
on their level?
SJB: Yup. Sometimes it even goes over my head! I've learned a lot
from the show. We did our best to preserve the integrity of the
real life situations - even if they were sometimes harsh.
Characters like Guilmon certainly helped me to digest a cartoon
that incorporated and even embraced the dysfunction that we all
experience.
CMcF: Can you comment at all on the possibility of a new
Digimon movie? We know that some existing movies have been
translated into English by Saban, before the ABC Family takeover.
Has said takeover affected the possibility of a new movie in any
way, good or bad?
SJB: It's definitely a possibility. Sorry. Does that help?
CMcF: Ever had your face or voice recognised by anyone
when out and about?
SJB: Not the face. I like being anonymous. Occasionally, someone
will recognise my voice. Nobody's made a huge deal about it.
CMcF: Would you say you have obtained work on other
projects (in any capacity), as a result notoriety derived from
previous high-profile work, or would you consider each project to
be independent?
SJB: A lot of my work happens by referral within the industry,
but I still audition like most voice folks. The awareness factor
definitely gets me into auditions, tho. My agent has been very
helpful too. I really should test the market with a little
self-promotion. Thanks for reminding me!
CMcF: It's my understanding that a lot of voice actors rarely
watch the shows they work on. Does this hold true for you? If you
do watch the shows, what are you opinions of them?
SJB: It's hard to catch everything that airs. I record when I
can. Many things show up on video, but in most cases, we don't
get copies of them. I buy or rent some of my stuff once in a
while just to check in. There are always shows that I'm proud of
and just as many that I watch and go "ulgghhh." I don't
have a lot of time to watch anyway. It can get embarrassing when
confronted by fans that know 100 times more about my character
than I do. I usually don't see the script until seconds before
recording and rarely get to play off of other's performances, so
I have to rely on the director a lot for context. Unless I see
the show when it comes out (or I'm writing for it), I have no
idea what happened except for my scenes.
CMcF: It's fair to say that voice actors are offered
little appreciation for what they do, beyond cult and fan
followings. What are your opinions on this?
SJB: I love what I do. How many people can say that about their
jobs?
The fans responses are plenty for me. As long as they enjoy it
and my peers respect me, that's all I can ask. I love the
anonymity factor. That's the main reason I don't do on-camera. My
private life needs to stay private. I never have to worry about
not looking right when I'm in public. I'm a shorts and t-shirt
kinda guy.
CMcF: What advice do you have you for those out there who
aspire to be voice actors? How should they go about making their
way into the industry?
SJB: Whew, that's a toughy. It ain't easy, my friends. Above
everything, listen. Listen to voices that you think are within
your range naturally. Start there and record yourself. Any
recorder will do. Listen to yourself and get used to how you
sound on tape. You may be surprised at what you hear. Write down
dialogue that you enjoy - from cartoons, commercials, movies -
and give it your own spin - on tape. Pass it around to friends
and family - especially kids, and get their input. Read for
schools - in character voices for practice. When you get a tape
together that you think is good, (no more than about 2 and a half
minutes - with short bits of each character) have an agent listen
to it and critique you. Take classes. Contact working voice
actors and get their input on what you do. If you do get
auditions and gigs - BE RESPONSIBLE! Show up on time and with a
good attitude. Most importantly, have fun!!!
When I got into the industry, I was told not to expect to make a
living at this. But I do. It's possible.
CMcF: Who would you cite as your inspirations, in life, in the
industry, in anything?
SJB: I find inspiration in many places. Anyone that does
what they do well - from musicians, to doctors, to car wash
attendants - if a person cares about what they do and they do it
to the best of their ability - I admire that. It's a formula that
will always work. I'm inspired by the simplicity and complexity
of nature. By the blunt honesty and caring of my girlfriend. By
the love of my family and friends. By the greats in the industry.
By the performances of my peers.
CMcF: Are there any individuals in the industry who you would
like to work with in the future?
SJB: I just worked with one of my heroes - Frank Welker. He's one
of the "it" guys for me. Wow, there's so many that I've
met, but not yet worked with…Charlie Adler, Maurice
LeMarche, Bob Bergen (we've worked opposite one another on shows,
but never in the same room), Rob Paulsen, Joe Alasky, Hank
Azaria, plus Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Mike Judge, Tress
MacNielle, Billy West…
CMcF: What do you do in your spare time? What hobbies or
interests do you have?
SJB: Sleep. I love music. I play some guitar and am learning hand
percussion (I'm becoming a drum circle junkie). Art, animals,
anything outdoors, love to cook and eat.
CMcF: What are you working on at the moment? What can we
expect to see from you next?
SJB: Just did a couple of episodes of "Scooby Doo." I'm
in the new Disney flick "Lilo and Stitch" coming out in
June, still playing "Tom" for Toonami on Cartoon
network and have a bunch of pilots and films that I can't yet
talk about. Did a couple of Havoline radio spots with Mario
Andretti and a Bud commercial recently - those should be playing
by now too! Just about to start on Digimon season 4. See if you
guys can figure out my characters on that one!
CMcF: Any final words you'd like to impart to the fans?
SJB: All I can say is thank you. Thanks for your loyalty, thanks
for getting the jokes, thanks for supporting my habit!!!
Thanks once again go out to Wendee Lee for her help in setting up another great interview.
