The
career of Richard Epcar is a varied one. He has written and
directed television shows from "Dr. Quinn, Medicine
Woman," to the American incarnation of "Power
Rangers" and other live-action Saban shows, and done the
same for the English language versions of such movies as
"Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." He has also written and/or
directed the English language versions of many animes, including
the current "Mon Colle Knights" and "Transformers:
Robots in Disguise."
His live action acting has spanned movies
("Memoirs of an Invisible Man"), television
("General Hospital," "Days of our Lives") and
theatre, while his voice work can be heard in many places - in
the ADR tracks of many popular films, including
"Independence Day" and the recent blockbuster,
"Gladiator," as well as in many popular animes, such as
“Fist of the North Star,” "Trigun,"
"Macross," and as Bateau in the modern classic,
"Ghost in the Shell."
To us Digi-fans, however, he's the voice of both
Myotismon and Etemon - ironically playing the most popular and
most loathed villains from the series. He took some time out of
his busy schedule to answer some of my questions.
Chris McFeely: On “Digimon,” you’re
known as a voice actor (and a director, according to your
website, though this is news to the fandom), while on other anime
shows, you’ve written and directed. You’ve also
written, directed, acted and handled ADR in assorted live-action
series and movies as well – but which of all these is your
favourite to do? For what reasons?
Richard Epcar: It’s hard to say which is my favorite
because I enjoy it all. To be honest with you cartoons are easier
to do than live action because it’s easier to do the
lip-sych on cartoons. The fun thing about cartoons is that you
can be ‘big’ with the characters where as in live
action you generally have to match what the original actors are
doing. And yes I was one of the original directors of
‘Digimon.' I directed many series for Saban, but was only
credited on a few. The reason for that is that whoever is
directing the pilot or first few episodes of a show is whose name
is on the credits. Even if they are no longer with the show.
Once the credits are cut-they keep them the same credits
throughout the series, basically because it’s cheaper. But
unfortunately a lot of work that I had done for that company was
never credited, which is why you didn’t know that I directed
the show and that I did the voices of Myotismon, Etemon and
Apemon and others.
CMcF:
When, and through what circumstances, did you decide you wanted
to build yourself a career in this industry?
RE: Well I started out as an actor and I still consider
myself an actor. I also consider myself a director and
writer. I think all of my creative stuff comes from the same
place. I’m really fortunate that I’ve been able to
channel my creativity in a number of ways. But back to the
original question, and that is, I’ve always known that I
wanted to be an actor and in this business. I was always in
plays throughout school, when I was growing up. So in a way I
guess I was lucky, because there was never any doubt in my mind
that I was going to be in this business.
CMcF: When did you get your big break into the industry?
What were you doing beforehand?
RE: I’m still waiting for my big break, the one that
will catapult me into on-camera fame. I have been very
fortunate, however. I came to L.A. in the early Eighties,
(I’m sure some of you reading this are going, “I was
born then!”) anyway- I had a couple hundred dollars in
my pocket, from selling my drum set, I didn’t know anyone
out here, but I knew that I was going to live here. As I
said I was very lucky. I only had to do a
‘straight’ job for a few months and then I got into a
Rep Theatre company. There I met my wife, Ellyn Stern, and she introduced
me to someone who was dubbing a film into English. They
asked if I could do that, and being an actor, I said,
“sure”. Well I got the lead and I really took to
it. You can either dub or you can’t, and generally
musical people can (remember I said I was a drummer?). Anyway
from there I did a ton of voice work and then one day a studio
had a feature length cartoon that no one in town wanted to
do. They asked me if I could do it, and being an actor, I
said, “sure”. So I wrote and directed it and
changed it completely and made it funny and it was a big hit
called, ‘Captain Schnauzer’. The company that did
that had a series called ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ that
wanted to do for the Family Channel, but they wanted me to do it,
and being an actor, I said, “sure”. And it just
continued on. The next film I did into English was
‘Cinema Paradiso’, the movie won the Academy Award for
Best Foreign Film, and ever since then I have not stopped doing
this work. I just finished 3 Academy nominated films, and I
have 3 more to do before the end of January, which is next to
impossible. That’s another thing, I’ve got a
reputation for not only doing these films well, but also fast.
CMcF: How did you branch out from the area you started
in, to the other fields in which you have worked within the
industry?
RE: See above. I still act on camera and
on stage. As I said I do a lot of things that I feel are
connected. The other cool thing is that DreamWorks,
Universal Pictures and UIP have asked me to supervise foreign
dubs of their films. So last year I spent 6 months in
Europe. I was working on the German dub of
‘Gladiator’, and I also supervised the mix at Pinewood
Studios in England (down your way I believe) and I did
‘Chicken Run (the Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish version)
‘Galaxy Quest’ (the German version) and ‘El
Dorado’ (the Norwegian version). I had a great time
traveling all around.
CMcF: Through what events were you approached for the
“Digimon” series? As I said above, it was not
previously known that you had directed any episodes during the
series – when you were approached for the series, was it to
actor direct? Whichever it was, how did you come to work in the
other capacity on the show?
RE: On ‘Digimon’ I was asked originally to
direct. As I said before, I had done a lot of shows for
Saban, and they asked me to do it-so I did. I left
‘Digimon’ because of the DreamWorks projects. When I
left I was replaced. When I returned, they had this character
Myotismon that they thought I would be right for. Actually
one of the jobs I did when I first got to town here was, I played
‘Dracula’ at the Universal Studios Show ‘Castle
Dracula’. So basically Myotismon is my
‘Dracula’ without the accent. But he looks like
Dracula, doesn’t he? Then they asked me to do Etemon, which
is really me doing Elvis. I had so much fun doing him and I
got to sing - I was very sad when that character ended because I
really loved doing him. That’s probably one of the most
fun experiences I’ve ever had behind the mike. The
funny thing about him was when I was in Israel doing
‘Chicken Run’, they were dubbing ‘Digimon’
into Hebrew. When they found out that I was Etemon, they
went nuts.
CMcF: You’ve only been identified as two characters
– Myotismon and Etemon (and their respective other forms)
– on “Digimon.” Of course, judging by the size of
your credits list, you’re a busy man, so I don’t know
that you could answer this question – but if you can
remember, have you done any other voices on the show previously?
RE: I have been in now and again to do various voices on the
show. The only other one I remember doing is
Apemon. And the only reason that I even remember doing him
is because I did a promo for Fox television and they wanted
Apemon. You have to remember that I’m doing stuff all
the time, like a lot of these guys, and after years of this
stuff, a lot of it starts to blend together. There are
characters that stick in your mind, like Myotismon and Etemon
because they were so much fun, but as I said, you do a lot jobs,
then you move on to the next one.
CMcF: Have you done any recording for the third, current
season of the show?
RE: Yes I have been there several times to do some characters -
unfortunately I can’t remember who they are. Sorry.
CMcF: Now,
as to the directing – when did you direct for the show? You
have never been credited as in any capacity in the show credits,
so asking you is the only way to find this out.
RE: Yes as I said earlier, I basically co-directed most of the
first season.
CMcF: Have you ever found your voice (or indeed, your
face) recognized by anyone when out and about?
RE: Yes - sometimes people will say they recognize my
voice. I was at Twentieth Century Fox and I was auditioning
for a TV part and I asked directions from someone and the guy
started rattling off my credits. It was kind of a
shock. He also asked me for an autograph and it was a really
nice thing. The other time was when I was on ‘Days of
Our Lives’ for a long time and people at the market
recognized me. It was fun. I think it’s nice, when
people want to let you know that they liked something you did.
CMcF: Would you say that you have been cast in - or
obtained writing or directing work on – other projects as a
result of notoriety derived from previous high-profile work, or
would you consider each project to be independent?
RE: It depends. There’s no question that sometimes
working on one show will lead to another. Or that a contact
that you’ve made somewhere, will lead to something
else. The dubbing world is really pretty close knit. So
those of us who work a lot are pretty well known to the people
who do this a lot.
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 your opinions of
them? As a writer and director, perhaps watching is not as
necessary for you – Jeff Nimoy previously described it as
“frustrating,” as it can make you wish you had done
things differently.
RE:
Well, I can appreciate what Jeff means. There’s always
going to be things that you wished you had done better or
different. If I can see something that I worked on, sure I
would like to see it. Generally I’m too busy to watch
something on TV. The films that I do, sometimes they give me
a copy after we’ve finished and yes I will watch
it. Saban did something really nice with
‘Transformers’, they gave us copies of the shows we
wrote. They had never done that before, but it’s great,
because now I can see them.
CMcF: It’s fair to say that voice actors receive
little appreciation for what they do, beyond cult and fan
followings. What are your opinions on this? Do you like the
anonymity that seems to go hand-in-hand with the job? Or does
being on camera appeal to you more?
RE: Well, I like it all. I really enjoy doing voice work
because you’re not limited to what you look like. You
can do all sorts of characters and that is really fun. But would
I like a huge on-camera career? You bet!
CMcF: What advice do you have for those out there who
aspire to be voice actors? How should they go about making their
way into the industry?
RE: Well, I think that you have to move to L.A. True, some
work is done in New York or Canada, but I still think the bulk of
it is done here. If you’re serious, you have to
train. Take classes with reputable teachers, who are
recognized by the industry. Make demo voice tapes and then
pound the pavement. Meet as many people as you can and audition
for everything that you can, and keep training and working
towards your goal.
CMcF: Are there any individuals in the industry that you
would like/hope to work with in the future?
RE: Voice wise I’d like to work on 'The Simpsons’
because it’s so well written, and ‘Actionman’
because I’m right for the bad guys. There are several shows
that I’d like to do - as for individuals that I’d like
to work with, I’d love to work with Sean Connery, Anthony
Hopkins, I’d love to work with Sam Neill again, Clint
Eastwood, Robert DeNiro, there are many more. I just
want to work with good people who enjoy what they do, are
professional, and are fun to work with.
CMcF:
Are you friendly with any of the other voice actors on the shows
you work on?
RE: Yes definitely. We all pretty much know each
other. Most of them are wonderful people. I also know a
lot of them because I direct and see them, where as when you only
act, you don’t always see the other actors.
CMcF: What do you do in your spare time? What hobbies or
interests do you have?
RE: I still play my drums. I’m in a band right now and
when time permits, we get together and play and that is my
therapy. I also like to work out - that is important to
me. I collect James Bond stuff.
CMcF: What are you working on at the moment? What can we
expect to see from you next?
RE: Right now I’m working on the movie ‘Iron
Monkey’. It’s a great film, a lot of
action. I have two more lined up right now and Universal
called to see if I’m available to go overseas
again. Cartoon wise I’m working on several cartoon
shows including ‘Mon Colle Knights’ and a very funny
cartoon called ‘Mummy Nanny’ for Bob Buchholz and Jeff
Nimoy, it’s so much fun because they’re letting me do
ten different voices, and the show’s hilarious.
CMcF: Any final words you’d like to impart to the
fans?
RE: I would just like to say thank you to the fans. If they like
something that I do, that makes me happy. I have a lot of
fun working on ‘Digimon’ and shows like
it. Don’t get me wrong it’s also a lot of hard
work, but I really love it and I’m really fortunate to be
getting paid for something I love.
I wish you all a wonderful New Year, one that is peaceful, safe,
healthy, prosperous and fun. All my best to all of you.
Check out Richard's website HERE.
