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Voice Coaches Radio #446 – D.B. and Dave
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome into this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Heller, delighted to have you joining me as I am each and every week. Here from Voice Coaches Central in Colonie, New York. So as we have been doing, and as we will continue to do, we're taking a look back into the archives of Voice Coaches Radio, which goes all the way back to a little year, like 2008.
Uh, so it has been some time. Um, and, uh, I'm gonna be taking a look at some of the, some of the greatest hits, as it were. Um, I know that... Uh, with the archives that they have with over a decade's worth of information in there, it's, it's, it's hard to take some time and go through all those archives. I understand most people don't have the time to do that, but we do.
I do. So, uh, I've been doing that and, uh, had a chance to, uh, to come upon a, an episode. from back late 2010, I believe, uh, again with Warren Garling and Mike Spring. And, uh, they had a chance, or Mike did, had a chance to chat with a couple actors who also do voice acting. And we talk a lot about people who are, who are voice actors, and that's kind of their main profession, but, you know, there's a lot of pretty mainstream actors who do voice acting as well.
And at the time, he had a chance to speak with a couple of them, Dave Foley and D. B. Sweeney. Now, D. B. Sweeney, uh, probably best known for, uh, for his role in, in, uh, one of, a movie that, uh, I, I will fully admit I love. Uh, it's called The Cutting Edge. It, uh, it's about a, it's about a hockey player, played by D. B. Sweeney, who gets injured and can't play hockey anymore and, uh, ends up becoming a doubles figure skater. And it is tremendous. And, uh, if you haven't seen it, shame on you. Shame on you. Uh, it is, uh, it is corny, and it is hokey, and it is wonderful. So, uh, Love that movie, by the way. Love, uh, love that movie.
Uh, Toe Pick. If you don't get that reference, then you haven't seen the movie. Do so. You will, you'll thank me for it later. Um, so, uh, so, besides that movie, he's also, he has done some voice acting work and some pretty big voice acting work, uh, as well for some animated, uh, animated features. And, uh, so Mike had a chance to talk with him.
The other man he talked with was, uh, was Dave Foley. Now, uh, Dave Foley has been around for, for quite some time now. Uh, he was one of the original members from Kids in the Hall, which was, uh, a Canadian sketch comedy. Uh, I first really came into contact with Dave Foley with his, uh, with his work at News Radio, um, a television show that was around, uh, Featured the, uh, the great Phil Hartman, uh, Stephen Root, uh, Andy Dick, uh, Joe Rogan, actually, I think got a start in, uh, in that show.
Just a tremendous show, um, uh, as, as well. Uh, love, love, love that show. Um. But he's also done a ton of other stuff, including a, a, he was the main voice in, in, in A Bug's Life, in Pixar's A Bug's Life. So, um, so he certainly has, uh, spent his time both in front of the camera and behind the microphone as well.
And like I said, Mike had a chance to chat with both of them, uh, talking a little bit about, uh, their voice acting work, about the industry, about, uh, you know, the differences in it and things like that. So just, uh, just kind of an interesting perspective from, from two guys who have had success, you know, actually.
Being actors in front of the camera, but have also found some success and some enjoyment being behind the microphone as well. So take a listen.
Well, I have recently had occasion to speak with a couple of actors who you might know. Uh, the first one was D. B. Sweeney, probably most famous for, uh, the movie The Cutting Edge.
And, um, some other movies like Fire in the Sky, he was on 24 for a season. Uh, one of these kind of character actors who's been around for a very long time. Even if you don't know the name, I'm sure once you see him. Yeah. You'd know him.
And you might even know his voice when you hear it in a few moments.
Absolutely. And the second person I spoke to was Dave Foley. Very popular on, um, news radio. He was one of the original kids in the hall.
He does a lot of guest starring roles on TV now that I see.
Yeah, he's all over the place. And he's always funny. I've seen him in serious stuff like CSI, but I've also seen him on some comedies and, you know, so he gets around as well.
And he did a movie, didn't he?
Yeah, a little film you might have heard of called A Bug's Life, one of Pixar's earliest successes. He was actually the lead role of Flick. D. B. Sweeney also has done a good amount of voice acting. He was the lead role in Disney's Dinosaur, which was not a Pixar film. It was right around the time Pixar started, um, but it was Disney's first attempt at a computer generated animated film.
Interesting.
So both of these guys have done a lot of Big, big roles in the voiceover world. And I got a chance to talk to them a little bit about what those roles were like, what it was like recording. And of course, their thoughts on everyone's favorite animation studio, Pixar.
I have given up on asking Mike where he finds these people, but I'm glad he does. Let's listen.
My, my little black book extends far and wide into the Hollywood Hills. Okay. Now let's listen.
I'm curious about your voiceover work that you did in, you know, like Dinosaur and Brother Bear and what you like about voiceover work and, and also if you have plans of doing more of it.
Yeah, you know, I, I would love to do another animated movie, especially, I would give anything to be a Pixar movie, because Pixar is really the only studio left in Hollywood.
I mean, everything else is just a, you know, a distribution clearinghouse that no studio has, like. The way Warner Brothers back in the 30s and 40s had, you know, the Warner Brothers, you know, the action movies that they had, you know, the Bogart and Cagney movies. And they had a real, you knew when you were watching a Warner Brothers movie.
And, uh, you know, and then Disney had a, had an imprint through it for a long time, obviously on family entertainment, but now all of that's sort of gone away and they all just. Do whatever they can to try and make money. But Pixar comes out with a movie that, you know, you can watch with your kids. It's going to be sophisticated enough to keep parents interested and funny enough to keep the kids interested.
It's going to be emotional and it's going to be great. And they, I don't know how many they've made nine or 10 or whatever, but they've all been home runs and nobody's ever done that. And, and they're, you know, so, I mean, they should bet whatever movie they put out should be best picture every year and they've never won it once.
So I just think it's kind of funny, but, uh, so I would love to work for that company because there's so much thought that goes into the characters. And, you know, you could, you're like the finishing touch on these, you know, animated roles. I had a lot of fun working on Dinosaur, and I've made most of my living over the last 15 years or so doing voiceovers for companies like Lincoln Cars and Bud Light Beer and, um, and currently I'm doing John Deere and a couple other things, so I really enjoy the process of voiceovers because, you know, you sort of, once you take your face out of it, You really have to be specific and you have to sort of distill down what you're trying to communicate.
So it's a kind of an interesting art form and I always was a big fan of the radio. You know, I used to listen to the Bob and Ray show when I was a kid, you know, recordings of it. And so I'm really interested in, in, in radio and the idea of just using your voice.
In addition to all your on camera work, I don't, I don't know that a lot of people realize you do a pretty decent amount of voiceover work as well. Um, obviously Flick and, and A Bug's Life, but a lot of, um, you know, animated series and stuff like that. Is there anything that you like about voice acting better than on camera acting?
How do you feel, how are they different?
Uh, I don't know that I like better about it. I mean, it's, it's different in that, in that you're only one part of the, uh, character. You know, you're providing one element of the character, and that's the voice. You know, and then, uh, you know, a sense of timing. And then other people are creating all the physical side of the performance.
So you're really collaborating with animators, and the director, and you know, in a pretty, uh, you know, even way. You're just one element. And it's fun, you know, you just go into a room and you don't have to dress up or put on makeup. You, you do have to stand in the middle of a room and pretend that things are going on around you.
And, you know, that, you know, a lot of times that just feels silly. You know, when you have to, you know, pretend to be getting beat up or bounced off a rock or, you know, that can start to feel pretty silly.
And going back to Bug's Life, when you worked with Pixar on that film, it was their second movie, and now they've kind of gone on to become this huge Hollywood juggernaut movie studio everybody wants to work with.
What was that experience like for you?
Uh, well, I knew what they already were because I was a huge fan of, of Toy Story, and thought, you know, that they had, you know, and I've always been a big fan of animation, so I'm... was following the stuff they were developing and thought, you know, that they were brilliant and just like great storytellers and that they'd taken, like, the technical side of it further than anybody else.
I went into audition not thinking I would get a part in the movie, but just because I wanted to really meet the guys who did the Toy Story. And definitely as we were making it, I just knew these people were brilliant, you know, incredibly, incredibly talented and dedicated artists. You know, and John Lasker and Andrew Stanton, who directed A Bug's Life, were just like...
The coolest guys on Earth. So, you know, you've stayed friends, you know, all these years later. And in fact, John brought me back in to do, uh, Trap and Landing for Disney. At the time of Bug's Life, uh, the year it came out, we had the record for the highest Thanksgiving weekend, uh, box office grosses. And I think Pixar has gone on to break that record every year since then, so no one remembers.
Well, it's still a very well loved film, so I'm sure you're very proud of it. I am very, very proud of it. I still watch it every once in a while with my kids.
And that was Mike talking to, uh, both D. B. Sweeney and Dave Foley, uh, from back in 2010. Back in the archives and the in the way back machine of voice coaches radio always interesting to get those perspectives as well Very different perspective from those who you know, necessarily didn't didn't start out behind the microphone started in front of the camera But but found some some success there as well.
So always interesting to hear that But if there's something that you'd like us to discuss here on voice coaches, radio, a topic you want us to discuss a, a guest, you want us to try to look to get a, we'd be more than happy to do. So just let us know podcast at voice coaches. com is the best way to get in touch with me.
[email protected] can always send it right to me. Uh, because again, as I always say, it's not just, it's not just my show. It's your show, too. And we do thank you so much for tuning us in this week. And again, thanks to Mike and Warren, who had their interviews with DB Sweeney and Dave Foley.
Hopefully you enjoyed those. We'll continue this look back at, uh, the times that were, at voice coaches, uh, voice coaches in its infancy, voice coaches, radio, rather in its infancy, uh, next week. So, uh, I do certainly hope that you will, uh, you will tune in for that as well. Again, questions, comments, concerns, anything you want to discuss, let us know [email protected] is the best way to do that. But until next time, then I appreciate y'all for tuning in so long, everyone.
Uh, so it has been some time. Um, and, uh, I'm gonna be taking a look at some of the, some of the greatest hits, as it were. Um, I know that... Uh, with the archives that they have with over a decade's worth of information in there, it's, it's, it's hard to take some time and go through all those archives. I understand most people don't have the time to do that, but we do.
I do. So, uh, I've been doing that and, uh, had a chance to, uh, to come upon a, an episode. from back late 2010, I believe, uh, again with Warren Garling and Mike Spring. And, uh, they had a chance, or Mike did, had a chance to chat with a couple actors who also do voice acting. And we talk a lot about people who are, who are voice actors, and that's kind of their main profession, but, you know, there's a lot of pretty mainstream actors who do voice acting as well.
And at the time, he had a chance to speak with a couple of them, Dave Foley and D. B. Sweeney. Now, D. B. Sweeney, uh, probably best known for, uh, for his role in, in, uh, one of, a movie that, uh, I, I will fully admit I love. Uh, it's called The Cutting Edge. It, uh, it's about a, it's about a hockey player, played by D. B. Sweeney, who gets injured and can't play hockey anymore and, uh, ends up becoming a doubles figure skater. And it is tremendous. And, uh, if you haven't seen it, shame on you. Shame on you. Uh, it is, uh, it is corny, and it is hokey, and it is wonderful. So, uh, Love that movie, by the way. Love, uh, love that movie.
Uh, Toe Pick. If you don't get that reference, then you haven't seen the movie. Do so. You will, you'll thank me for it later. Um, so, uh, so, besides that movie, he's also, he has done some voice acting work and some pretty big voice acting work, uh, as well for some animated, uh, animated features. And, uh, so Mike had a chance to talk with him.
The other man he talked with was, uh, was Dave Foley. Now, uh, Dave Foley has been around for, for quite some time now. Uh, he was one of the original members from Kids in the Hall, which was, uh, a Canadian sketch comedy. Uh, I first really came into contact with Dave Foley with his, uh, with his work at News Radio, um, a television show that was around, uh, Featured the, uh, the great Phil Hartman, uh, Stephen Root, uh, Andy Dick, uh, Joe Rogan, actually, I think got a start in, uh, in that show.
Just a tremendous show, um, uh, as, as well. Uh, love, love, love that show. Um. But he's also done a ton of other stuff, including a, a, he was the main voice in, in, in A Bug's Life, in Pixar's A Bug's Life. So, um, so he certainly has, uh, spent his time both in front of the camera and behind the microphone as well.
And like I said, Mike had a chance to chat with both of them, uh, talking a little bit about, uh, their voice acting work, about the industry, about, uh, you know, the differences in it and things like that. So just, uh, just kind of an interesting perspective from, from two guys who have had success, you know, actually.
Being actors in front of the camera, but have also found some success and some enjoyment being behind the microphone as well. So take a listen.
Well, I have recently had occasion to speak with a couple of actors who you might know. Uh, the first one was D. B. Sweeney, probably most famous for, uh, the movie The Cutting Edge.
And, um, some other movies like Fire in the Sky, he was on 24 for a season. Uh, one of these kind of character actors who's been around for a very long time. Even if you don't know the name, I'm sure once you see him. Yeah. You'd know him.
And you might even know his voice when you hear it in a few moments.
Absolutely. And the second person I spoke to was Dave Foley. Very popular on, um, news radio. He was one of the original kids in the hall.
He does a lot of guest starring roles on TV now that I see.
Yeah, he's all over the place. And he's always funny. I've seen him in serious stuff like CSI, but I've also seen him on some comedies and, you know, so he gets around as well.
And he did a movie, didn't he?
Yeah, a little film you might have heard of called A Bug's Life, one of Pixar's earliest successes. He was actually the lead role of Flick. D. B. Sweeney also has done a good amount of voice acting. He was the lead role in Disney's Dinosaur, which was not a Pixar film. It was right around the time Pixar started, um, but it was Disney's first attempt at a computer generated animated film.
Interesting.
So both of these guys have done a lot of Big, big roles in the voiceover world. And I got a chance to talk to them a little bit about what those roles were like, what it was like recording. And of course, their thoughts on everyone's favorite animation studio, Pixar.
I have given up on asking Mike where he finds these people, but I'm glad he does. Let's listen.
My, my little black book extends far and wide into the Hollywood Hills. Okay. Now let's listen.
I'm curious about your voiceover work that you did in, you know, like Dinosaur and Brother Bear and what you like about voiceover work and, and also if you have plans of doing more of it.
Yeah, you know, I, I would love to do another animated movie, especially, I would give anything to be a Pixar movie, because Pixar is really the only studio left in Hollywood.
I mean, everything else is just a, you know, a distribution clearinghouse that no studio has, like. The way Warner Brothers back in the 30s and 40s had, you know, the Warner Brothers, you know, the action movies that they had, you know, the Bogart and Cagney movies. And they had a real, you knew when you were watching a Warner Brothers movie.
And, uh, you know, and then Disney had a, had an imprint through it for a long time, obviously on family entertainment, but now all of that's sort of gone away and they all just. Do whatever they can to try and make money. But Pixar comes out with a movie that, you know, you can watch with your kids. It's going to be sophisticated enough to keep parents interested and funny enough to keep the kids interested.
It's going to be emotional and it's going to be great. And they, I don't know how many they've made nine or 10 or whatever, but they've all been home runs and nobody's ever done that. And, and they're, you know, so, I mean, they should bet whatever movie they put out should be best picture every year and they've never won it once.
So I just think it's kind of funny, but, uh, so I would love to work for that company because there's so much thought that goes into the characters. And, you know, you could, you're like the finishing touch on these, you know, animated roles. I had a lot of fun working on Dinosaur, and I've made most of my living over the last 15 years or so doing voiceovers for companies like Lincoln Cars and Bud Light Beer and, um, and currently I'm doing John Deere and a couple other things, so I really enjoy the process of voiceovers because, you know, you sort of, once you take your face out of it, You really have to be specific and you have to sort of distill down what you're trying to communicate.
So it's a kind of an interesting art form and I always was a big fan of the radio. You know, I used to listen to the Bob and Ray show when I was a kid, you know, recordings of it. And so I'm really interested in, in, in radio and the idea of just using your voice.
In addition to all your on camera work, I don't, I don't know that a lot of people realize you do a pretty decent amount of voiceover work as well. Um, obviously Flick and, and A Bug's Life, but a lot of, um, you know, animated series and stuff like that. Is there anything that you like about voice acting better than on camera acting?
How do you feel, how are they different?
Uh, I don't know that I like better about it. I mean, it's, it's different in that, in that you're only one part of the, uh, character. You know, you're providing one element of the character, and that's the voice. You know, and then, uh, you know, a sense of timing. And then other people are creating all the physical side of the performance.
So you're really collaborating with animators, and the director, and you know, in a pretty, uh, you know, even way. You're just one element. And it's fun, you know, you just go into a room and you don't have to dress up or put on makeup. You, you do have to stand in the middle of a room and pretend that things are going on around you.
And, you know, that, you know, a lot of times that just feels silly. You know, when you have to, you know, pretend to be getting beat up or bounced off a rock or, you know, that can start to feel pretty silly.
And going back to Bug's Life, when you worked with Pixar on that film, it was their second movie, and now they've kind of gone on to become this huge Hollywood juggernaut movie studio everybody wants to work with.
What was that experience like for you?
Uh, well, I knew what they already were because I was a huge fan of, of Toy Story, and thought, you know, that they had, you know, and I've always been a big fan of animation, so I'm... was following the stuff they were developing and thought, you know, that they were brilliant and just like great storytellers and that they'd taken, like, the technical side of it further than anybody else.
I went into audition not thinking I would get a part in the movie, but just because I wanted to really meet the guys who did the Toy Story. And definitely as we were making it, I just knew these people were brilliant, you know, incredibly, incredibly talented and dedicated artists. You know, and John Lasker and Andrew Stanton, who directed A Bug's Life, were just like...
The coolest guys on Earth. So, you know, you've stayed friends, you know, all these years later. And in fact, John brought me back in to do, uh, Trap and Landing for Disney. At the time of Bug's Life, uh, the year it came out, we had the record for the highest Thanksgiving weekend, uh, box office grosses. And I think Pixar has gone on to break that record every year since then, so no one remembers.
Well, it's still a very well loved film, so I'm sure you're very proud of it. I am very, very proud of it. I still watch it every once in a while with my kids.
And that was Mike talking to, uh, both D. B. Sweeney and Dave Foley, uh, from back in 2010. Back in the archives and the in the way back machine of voice coaches radio always interesting to get those perspectives as well Very different perspective from those who you know, necessarily didn't didn't start out behind the microphone started in front of the camera But but found some some success there as well.
So always interesting to hear that But if there's something that you'd like us to discuss here on voice coaches, radio, a topic you want us to discuss a, a guest, you want us to try to look to get a, we'd be more than happy to do. So just let us know podcast at voice coaches. com is the best way to get in touch with me.
[email protected] can always send it right to me. Uh, because again, as I always say, it's not just, it's not just my show. It's your show, too. And we do thank you so much for tuning us in this week. And again, thanks to Mike and Warren, who had their interviews with DB Sweeney and Dave Foley.
Hopefully you enjoyed those. We'll continue this look back at, uh, the times that were, at voice coaches, uh, voice coaches in its infancy, voice coaches, radio, rather in its infancy, uh, next week. So, uh, I do certainly hope that you will, uh, you will tune in for that as well. Again, questions, comments, concerns, anything you want to discuss, let us know [email protected] is the best way to do that. But until next time, then I appreciate y'all for tuning in so long, everyone.
Josh digs through the archives to find an episode where Mike and Warren from the Voice Coaches team interview voice over and industry professionals D.B. and Dave.
