INTERVIEW: True Blood's Ryan Kwanten Goes Digital
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 05:54
- Written by Lupe Haas
True Blood fans may be surprised to learn Ryan Kwanten hails from Australia which is a far cry from his portrayal of Southern born Jason Stackhouse on the hit cable show. CineMovie sat down with the voice over talent from LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE who explains his encounters with fans often leads to confusion when he speaks in his native accent. "Fans think I'm actually putting on this (Australian) voice," according to the Sydney native. Fans will likely not recognize Ryan's voice as Kludd since audiences are accustomed to his American Southern accent.
MOVIE CLIP: Watch Ryan Kwanten as Kludd
Before the 34 year-old actor found success with True Blood, Ryan Kwanten was a star down under with a hit tv show (Home and Away). After a successful run on Australian television, Ryan came to Hollywood and dropped the accent for many of his American roles in films such as Flicka and The Junction Boys. In person, Ryan Kwanten is far removed from his Jason Stackhouse persona with his self-assured tone and foreign accent. For his latest role as the voice of an animated owl who joins the evil Pure One army in LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE, Ryan used a variation of his Australian accent but he tells CineMovie it's more difficult to create a character with his native voice. When giving an accent for a role he says, "I inhabit that character in my own head so much better."
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Ryan's personal accent wasn't the only thing holding back the actor in the recording booth. He describes the first obstacle he had to overcome for his first animated role.
"I'm a very physical actor. To know that it's not going to be seen--that's the first sort of hurdle."
LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE director Zack Snyder offered Ryan the best advise for his first voice over work. According to the True Blood star, Zack told him not to think of it as an animated character but "a living breathing creature." The 300 and The Watchmen helmer was just as much of a stranger to animation as Ryan.
Ryan also admits that having a microphone in front of him was a temptation to go over the top but he learned that subtlety was the best method. English actor Jim Sturgess (21, Across the Universe) experienced the same problem with his first animated role as the film's hero Soren, and Kludd's younger sibling. Ryan, Jim and Zack eventually overcame the hurdles as first timers in the animation world.
After watching LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE for the first time, Ryan was very pleased with Zack Synder's gift in capturing his actions as well as his voice for the owl. "He gets the huffing, puffing, and the exertions. They're all captured and used," according Ryan, who said there was a video camera capturing his performance in the recording booth.
Ryan also praised the director for delivering on its promise to explore the "darker side of life" for an animated film. "Life isn't always a box of chocolates" and "things don't always go your way," explains Ryan, who took on the role because it was sold as that when first approached for the role.
Ryan gravitates to dark material like True Blood which just finished its third season on HBO. The Alan Ball gothic series has become such a phenomenon, we couldn't wait to ask about next season's surprises. Season 4 will introduce witches to the brew of growing supernatural beings. Will Jason Stackhouse start feeling left out of the superpower realm? Ryan sees a possibility that Jason will start questioning "what kind of power I would like to have" in coming seasons.
Ryan bared it all in numerous nude scenes in the first season but Jason Stackhouse's nudity has scaled back in comparison to the other characters. When asked if he's relieved about not having as many scenes in the buff, Ryan doesn't state his preference, but only stated that he trusts Alan Ball and the writers to continue delivering original ideas, and he's "happy to keep being challenged." Ryan will continue being challenged when he returns to the True Blood set mid-November / early December for Season 4.
Ryan spent his True Blood summer hiatus shooting movies with Steve Zahn in The Knights of Badassdom and as a police officer in the modern day revenge story Red Hill. "I work harder on my so called break than when I'm on my show," said the accomplished Aussie.
Ryan Kwanten can now check off animation voice over work from his to-do list when LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE opens in theaters September 24.
