3 ms·

It seems kind of a quirk that we have the same actor or voice actor play many different parts. It's not exactly without value, we get to become fans of an actor

It seems kind of a quirk that we have the same actor or voice actor play many different parts. It's not exactly without value, we get to become fans of an actor; we have an expectation both of quality of parts they take and of their work, and it often gives us an idea what type of movie it'll be. But it still seems that if there were infinitely many high quality actors available, we wouldn't do this. It's hard for me to accept this, and yet I also think it's true and just too ingrained for me to totally get the vision. I convince myself by way of two observations. #1) Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? I don't know of any, in any case it's extremely not common. And #2) With voice acting I mostly find it a distraction and not valuable to recognize the voice actor from another character.

PeterisP 4y ago
> #1) Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? I think there are a bunch of cases in game production where you reuse the animations for a different game for a quite different character with a similar (but different) 3d model; and within a single game you'd often see different NPCs using the exact same movement animations.
majormajor 4y ago
There are far more actors available then there are actors getting parts in blockbuster movies or top-tier TV shows, or even voiceover work. Famous cliche - waiting tables in Hollywood waiting to be noticed to get your break. Picking a known actor is also a marketing move, not just a talent/quality-selection move. (Sometimes it probably goes the other way too, e.g. if an actor is a fan of a game series and wants to be part of it.) The closest thing to your animated character question I can think of is in video games. There's a LOT of different versions of Link/Zelda/Mario/Sonic in different game editions. Where this falls in terms of "sequel" vs "reboot" vs "different Zelda character" is debatable, but here's where I think the connection to Hollywood actors comes in: reusing Link+Zelda instead of just re-using the game mechanics is a marketing play, just like having a famous actor. If you swapped characters and branding straight-up between Banjo Kazooie and Mario 64, which one would be better known today? There's also the light-reskin variant case in things like "Dr Mario", or fighting game characters, which fits more with the budget restriction aspect.
jareklupinski 4y ago
> #1) Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? Maybe not a completely different persona, but those Cartoon Network Adult Swim shows that repurpose old Hanna Barbara stuff (Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law; Sealab 2021) comes to mind
xg15 4y ago
> But it still seems that if there were infinitely many high quality actors available, we wouldn't do this. What does "high quality actor" even mean? In a similar way as with artists, I think this misses that "quality" here is not a one-dimensional scale. There are lots of individual tastes and preferences about the styles of different actors - some people like certain actors, others strongly dislike them. So the closest you could get would be replicating certainly "styles", in the same way as imagine generators attempt to. But I think this underestimates how strong people can become attached to the actual person behind an actor. Casting a certain actors doesn't just influence the style of the work, it can also influence context, political perception, etc. (It is however, dependant on what people know - or perceive - about an actor, something that ironically creates an advantage for voice actors: E.g., in Germany, the vast majority of Hollywood movies are dubbed. Famous actors have their own dedicated german voice actors, so the german audience associates a certain "voice" with, say, Patrick Stewart. If you play a sample of that voice actor to any german adult who has not been living under a rock, they will instantly say "oh yeah, that's Picard/Magneto/etc". Except, the voice doesn't have to do anything with mr. Steward's real voice - it's a separate voice actors who can and does enter into different contracts. However because the public associates him with Patrick Stewart, the public impression sort of transfers onto him.) > And #2) With voice acting I mostly find it a distraction and not valuable to recognize the voice actor from another character. I would disagree here, some voice actors do become famous, and if only inside their community. Tara Strong comes to mind, back when "Bronies" were a thing.
- pjc50 4y ago
  Yeah, this is a cultural difference where the Anglosphere regards voice actors in fairly low regard. Anime fans have a much stronger affection for their voice actors across different characters. And as you say people who get locally dubbed material quickly learn how small a pool of speakers the dubbers draw from. I also think that AI can easily deliver a mediocre voice performance, roughly on the same level as an indifferent English dub of something, but people are just underestimating how much feeling a good voice performance can bring to something.
autoexec 4y ago
> Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? Mickey Mouse is the one I think I've seen most often. He's played a lot of other characters, like Tiny Tim in "Mickey's Christmas Carol", or as Yen Sid's apprentice in "Fantasia". Licensing issues limit animated characters being used as general actors/celebrities in other shows portraying other characters. Animated characters make cameo appearances more often. I agree it can be a little distracting to recognize a voice actor just like it can be distracting to recognize an actor in another work, but in either case what matters most is the performance.
- autoexec 4y ago
  I can't edit this, but I misremembered! Mickey was Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim was Mortimer Mouse.
CuriouslyC 4y ago
Good actors will bring surprising aspects to a role that someone less talented who is just trying to deliver the script without really going deeper will miss. Excellent actors can do multiple distinct voices well and nail their lines the first time which can be a big time saver.

PeterisP 4y ago

> #1) Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? I think there are a bunch of cases in game production where you reuse the animations for a different game for a quite different character with a similar (but different) 3d model; and within a single game you'd often see different NPCs using the exact same movement animations.

majormajor 4y ago

There are far more actors available then there are actors getting parts in blockbuster movies or top-tier TV shows, or even voiceover work. Famous cliche - waiting tables in Hollywood waiting to be noticed to get your break. Picking a known actor is also a marketing move, not just a talent/quality-selection move. (Sometimes it probably goes the other way too, e.g. if an actor is a fan of a game series and wants to be part of it.) The closest thing to your animated character question I can think of is in video games. There's a LOT of different versions of Link/Zelda/Mario/Sonic in different game editions. Where this falls in terms of "sequel" vs "reboot" vs "different Zelda character" is debatable, but here's where I think the connection to Hollywood actors comes in: reusing Link+Zelda instead of just re-using the game mechanics is a marketing play, just like having a famous actor. If you swapped characters and branding straight-up between Banjo Kazooie and Mario 64, which one would be better known today? There's also the light-reskin variant case in things like "Dr Mario", or fighting game characters, which fits more with the budget restriction aspect.

jareklupinski 4y ago

> #1) Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? Maybe not a completely different persona, but those Cartoon Network Adult Swim shows that repurpose old Hanna Barbara stuff (Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law; Sealab 2021) comes to mind

xg15 4y ago

> But it still seems that if there were infinitely many high quality actors available, we wouldn't do this. What does "high quality actor" even mean? In a similar way as with artists, I think this misses that "quality" here is not a one-dimensional scale. There are lots of individual tastes and preferences about the styles of different actors - some people like certain actors, others strongly dislike them. So the closest you could get would be replicating certainly "styles", in the same way as imagine generators attempt to. But I think this underestimates how strong people can become attached to the actual person behind an actor. Casting a certain actors doesn't just influence the style of the work, it can also influence context, political perception, etc. (It is however, dependant on what people know - or perceive - about an actor, something that ironically creates an advantage for voice actors: E.g., in Germany, the vast majority of Hollywood movies are dubbed. Famous actors have their own dedicated german voice actors, so the german audience associates a certain "voice" with, say, Patrick Stewart. If you play a sample of that voice actor to any german adult who has not been living under a rock, they will instantly say "oh yeah, that's Picard/Magneto/etc". Except, the voice doesn't have to do anything with mr. Steward's real voice - it's a separate voice actors who can and does enter into different contracts. However because the public associates him with Patrick Stewart, the public impression sort of transfers onto him.) > And #2) With voice acting I mostly find it a distraction and not valuable to recognize the voice actor from another character. I would disagree here, some voice actors do become famous, and if only inside their community. Tara Strong comes to mind, back when "Bronies" were a thing.

pjc50 4y ago
Yeah, this is a cultural difference where the Anglosphere regards voice actors in fairly low regard. Anime fans have a much stronger affection for their voice actors across different characters. And as you say people who get locally dubbed material quickly learn how small a pool of speakers the dubbers draw from. I also think that AI can easily deliver a mediocre voice performance, roughly on the same level as an indifferent English dub of something, but people are just underestimating how much feeling a good voice performance can bring to something.

autoexec 4y ago

> Are there any examples of animated characters that are reused to portray a different character? Mickey Mouse is the one I think I've seen most often. He's played a lot of other characters, like Tiny Tim in "Mickey's Christmas Carol", or as Yen Sid's apprentice in "Fantasia". Licensing issues limit animated characters being used as general actors/celebrities in other shows portraying other characters. Animated characters make cameo appearances more often. I agree it can be a little distracting to recognize a voice actor just like it can be distracting to recognize an actor in another work, but in either case what matters most is the performance.

autoexec 4y ago
I can't edit this, but I misremembered! Mickey was Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim was Mortimer Mouse.

CuriouslyC 4y ago

Good actors will bring surprising aspects to a role that someone less talented who is just trying to deliver the script without really going deeper will miss. Excellent actors can do multiple distinct voices well and nail their lines the first time which can be a big time saver.