Richard Jackson writes...

Hi Greg,

I was wondering what country Sevarius is from? I checked the archives. Really, I did! The closest thing I could find was back in 1999 when someone asked you and you hadn't decided. So I hope there's a 10 year statute of limitations.

If you can't reveal what country he is from, do you recall what kind of accent you or voice director Jamie Thompson coached Tim Curry to adopt?

Grant writes...

In several episodes of Disney's Aladdin there featured a winged serpent character from a Mesoamerican rainforest who served the role of an antagonist to the characters. Though there are only surface similarities to the character of Zafiro in Gargoyles, both of them were voiced by Hector Elizondo. Were you aware of this? Was the casting a coincidence?

W. C. Reaf writes...

Hi Greg.

A fan from England here.

Not so much a question but I just wanted to let you know that thanks to my lovely University I’ve managed to book a lecture theatre once a week to show Gargoyles on a big screen to my friends, and watch it again myself on said glorious big screen. We should be finished at the end of summer.

Currently they’re enjoying it, some more than others, and it feels great to expose people to a real classic of western animation. We’ve even got a running joke about how Xanatos is behind everything. They’re not liking the rather varied Scottish accents, or takes on them at least, but I understand there’s only so much an American production can do to get proper accents right.

We’re just starting the Avalon World Tour and I’m curious to see what they make of the revelations in the Gathering. Specifically Puck’s role but also Fox’s heritage and Xanatos’ shift into not quite being such a bad guy.

Just thought to tell you that the Gargoyles love is being spread to people across the pond that never saw it the first time ‘round.

Brenda W writes...

Hi Greg, I hope everything is well with you. My question is: Is it possible to contact the 1994 cast members to come on board to assist us (Gargoyles fans) in convincing Disney to release the remaining 26 episodes? Do you think we have a chance?
Unfortunately, I have become very obsessed with this project. I think your ability
to create this type of animation is outstanding - it is sooooooo real.

Vivvav writes...

Hey Greg,
I'm rewatching Gargoyles on YouTube right now. I have to say that one of my favorite characters in MacBeth, if for no other reason than he's voiced by John Rhys-Davies. In the modern day with the comics, do you still imagine the characters' voices as being that of the voiced actors who played them all those years ago? Do you still imagine Goliath as Keith David, or as something else?

sanya writes...

Hi Greg,
i am wondering do you know which singers sang the song The will to love and The demon in me.
both of the songs have been sang in Witch episode s is for self part.

Clark Cradic writes...

What are your thoughts on The Princess and the Frog? I thought it was a wonderful throwback to the days of the Disney Renaissance.

PPL writes...

Hi Greg,

This isn't about Amazing Spider-Man #622, but is sort of related, and something I was wondering about for a while.

How did it come about that Tricia Helfer was cast as the voice of Black Cat on TSSM? I think most people would have known her from Battlestar Galactica, in which she plays a somewhat similar role*.

I noticed that she also voiced Black Cat in a Spider-Man game from 2008. Do you know whether she first did recordings for TSSM or for that game?

I ask because it doesn't seem like she's best known for her voice acting, but also that I wouldn't expect you to allow the casting of voice actors on one of your show solely based only on their reputation as a live-action actor.

*Or multiple roles, if one wants to get into that kind of discussion, but that hardly seems like the right thing to bring up here.

Derek writes...

Who would you have gotten to be the voice actor for Shari?

Derek writes...

What voice actor would you have cast for Constance? Is her voice supposed to gruff like a Kathy Burke or elegant like a Joanna Lumley.

Wolf E. Urameshi writes...

Um... about this... http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=11747

I really must apologize if I sounded the wrong way, I did not mean to anger you. Thank you very much for all of your answers Mr. Weisman. :D Good luck with all of your future projects.

Arthur Jr. writes...

Mr. Weisman, I just read your response about the amalgamizing of characters. I have some other questions here:

1. Though the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime is one of Spider-Man's enemies, they first appeared in "The Incredible Hulk" #3. I was wondering if that will prevent you from using Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime in any episode of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" in case you don't get the rights for the character.

2. I read on the archives that someone asked if Stan Lee will have more cameos in any proposed season of "The Spectacular Spider-Man." He's also voicing the Mayor of Super Hero City in "The Super Hero Squad Show" which is voice directed by Jamie Simone (who provided Akamaru's vocal effects in "Naruto"). In case you've seen the episodes that feature his characters, what do you think of Stan Lee's performance in that show?

3. If Courtney B. Vance reprises Roderick Kingsley in the proposed Season Three, will you use another voice actor to voice Hobgoblin like you did with Alan Rachins voicing Norman Osborn and Steven Blum voicing Green Goblin? I think something like that also occurred when you and Jamie Thomason casted Clancy Brown to voice Ox in "Survival of the Fittest" and later casted Danny Trejo as Ox in "Probable Cause." Do you have any comment on that?

Mark C writes...

I noticed a lot of the Voice actors from Gargoyles appear in Spectacular Spider-Man. Once you finally get the chance for more episodes, do you plan on getting more Gargoyles actors to play a role in the show? If so, which do you have in mind?

Arthur Jr. writes...

Hey Greg, here are some questions:

1. If Season Three is announced upon the ratings for the "Final Curtin" episode that aires on Disney XD, I would think that Bill Fagerbakke would reprise Morris Bench if you plan an episode that brings about the introduction of Hydro-Man. Right?

2. If the series is successful after Season Three and you managed to make it to a season that deals with Peter Parker attending Empire University, what season do you predict that will occur in?

3. I have seen your Rambles of the Spider-Man/Gargoyles crossover that Keith David reprised Goliath and Tombstone in. Now that was humerous in some parts, don't ya think?

4. I was wondering if you have seen "The Super Hero Squad Show" (adapted from the "Marvel Super Hero Squad: toyline) yet? Though Spider-Man doesn't appear in the TV series yet, he will be featured in video game adaption.

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

You wrote that Marina Sirtis remembers her audition differently than you do. What were the differences?

A long time ago I remember you saying that it was so hard to imagine "Deana Troy" as a villian that you were surprised to see her trying for the role of Demona. But then an episode of Star Trek TNG in which Deana was possessed by a villian and did quite a credible job came to mind. Have you ever heard of her work as Demona helping convince others she might make a good villian despite being most known for Deana Troy?

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Sneaking in a question or two at work lest I start falling far behind again. I apologize if I overlap anything already asked, I've been trying to avoid Spiderman spoilers. I have a stack of set aside responses for after the rest of the season airs. (Though I wonder if I should have bothered; what I didn't pick up just skimming I probably read checking the 'waiting to be asked' que. Oh well...)

First- Love the show.

I did have that first reaction to still art some did thinking it looked a little young, but between prioritizing fluidity of motion for the web slinger on the one side, and not getting that overly static look from being too faithful to the comic art on the other, I am completely won over.

Also, I am not terribly well versed in Spidy lore. (It's too expensive to get hooked on two major comic universes and I started on DC first.) Despite not getting all the references, the deference shown to the history, right down to mining the comics with the intent of not creating a single new character, really shows. Very impressive.

Second-
I thought it was particularly classy to post the credits of the episodes because they went by too quickly to be seen on screen. I assume people like working with you because they know they are not taken for granted. (Just like changing the "Staring..." in the opening credits shows respect to the characters. Love that.) I do wonder -

1- If each episode is written by a particular person or team, what do the staff writers do?
2-If you already have a voice director, what does 'casting' do? Or does the voice director not choose talent too? (I think this question was more involved when I scribbled it on my note sheet months ago, but I didn't write out the details and no longer remember.)
3- How did Cheeks Galloway end up with that nickname? I took a glance at his website and saw his autobigraphy is named "Cheeks Unclenched" Much mirth followed.

David B. Jacobs writes...

Just felt like throwing this out there:
TSSM's cast are all BRILLIANT Shakespearean actors! Pass it on.

Blaise writes...

GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES
CON-JOURNAL

DAY 2
SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2009

I'm glad I don't have to get up at 4:50AM every day. I wanted to give the dog a fairly long walk that morning because I knew I wouldn't have time that evening.

I got to the Hilton at a little after 9AM and signed up for Josh Keaton's Mug-A-Guest (I had considered Keith David's, but that was already full). Josh was cool, and I'm not just saying that because we share the same first name (and I finally learned how they avoided confusion when both he and Josh Lebar are working on the same day). One thing both he and Ben Diskin had in common, they both started acting at a very young age (3 for one, 6 for another), largely because they already had some family member in the business. I mention this only because I'm around the same age as them and I'm still trying to break into the darn business.

After another bagel for lunch, I attended Crispin Freeman's "Anime Mythology" panel on "Knights and Dragons." Being a dragon fanboy, this one was a joy. I had already known about the differences between so-called Western and Eastern dragons, but this was the first time I heard somebody actually analyze what these creatures say about the cultures they sprang from, and how they influence their respective media. I was surprised when he pointed out how a difference in dialogue between the Japanese script and the English dub of "Spirited Away" showcased this difference. I was also pleasantly surprised when he brought up "Vision of Escaflowne" as one of his favorite animes (it's one of mine, too!).

After this, I attended BOTH voice acting panels. The "Gargoyles" one was special not for the number of guests it had, but because it was the first one attended by Marina Sirtis, the voice of Demona herself. Of course, there were also Greg Weisman, Jamie Thomason, Thom Adcox (naturally), Keith David (with his GREAT laugh) and, a little later on, Elisa Gabrielli. I got to ask a question (or rather series of questions) that I usually put to all the voice actors at these things: "What episode/scene was the most challenging/fun/fulfilling?" Greg W. reminded me that the series was 15 YEARS AGO, so that might be a difficult question to answer. But Marina had no trouble stating what annoyed her the most: "The effing impact grunts." I learned something very important in that panel: if you do something she does not like, she will throw Jolly Ranchers at you. And Thom stated, yet again, his reasons for why he did not care for the Avalon world tour arc: largely, that he wasn't in most of those episodes (in his own words, "Avalon SUCKS!"). Well, that'll teach him to go out and buy a new car. Keith got to say a couple of his favorite lines ("I've been denied everything..."), though not with as much volume as I'm sure he would have liked. Also, Marina and Greg have two different versions of how she was cast as Demona (she maintains she came in on two separate days, he says it was just the one). There was also the story of how Jonathan Frakes was briefly fired by Greg's bosses because the cast recorded at a hell-hole of a studio. It was great fun.
So was the "Spectacular Spider-Man" panel. There were...a LOT of voice actors for this one, including a few who overlapped from the "Gargoyles" panel. In fact, there were so many that I couldn't help but feel that there weren't enough questions to properly involve all of them. I thought the revelation that Daran Norris needed two microphones when he was recording both the Jamesons (because J. Jonah is SO LOUD) was fascinating. I asked those who did multiple voices what their process was for differentiating them. Phil Lamarr talked about the difficulty of making two voices (those of the Robertsons) sound distinct and yet related (something Daran Norris had to figure out, too), while Steve Blum mentioned that he just had so many voices in his head that he needed the work to get them out.

I forgot to mention that, in between the panels, I went to check on the cast for the radio play. Since EVERY ONE of the voice guests said yes, there were only a handful of roles for the fans. I was quite happy to get one of them, and after the panels, the rehearsal began.
It was a Gathering-Original script. A crossover between "Gargoyles" and the "Spectacular Spider-Man" written to take full advantage of ALL 16 GUESTS who said they would do it. I was quite surprised to find that I was cast as Zaphiro (a character with a Spanish accent!). We only had enough time to run through the 78-page script (that's FEATURE LENGTH) once, and then a quick break before the beginning of the radio play.
It was a BLAST! The script was full of in-jokes (a lot of them breaking the fourth wall), but even managed to pack in an excellent bit of drama. But no where else will you hear Lexington mention porn on the internet, or hear Demona refer to Elisa as Goliath's "human whore." Steve Blum talked to himself, as did Thom Adcox (I hoped people picked up on the slight difference between Lexington and Tinkerer--and I loved when Lex mentioned Homunculus #5's annoying voice--said Homunculus ALSO voiced by Thom). For my part, aparantly I managed to pull off the Spanish accent well enough. Elisa Gabrielli was kind enough to offer me some pointers on a particular line of Spanish (yeah, I also had a few words and lines entirely in Spanish).
At the end I got kudos from many fans, and even a few of the pros.

I had really wanted to attend the panel on "Rope Bondage 101" but I needed to hurry back to my canine charge to feed him his evening meal if I wanted to make it back in time for the Blue Mug. I just barely managed to make it, and got to ask one question that I felt was appropriate given that this was the last Blue Mug: how it all got started. The short answer is it grew out of the regular Mug-A-Guest when they wanted to keep that family-friendly. Anyway, about an hour in, Greg had to hit the bathroom, and that bastard Edmund Tsabard seized the opportunity to come in and make the Blue Mug about "Blue Mug Productions." The one thing I got from his section of the panel was that if you want the smut, you have to "SPEND THE MONEY!" All I can say about the third page of "Last Tengu in Paris" is, "GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY!" Anyway, about an hour later, after the questions dried up, Edmund left and Greg FINALLY came back. Unfortunately, it was about 11PM and I had to get back to my friend's house to be there to greet him and give over care of the dog. He came in at 1AM, and I was back in my own home and asleep by about 2AM.

Ming writes...

You've established that you mentally cast actors for some of the new characters in the Gargoyles comics, such as Quincy Hemmings played by Morgan Freeman (or someone who can sound like him i.e. Kevin Michael Richardson). Anyway, do you have any voices in mind for some of the Illuminati figures (Percival, Duval, Shari, et al.)? What about Katana and Tachi and some of the characters from the Phoenix Gate arc?

Wolf E. Urameshi writes...

Hey Greg, thanks again for answering my questions. But I'm afraid I need to ask again in regards to this one: http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=11500 (the one about "switching" voice actors.)

You didn't answer my question. You evaded it with another question, didn't you? :P Considering today's voice acting market, which now has a lot of great actors and is becoming saturated, there is always a chance that at least one or two of the actors involved with the original Gargoyles show may not be able to join it. I ask again, if you have any alternatives in mind (of course the original actors are better :D, this is a just in case), what would they be? Just mention one or two examples if you're comfortable with it.

Janus writes...

Well Greg, I'm a big fan of Jeff Bridges and after seeing him on Iron Man as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger and hearing that he will be reprising his role as Kevin Flynn/Clu for Tron Legacy, I was wondering. Did you ever wanted to or even thought about casting Jeff Bridges a part on Gargoyles? He has a connection to Disney with Tron. And it would be so awesome to hear his voice on Gargoyles. So if given the chance in the past would you cast Jeff Bridges to be on Gargoyles?

Tomi writes...

Greetings from Finland!
Thank you for such a wonderful series!
I was just recently wondering:
Stone of Destiny speaks with voice identical to Dr.Claw, both voiced by Frank Welker. I was just wondering, what that something you and others decided to do, as some sort of homage to Frank,s other characters/admirers, or did he used that voice himself purposfully?

Anonymous writes...

You stated Hobgoblin will be in season 3. Do you know who will voice the hobgoblin persona. I personally think Kevin Michael Richardson will do great. The voice he did for the Joker in Batman was incredible, and you do have him included on the show already so...Anyway can't wait for more Spectacular Spiderman.

Mo writes...

One more I forgot to ask: How does the process of casting voice actors work? Do you have a specific actor in mind when a character is concieved? Is it an open audition process? Or does it vary from role to role?