The first DC Animated Movie of 2022 is Catwoman: Hunted, with acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Shinsuke Terasawa helming an anime take on the DC Universe’s iconic cat burglar and other familiar heroes and villains. Written by Young Justice showrunner Greg Weisman, Catwoman: Hunted shows Selina Kyle crossing paths with Batwoman while staging a massive heist. Her latest venture has some of the most dangerous supervillains in the DCU gunning for her. Bringing the iconic anti-hero to life in Catwoman: Hunted is Elizabeth Gillies, blending Selina Kyle’s signature and alluring confidence with a surprising amount of vulnerability.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Gillies explained how she balanced honoring past Catwoman performances with her unique voice. Gillies also discussed the aspects of Catwoman: Hunted she finds the most fun and reflected on who she thinks Selina Kyle is.
Elizabeth, how did the opportunity to portray Selina Kyle in this anime vision of the DC Universe for Catwoman: Hunted come about for you?
Elizabeth Gillies: It was brought to me. I got the offer, and I wanted to say yes immediately but I had to be smart so I did read the script, and then I was definitely in. I thought it was a really interesting and cool new take on Selina and this whole world. I was excited to be part of the DC Universe and play such an iconic character!
How did you prepare for the role and find your own take on Selina’s voice? She’s especially confident in this film.
I listened to and watched as many different Catwoman projects as I could. I watched Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman again — I’m a huge fan of Michelle Pfeiffer’s — and I checked out Halle Berry’s and a bunch of others. I did look online to see how she had been voiced in the past in animation. I knew how I wanted her to sound but I also wanted to pay tribute to the version that I loved, which was Michelle Pfeiffer’s, and completely find my own way around that.
The script was also very unique in it of itself so it needed its own voice. I’m happy with how it turned out, and yes, that confidence level is through the roof. I thought I had a pretty confident voice but I had to push it so far to reach the Catwoman-level of confidence [laughs]. We got there and it’s a cool movie and I’m very lucky to be part of it.
Was there any specific line in the script that stood out and made you want to join the project or helped inform how you approached your performance?
One of her first lines in the movie, when I was recording, was her walking around a party talking to people, whispering into their eyes. She says to a woman, “Hold on to that one, lover, I might just steal him away,” and then goes right to the other one and says, “Hold on to that one, I might just steal her away!” She’s just walking around, flirting with everyone and everything and commanding everybody. Her whole relationship with Batwoman is so interesting to me. I thought that it was cool that the DC Universe wanted to explore and elaborate on their relationship a little bit more and delve into it. I just felt it was sort of groundbreaking and a new look at her, who she is and what she’s about. It’s like a heist movie. It was fun and I was in immediately.
This isn’t your first animated project or voiceover role. What are the joys of getting into the recording booth and using your voice as your only tool in your acting toolbox?
I adore it and I’m a singer first so I’m comfortable in a recording booth. I recorded the latter half of this movie and all the pickups in my house in my own recording studio so I was literally very comfortable in my pajamas [laughs]. I love having to focus only on my voice and not having to worry about what I look like — usually, that’s just a burden. It’s so much fun doing animation and always a treat for me. Getting to play Catwoman, she has such a confident, unique and strong presence and voice. Getting to find that voice within me to play her was really cool, and I had a lot of fun recording it.
With Catwoman being such a legacy character, was there anything specific you wanted to leave as your own unique mark on the character herself in this movie?
I think we get to see so much more of her softer, more vulnerable side in this movie. Once we find out her reasoning behind why she does some of the things she does she does, I like that huge shift. She’s a big, loud, strong, hyper-sexual woman in front of all these people, and then she gets to be alone and she’s soft and quieter. That really told us a lot about who she is, especially in this movie, that it’s a big wall she puts up for other people, mostly. I liked the dynamic of the two sides of her. I liked playing the big and the small. Her relationships with everybody are so different, everyone has a different history with her. She has such a reputation and I thought that was so funny. There are endless places to go with her, she’s a dream character.
How was it having Jamie Thomason as the voice director on this project and playing in the booth with him?
He’s amazing and he pushed me really far and was really clear about what he wanted. He was excellent. I wouldn’t have thought to do a lot of things in the booth for the movie had he not articulated to me and asked me to do them. I was very lucky to have such a wonderful director and someone who knew this world so incredibly well, it was great!
Moving forward, would you be open to reprising your role as Catwoman in a future project? How was the overall experience?
It was great and I would love to do it again. I had a great time and I love animation in general. I wish I could do animation half the week and then do live-action the other half of the week just so I didn’t have to use my face and body for half the week [laughs]. I’m always a fan of the animation world: it’s so precious to the fans. It is so revered so it was an honor to be asked to do this role and be a part of it. I would love to do this character or other characters in the DC Universe in the animated space.
When you were recording your lines, did they have the animation ready so you could see how your character moved?
No, I did it blind! I feel like I did the whole thing blind. When we went back to do pickups and some other stuff, I was like, “Oh my god, there it is!” [laughs] I don’t believe I saw much until very late in the game. I was very surprised and excited when I got to see something.
Seeing the animation style as you were doing pickup ADR, was there anything you wanted to change from your initial approach, or were you pretty good with your first run?
I was pretty good with it. There were a couple little things that I wanted to tweak based on what I was seeing, but luckily, that character does transcend. She looks totally different in this movie. It’s a whole different style of animation yet you’re still getting that Catwoman feeling, confidence and strength. It didn’t change much but there were little things I tweaked here and there.
With Catwoman: Hunted done, what are you excited about getting to share this unique cinematic take on the character with audiences?
It’s one big adventure between Catwoman, Batwoman, and all these villains and monsters. There are Easter eggs and so many cameos. I think it’s just such a treat, not only for diehard DC fans but also for people who have never seen the movie. I think the relationship between Catwoman and Batwoman is so cool and fun. I just cannot wait for people to see it!
Directed by Shinsuke Terasawa, Catwoman: Hunted will be available Feb. 8 on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD.
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