Big Hero 6 star Daniel Henney says voicing the character of Tadashi Hamada made for a fairly intense workout.
Henney, who is known for his role as Matthew “Matt” Simmons on Criminal Minds and currently stars as Lan Mandragoran on The Wheel of Time, recently sat down for an interview with ContentMode. The actor, who likes to focus on how physicality affects emotions, was asked how this approach works when he’s voicing a character, as opposed to physically playing one, which was the case with Big Hero 6.
“Haha. Good point. However, I would honestly say that playing Tadashi in Big Hero 6 was an INCREDIBLY physical experience,” Henney replied. “I burned more calories in the VO room at Disney playing him than you would doing most CrossFit workouts. There’s something about being on your feet for hours and trying to get that perfect take, perfect read, perfect tone to your voice that is a wonderfully physical experience.”
Henney then offered a few examples: “When Hiro and Tadashi had to ride the scooter together, I REALLY pretended to ride that scooter. When he was holding him upside down in their room, I picked up the heaviest thing I could find in the room and used that as a reference point. I’m not a good enough actor to completely fake all that stuff haha!” He continued, “Some people can go in there, do one or two takes and nail it while standing completely still. Years of theater and voice training can really help with that. I however never had those luxuries, so I learn on the fly and do what works for me.”
Loosely based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name created by the Man of Action collective, Disney’s Big Hero 6 premiered in theaters back in 2014. In the animated feature, Henney voiced Tadashi, the older brother of main protagonist Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and creator of the healthcare robot Baymax (Scott Adsit). Tadashi dies rather early in the film, though his presence can be felt throughout.
On that note, Henney subsequently reprised his role as Tadashi for a few episodes of Big Hero 6: The Series, which aired for three seasons on Disney XD and Disney Channel from 2017 to 2021. Meanwhile, a spinoff series titled Baymax! is slated to premiere on Disney+ later this year.
Big Hero 6 was actually Henney’s second time starring in a Marvel-adjacent project, with the actor having physically portrayed Agent Zero in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Source: ContentMode
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