TrollsTopia has been a bright and goofy addition to Hulu and Peacock’s animation library, reaching six seasons since the show debuted in 2020. Taking place in the same musically driven and brightly colored world as the recent Trolls films, the series largely focuses on a number of Trolls from different communities defined by a particular musical genre. One of the most endearing is the country-western Holly Darlin’, a passionate and sweet-hearted centaur-troll. Bringing the character to life is the Tony-award nominated Megan Hilty, who infuses Holly with just enough edge to give her a unique comic approach to the show’s morals.
During an exclusive interview with CBR to celebrate TrollsTopia’s sixth season, Hilty reflected on what it’s like to watch her character of Holly Darlin’ grow up alongside her children. She also addressed the most surprising aspect of the character and the differences she’s found between voice-acting remotely and in-person recording.
CBR: Starting off, congratulations on six seasons!
Megan Hilty: Can you believe it? Six seasons — it’s so exciting. If there was ever a show to have a bajillion seasons of, it’s this one. I can’t get enough of it as an audience member, because me and my kids watch all the time. Thank goodness I like it because my kids want to watch it over and over and over and over and over again.
Something I find interesting — and it was something Simon Pegg brought up recently regarding his voice work in the Ice Age franchise — is that you’re really getting to see your kids grow up alongside Holly. At the same time that Holly’s developing, getting all these layers as a character and as a person, your children are too. What is that like to see and be a part of that?
You know what? I didn’t really piece the two together, but you’re absolutely right. It’s a very interesting thing to watch in tandem. I love particularly that my daughter — and my son now, too — loves to parrot Holly Darlin’. They’ll do her Southern accent and everything. Coming out of small people, it’s just adorable. Yeah… I feel lucky, I guess. In this business, you never know how long you get with something and luckily I’ve had years with Holly Darlin’ now.
Thank goodness she’s such a delight. I’m going to say it again: if you’re going to be with a character or a show for a very long time, thank your lucky stars that it’s something like TrollsTopia because it is awesome. I’m deeply proud to be a part of something that has that very strong message all throughout. Yep, we’re all a little bit different, but we’re all still the same. We can all get together and learn from each other’s differences and be better because of it. I love being a part of that. I love that my kids and all of the kids watching are absorbing that when there’s so [many] other things happening in the world.
Over fifty episodes with this character, is there anything that’s really caught you by surprise about Holly as a character?
It’s funny because in a lot of the early reads and recordings that we did, we were very careful that she didn’t get too angry or aggressive or anything even if she was feeling [that] because she’s fiery. You know, she has very, very strong opinions, even if they’re delightful ones. She’s just very passionate about it. Everyone was always very careful to not let that get too angry. It’s been interesting as an audience member watching and appreciating that even when she’s really intense about something, you know [Holly’s] not angry. That’s been really kind of surprising and fascinating to watch because I didn’t know how that would read.
You’ve been forced to record solo recently due to circumstances of the last few years. What have you discovered about voice acting across this unique period?
I know. Luckily some recordings we have been able to successfully do via Zoom with the group, which is really fun. While it is very convenient to work from home — the commute is awesome, the ability to wear my slippers is awesome — I miss people. I miss going into the studio and talking to the person at the front desk, seeing how their day was, how their week’s been, checking in with them, [and] chatting up with the engineer. I miss the social aspect. I miss connecting with all of the people because especially in voiceover, it can kind… Even if you’re going in to record by yourself, there’s an army of people on the other side in the engineering room directing you and putting their two cents in and stuff. So it is a social thing, even if you’re recording by yourself. I just miss that. I miss people.
Are there any characters you’d love to see Holly paired with more often?
Lownote Jones! Yeah. Where’s that episode? Listen, I’m not going to give anything away, but yeah. That’s what I would love.
Executive Produced by Matthew Beans, TrollsTopia stars Skylar Astin, Amanda Leighton, David Flynn, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Megan Hilty, Jeanine Mason, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sam Haft. Catch the sixth season on Peacock and Hulu now.
About The Author
