An Interviewwith Cory Burton by Xum Yukinori
Best knownamong comic book fans for his eerie, mechanical portrayal of Brainiac, CoreyBurton is truly a voice actor of extraordinary range and experience. For thepast 30 years, Corey breathed life into a myriad of two-dimensional characters -from Disney Feature scene-stealers to numerous "bit parts" withoutwhich no animated project would be complete.
But withinthis seasoned professional beats the heart of a star-struck fan - which nearlysurfaced during a recording session with the celebrity cast of"Legends," one of the most eagerly anticipated episodes of CartoonNetwork's Justice League. In a conversation as animated as hiscountless characters, Corey talks with Comics2Film correspondent XumYukinori about an experience just as exciting as the first meeting between theJustice League and the legendary Justice Guild.
Xum: Let'sbegin with your voice recording session for the Justice League program...
Corey: God, thatwas fun. I loved the show that I worked on [the "Legends" episode]. Infact, the Warner sessions are always such a delight. You are treated withgenuine respect. Even the celebrity guest stars all seem to have such greatreverence for us "working stiff voice guys."
Xum: Is thatsurprising?
Corey: Sure.When I first got into the business, the on-camera people -- especially thetelevision celebrities -- just looked down on us as "game showannouncers" or something like that. (mimicking) "Oh, you're one ofthose silly voice people there. Have you ever tried acting?" Well, not oncamera... but it's still acting, isn't it? But at Warner they're very, veryrespectful and very complimentary. It's quite an ego-boost.
 Shhh...don't tell DC but Dr. Blizzard is really the golden age villain: The Icicle |
Xum: Therewas areport from Bruce Timm about an "11th-hour name change" when itwas realized that the show couldn't use the Justice Society characters. I assumeone of your roles, the villainous Dr. Blizzard, was originally named the Icicle,correct?
Corey: That'sright. All of us weren't sure if we were going to keep the names we had. ThoughI believe [one character] actually got to keep his original name. There werejust so many characters, so many dazzling actors to remember much of thedetails, except for me thinking, "Boy, I loved it!"
Xum: Howwould you describe your portrayal of Blizzard?
Corey: It waskind of simmering, kind of Clint Eastwoody, slightly British tinged. I must havehad a bit of a whisper to it for the iciness. Actually, the most difficultvoices to do are whispering ones.
Xum: Becauseyou have to be audible enough to be heard.
Corey: Right.And because it puts so much stress on your voice to whisper loudly and you dryout your vocal chords. It's amazing how a stage whisper can be the hardest thingyou can do to your voice. That and hysterical laughter.
Xum: AsGaetan Moliere [from Disney's Atlantis], you would know.
Corey: Lots ofscreaming, lots of laughing... then it kills you. (Laughter) Actually my voicebecame conditioned from [years of doing] all of that -- it really toughened up.And I like it too because it also seasons and ages the voice... stretches it outand gives you some interesting textures.
Xum: Well,the whispery voice you depicted matches the "Legends" scriptdescription of Dr. Blizzard as "a cold-hearted villain made of ice."Was this vocalization mostly your idea, or was it influenced by the voicedirection?
Corey: It's acombination of both. Andrea [Romano] would ask me, "What were you thinkingfor this character? We were thinking of a voice like this and so-and-so... butlets hear what you got first." Andrea is such a pro. She knows us [voiceactors] very well, and knows our "bag of tricks," so to speak. Sotogether, we're usually pretty quick to arrive at the actual characterization.Plus, on these cartoons they try to keep it very theatrical film, veryunderplayed -- especially because they work with so many theatrical actors whomay not have the craft of the melodramatic voice acting.
Xum: Thevocal subtleties.
Corey: Mm-hmm.So we tend to keep it very close to our own natural voices on the Warner stuff.Not a whole lot of vocal trickery going on.
Xum: If youdon't mind my saying so, none of your voice roles I have heard sound like thevoice I am hearing right now.
Corey:Actually, if I speak very softly, Brainiac is really...
Brainiac:...just my own voice kept at a very low level...
Xum: Whoa.
Corey:(Laughter) That's it. Easiest job I ever had. Everyone tells me the voice is"brilliant," and I'm really doing nothing...
Brainiac: ...I'mjust reading very quietly.
Xum: And whenyou read bedtime stories, all the kids are screaming for Mommy.
Corey:(laughter) Yeah, well... I've got this minor chord in my voice -- when I sing itsounds like David Bowie. It's like there's a "darkness" in my voicethat tends to come through. It also has an air of tragedy, which I love. Allbuilt in.
Xum: Thedarkness and tragedy definitely work for Brainiac.
Corey: They do,and some of the most satisfying stuff for me to listen to are my tracks asBrainiac. It's like, "That's so cool! That's how he should sound!" Butto me, a role like Brainiac is all in the writing. There is such a greatmelodrama in the words, and when I just underplay it, it's a magic combination.There's definitely not a great deal of thought involved in how I'm going toapproach the lines or what way I should shade the words or anything. They justfall out of me very naturally. Playing Brainiac -- just the concept of it -- isjust a real big kick. "What a cool character I get to be."
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