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Interview of Mark Ballou
by: Velvet D' Coolette
Toward the end of 2007
Mark was kind enough to
contact me regarding
this site. I asked him
if he would be prepared
to take part in an email
interview and he said
yes. The following text
is the result.
-Tell us a little about your
childhood. Who are you?
I
was born in NYC, raised
in NJ, the youngest of 3
boys. My mother was a
dancer (later a talent
manager) and my father
was a Tony Nominated
theatrical designer.
I
started acting at 6
appearing in hundreds of
commercials (including
VO). At 15 I started
working regularly in TV
and film and later moved
to LA after my high
school graduation.
In
2004, through a series
of fortuitous events, I
got hired on the Special
Make-up FX team for the
first Narnia film in NZ,
starting a whole new
chapter in my life. I
rose through the ranks
and am now employed full
time as a Make-up FX co-ordinator.
-What
non-television-and-film-related
jobs have you done?
Aside from what I've
already mentioned, I've
mowed lawns, unlocked
the doors of a gym in
the wee hours of the
morn, worked at a bakery
(also in the wee hours,
and I’m the furthest
you’ll get from a
morning person), worked
a little while as a
florist, waited tables
for about 2 months, and
ran my own computer
consulting business for
quite some time.
-You have played several
lead parts in films now.
Are people starting to
recognise you in the
street?
No.
It’s been a looong time!
-If you ruled the world,
what would you do?
You’re kidding, right?
Um, I can’t handle that
responsibility! I have a
hard enough time not
being late to work.
-If you were planning a
dinner party and could
bring 3 celebrities, who
would you choose?
Off
the top of my head:
Frank Auerbach, Alex
Guinness and um, Jim
Morrison. No booze to be
served.
-In your commercial
parts you sound very
exuberant. Does this
reflect the real you or
are you quieter than
that?
I
don’t know. Once I
figure out who the real
me is I’ll let you know.
If I sound like my
commercial or promo demo
on a regular basis,
please shoot me.
-How did you get the
part for Sonic SatAM?
Tell us about the
audition.
My
agents at the time, CED,
got me the audition at a
studio with Ginny
McSwain. She told me I
got the role, sent me my
audition tape so I’d be
clear on the read I’d
been given, and then put
me to work. She also
booth-directed us all at
the studio recording
sessions. We recorded
once every two weeks.
For the most part it was
recorded old-school as a
big group working in the
round. Sessions were
pretty linear, from the
beginning of the script
to the end, with Ginny
interjecting direction
and descriptions of the
action we were involved
in. The only cast member
I recall rarely being
present was Jaleel. I
think during my season
we recorded with him
once.
-What were the recording
sessions like? Did you
get to work directly
with the other actors at
all?
Aside what I mentioned
above, they were great
fun. Everybody really
let loose, and Ginny
created a supportive
environment. I think
each actor’s contract
allowed at the time up
to 3 characters, so
there were often
opportunities to bust
out a supporting line or
two for a different type
of bit character.
-Did you enjoy working
as a voice animator? How
did SatAM make you feel,
was it special or just
an ordinary experience?
"Voice Animator"? Well,
that’s a term I’ve never
heard. Makes it all
sound so very important.
I do love doing VO
acting. There have been
times that selling
commercial products has
left me feeling hollow
(I used to get all
worked up about selling
Coca Cola or something
when you come from a
family prone to
adult-offset diabetes),
but for the most part I
really love doing VO.
It’s a type of acting I
really like; you don’t
have to look any
particular way, or dress
special. For the most
part, as long as you
don’t smell particularly
bad, you just show up
and have fun! I find it
really freeing.
-Do you know anything
about the origin of the
character himself?
Not
really. I just knew he
was the ‘fix-it’ guy,
one of the gang. I loved
the fact that I was
playing a walrus. How
many people get to say
"I am the walrus"?
Goo
goo g’joob.
-You do, it would seem!
Please put the Rotor and
Bunnie fandoms out of
their misery. Was there
ever meant to be a
romantic involvement
between the two (if you
know, of course!)?
News to me if there was.
I guess you guys are
gonna have to keep on
suffering. Ask Cam.
-Did you leave the show
by choice after the
first season? Do you
know the reason behind
the character's season 2
redesign?
I
did leave by choice. I
was asked back for
Season 2, but opted out
at the last minute due
to personal reasons. It
had nothing to do with
the show, and was more
about a young man trying
to figure out what the
heck he was doing with
his life. I’ve made a
lot of crappy choices in
my life and I’m happy to
live with them, but
reflecting on it now, I
regret that one.
-Did you work with or
hear at all from any of
the production crew at
DiC (such as the writers
or the story editor, Len
Janson).
I’ve kept in touch with
Ginny off and on over
the years and read for
her once on a video
game, I think. I’ve seen
some of the actors at
auditions every now and
then, but not kept in
touch per se.
-Any funny or
interesting stories from
the set you'd be willing
to share?
Not
really much to say, it
was just good times.
Ginny ran a good season.
-How do you see the
community around the
show, if you know it at
all?
Honestly I don’t know
much about you guys. I’m
pleased that you all
still appreciate the
show. That’s great!
-Would you take back the
role if in a future
event SatAM ever comes
back?
Absolutely.
-Have you seen much of
the show? Do you like
it? Do you have the box
set?
I
don’t have any
recordings and honestly
don’t think I’ve ever
seen an episode. Yikes,
that’s terrible!
-Can we expect more
animated characters to
be voiced by you in the
future or are you
looking to carry on your
trend with films?
I
would love to do more
VO. I do a bit of
commercial work every
now and then. I voiced
‘Pop’ for the Rice
Krispies commercials and
a special DVD that came
with the cereal for a
while. I'm hoping to
continue that.
-A DVD for a cereal? And
I thought Britain was
over-commercialised.
Yeah, it was actually
software that you loaded
on your Windows PC. It
was a voice recognition
and skinning application
that allowed you to
interact with Snap,
Crackle and Pop while
doing things on your
computer like surfing
the internet, checking
E-mail, etc.
Working as a co-ordinator
and getting more into
the production end of
things makes it hard to
find the time, but my
employers are pretty
accommodating when I get
VO bookings and
technology has made it
so I can pretty much
audition and record from
almost anywhere. Shoot,
I was recording Pop from
an Aukland studio while
on Narnia and broadcast
imaging from from a
radio station from under
the covers of my hotel
bed!
So
there we have it: Mark
Ballou. Fun, outgoing,
optimistic and
professional.
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