Interviewing The Cast Of ‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’: Sonny Strait- The Voice Of Bardock

Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the continuation of the DBS anime that re-imagines the fan-favorite villain from the perspective of series creator Akira Toriyama, will be releasing in theaters nationwide on January 16. To count down to the release of the film, we will be posting a round table interview conducted alongside Sean at VRV, with voice actors from the movie each day leading up to the release date, culminating with a full review of DBS: Broly itself!

Kicking off this series is Sonny Strait! Most prominently known in the Dragon Ball universe as Krillin, Sonny returns as the voice of Bardock, Goku’s father from Planet Vegeta. Like Broly, Bardock had only been seen in movies written by other creators, so this film will be poppa Goku’s official introduction into the series’ canon. Outside of Dragon Ball, Sonny can be seen breaking our heats as Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, making us laugh as Usopp in One Piece, or doing both as Kuro-Sensei in Assassination Classroom. 

Josh- With the Broly movie, the portrayal of Bardock, based on the trailers, seems a little bit different from past versions. What would you say was your approach to playing Bardock this time?

Sonny- It’s a kinder, gentler Bardock. He’s basically the same guy, just different situations. Raised up in a different kind of life. I don’t want to give away too much of the movie, but it’s the same guy if this was his life, you know? So the approach was similar. But also… we did that thing, (the first Bardock movie), about 16, maybe 17 years ago. We’ve all gotten a lot better since then. (laughs) So we were actually able to explore a lot more with him. I love the character Bardock. The original movie was really a redemption story and I love those kind of movies. So any chance to play him is great because I played him in the video games too. Just about every year we had a new video game, Bardock was appearing in it.

Sean- What was your reaction to the new version of him? Did you think that you would enjoy this version more than kind of the more evil version?

Sonny- Yeah… I don’t know that he was evil, but he was definitely a soldier that didn’t mind killing at all, which made [the first film] a redemption story. He’s a different kind of guy now, yeah… I want to say that he kind of got the reality that he wanted, you know? I always say that Bardock is the guy who is the most powerful Saiyan because he actually influenced THIS reality, you know? All those times he said “I’m going to change the future,” in the video games? It looks like he did!

Sean- Kind of a funny question, but do you happen to channel a little bit of Sean, [Schemmel, the voice of Goku], when you’re playing his dad?

Sonny- (Laughs). No! I’m his daddy! He’s gotta pay attention! Sit up straight, son! Nobody likes a slouching Saiyan!

Josh- In this movie, it seems like the relationship between Vegeta, Broly and Goku and their families by extension are more intertwined in this version. Is there anything you can say that surprises you in terms of the backgrounds of the characters?

Sonny- Yeah! Because it was a different approach. But I know that Akira Toriyama [creator of the Dragon Ball series]… [Bardock] was not a character of his. It was actually created independently for the movies. So it was really kind of an honor to play it like Akira would have seen this character, you know? It was an amazing honor to do it that way.

Sean- The animation is amazing, we’ve all seen it.

Sonny- I know, right!? It’s like the old school style, right? But it’s so much cleaner, you know? It’s just beautiful. It’s my favorite thing about it.

Sean- Was there any point where it was actually too hard to record because you were too distracted by how great the animation was?

Sonny- (Laughs) Yeah, you know? It did stop a few takes because we were like, “Whoa! Look at that! That is really cool!”

Josh- You mentioned how every year, you come back as Bardock in the video games and that kind of thing. But lately it seems like he’s been getting more and more appearances in terms of the new Dragon Ball Heroes show where he stared popping up and Xenoverse and all of that. So what do you think Bardock’s role could be going forward in future story events in Dragon Ball Super?

Sonny- I don’t know, it depends on how they want to approach it, you know? They’ve already shown with this movie that all bets are off. You can’t count on anything. But I would love to see Bardock continue his story some how, some way, you know? There was that OVA where he becomes a Super Saiyan. That would be kind of cool if they could somehow incorporate that into some kind of time travel thing. But… You know, I also play Krillin, so I’m there all the time anyway. But I love that Bardock is getting more traction now and being able to play and see him more often.

Josh- Do you have anything in mind if you could write your own scenario for Bardock? Would you want to see him do anything in particular going foward?

Sonny- Hmm… That’s a good question. I’m not even going to presume, (Laughs). I would never… That just seems to be… I would love to see him go Super Saiyan, honestly. I would love to see that official, in Dragon Ball Super or something, somehow where Bardock appears. But I would never presume how that would be worked into the show.

Josh- Right, for sure! Like you said, anything seems to be possible lately.

Sonny- Exactly! And that’s what I love about too. It’s like… Okay, this is a whole new movie, a whole new series. Let’s take a whole new take on it? Why not? I know that a lot of fans like things to stay consistent and everything, but it’s like… Why? You know? I’m a comic book reader, I’ve been a comic reader since I was a kid and I love alternative universes. I love when people reboot things and try different things as long as it’s good and quality. And this movie is a good, quality take on it, so why not?

Sean- How early did you learn that Bardock was going to be in the new movie, and were you excited to learn that you were going to be able to play the part again?

Sonny- I knew that Bardock was going to be in it, but I didn’t realize how big of a deal he was going to be. Then Toei had asked me to help promote the Bardock special, the old movie. Then I was like, “I bet he’s pretty important in this!” Because why else would they be trying to promote that, you know? And then when I saw it, I was like, “Oh… This is great! This is something to sink your teeth into with this character.

Sean- Now… I’m not sure how to word this question, but like… What are your thoughts on Saiyan culture when Bardock was alive and if he plays a big part in how Broly came into creation. Like how King Vegeta corruption kind of created Broly and is Bardock part of that tough Saiyan culture? Or is he already a kind of outlier at this point?

Sonny- Bardock was THE perfect soldier, you know? That was part of the problem in the original movie. He was so good and he was getting stronger every time he went out, and that’s what threatened Frieza. I think this version is more… I have to be careful not to give anything away, but I think it’s a much more believable premise from this standpoint politically. It’s a setup politically, I can see how that would happen, you know? It’s not just meanness or just being threatened. There’s a lot more to it.

Sean- You said it’s hard to keep things under wraps. How long have you been holding onto this?

Sonny- You don’t want to be the guy who leaked the plot! (Laughs)

Josh- You mentioned how Bardock is the perfect soldier who’s just getting stronger and stronger. Again, kind of a silly question, but who do you think would win between Bardock and King Vegeta?

Sonny- Now you sound like my grandson! (Laughs) When I’m around him it’s like a mini convention and ALL the questions are, “Who would win in a fight?” So Bardock and King Vegeta? That’s a good question! Because it’s assumed that King Vegeta *would*, but I don’t know? Bardock’s got a lot of reserves that he holds back and I don’t think he realizes. I think he’s a bit of a mutant, you know? And that’s why Goku is so powerful since he came from him. So possibly, yeah! I think he could take him, you know? Because Bardock is the kind of guy who would do whatever it takes. Now against Frieza, that’s kind of pointless, especially at that power level. I think these days, Krillin can almost take Frieza.

Sean- Could you tell us a little bit about the relationship with Raditz, because he’s a character who disappears so early in the franchise.

Sonny- Yeah, he is mentioned though. And I love that he was mentioned. You get to find out a bit about what Raditz has been doing. Not a lot, but you get to find out a little bit about him. I think it’s kind of cool that in this version [Bardock] acknowledges his sons. I can’t say too much more than that.

Josh- It’ll be good to see him again though. That’s one plot thread that was introduced right in the beginning of Z, and since then, even in the Bardock specials that have come out, really hasn’t been mentioned.

Sonny- He just kind of went away. Was it like one or two episodes with Raditz? I can barely remember back then.

Josh- Yeah, something like that. It’ll be great to see him again!

Sean- Is Krillin in this movie?

Sonny- Barely. He makes sort of an “explosive” cameo, I’ll say that. (laughs)

Josh- At least we’ll still have plenty of Krillin to look forward to in the Tournament of Power.

Sonny- Yeah yeah yeah, we’re still recording that. We’ve been recording that for awhile.

Sean- Did you watch the entire [Tournament of Power] through before you guys recorded [Broly]?

Sonny- No! It wasn’t even done! They were animating while we were doing it. We’re like off of a… Do you know what an animatic is? So we had to go back and re-do because the anamatic wasn’t quite matching up with the final animatic.

Josh- That’s real interesting! So you’re saying that the process basically basically started for the English voice over while it was still being developed in Japan essentially?

Sonny- There was a little overlap, yeah. But most of it was animated! But there were a couple of scenes I remember where there was this screaming scene and stuff like this and we’re like, “Uhh… let’s wait until we get the final animation. We don’t want to do that again.”

Josh- So I’d imagine that Chris [Sabat, voice of Vegeta and ADR director of the film], had a more difficult or interesting process…

Sonny- Nah, it’s par for the course. This happens all the  time in animation that you can get the rhythm down of what it is with the animatics. Video games too, we act to animatics in video games all the time.

Sean- Could you tell us what your favorite Bardock moment is in the movie from what you’re allowed to say?

Sonny- I would say… I really like a very touching scene, and that’s it. And that’s it, that’s all I’m gonna say… It’s not a bad touch, but it is touching.

Josh- The best kind!

Sonny- I like that he can almost be emotional.

Sean- Are you gonna make us cry?

Sonny- Yeah, probably.

Josh- Make sure you pack some Kleenex when you go to the theater.

Sonny- And I hope… The last movie was so great that it inspired another series, so it would be great if it inspired one here.

Josh- Yeah, I’m hoping so. One other thing, we talked about Bardock’s relationship with his family a little bit, but does he get to interact too much with any of the other Saiyans that we know about? I know that Paragus, [Broly’s father], and King Vegeta and all of them will be featured in the movie to a certain degree…

Sonny- I will say that he does interact with other Saiyans and that’s all I’m saying. But not King Vegeta.

Sean- So they’re not gonna fight at the family reunion?

Sonny- No. That would be awesome!

Josh- Somewhere off in the afterlife by Frieza’s tree.

Sonny- Yeah! Throwing acorns at him. Bonding over just hitting him and using him as a punching bag.

Check back tomorrow for our interview with Ian Sinclair, the voice of Whis!