Geekscape Talks To Bella Thorne About ‘Ratchet & Clank’
At a recent press junket, we got to sit down and talk to Bella Thorne as part of a round table interview about her role in the upcoming Ratchet & Clank film. As Cora, a no-nonsense newcomer and one of Ratchet’s superior officers in the Galactic Rangers, you would think that one would be nervous about debuting as a new character in such a long running franchise. But the rising young actress couldn’t come off as more relaxed than she did, greeting our table with a plate full of fruit and the ability to shoot the breeze with everyone like we were longtime friends. Discussing everything from Cora to cats, gaming, and the pressure of doing the series justice as a new addition to the cast, it’s clear that Ms. Thorne knows exactly what she’s getting into.
Press: So I’m sure you’ve gotten this question a lot, but are you a big fan of the game?
Bella Thorne: I didn’t play the game, but I watched it growing up. I have a really weird thing about watching video games. I really feel like I’m playing, but my hand-eye coordination is really bad, but I have a brother who’s really, good, so I kind of just live through him. But he played his video games, but he’s more into like the… the really like, you know, we’re into like the Grand Theft Auto, and like, you know, Mortal Kombat a little bit of the more like… bloodier video games, I guess?
All: (laughter)
BT: So I did a lot of research on this one and then the whole entire time, I’m like, “oh my god, where is my character!?” I want to say I’m getting so butthurt, like I don’t see my character, in any of these YouTube videos, and it’s really making me mad. And then they told me that I actually got to be a completely new character to this whole franchise, and that was like a really big thing because I… I get to play with the big dogs, and they’ve been doing this forever and they really know those characters, so, you know, I had to run just as hard as they were.
Press: Your brother chimed in? Gonna give you pointers as a gamer himself?
BT: He did not. I told him and he was like, “oh, that’s dope dude!”, and went back on his computer.
All: (laughter)
BT: So he didn’t. But when I did it I was like, you know,hopefully they’ll ask me to be in the video game, like that would be dope! And then they did, which was AMAZING! Because I didn’t want to be like, “Oh my god, like please really ask me,” and then like, you know, kind of shove me in their faces, like please have me do the video game! So they just… They came to me on their own…
Press: So you’ve done some voice over roles before, but largely, your career has been live action, so how was your experience being in the recording booth and not having your body to work with as you normally do?
BT: You know, it’s funny because with acting, it’s all not… really good acting is not about dialogue. It’s really just about small moments that really make the whole entire scene and the intention completely different than even maybe what the characters are saying. Two characters could be saying, “I hate you, and I don’t want to be with you anymore!” But yet somehow, their toes are just inching more, you know, closer to each other. So a really big thing about acting is really just with your body. And so this was just all with my voice, which is a little bit tougher because I’m used to letting more of my body language do the work. But luckily… Doing body language with this really is a big thing too, because you think you could be saying like, something that really sounds cool and great, but then when you put your body into it, you know, there’s lots of different vocal tones that come with having your body literally push these words out. So I’m literally in the studio going… hey, if you think I’m just chillin’ there like voicing my character, I’m like, “oh my god, I’m going to fuck you up!” I’m like so in it! So it’s full on acting.
All: (laughter)
Press: So based on that, it sounds like Cora is a bit of a badass?
BT: Yeah, she is such a badass, and that’s why I was so hyped to play this character. Because in video games, usually, the girl is like always the one that dies first. It’s always like, the guy that’s shooting people all the time, but my character gets to boss them around! So when I was reading these lines, I was laughing so hard, because this poor main character is being told what to do by mine! And I was just like, “Good for you, girl!”
Geekscape: And on the subject of this character being brand new to the movie, did you feel any pressure going into it thinking how fans are going to react to it?
BT: Yeah! Obviously, yeah, because fans LOVE all of the other characters, what makes me think they’re gonna like mine? So that was hard, but I think that watching her, and watching everyone look at the clip that we just saw of her main part, (at the Wondercon panel,) was cool because I really feel like people are going to let her in because she’s such a bad ass in the film, and at the end of the day, she’s like kind of bitchy to Ratchet, but then she ends up liking him and Clank, and getting along with them. And I think it’s a big thing for the character, because you’re watching her going like, “Wow, she’s really bossing everyone around!”, and there’s one more character that’s a female in the film that’s not like that, that’s kind of just like, “oh, okay okay okay!”, and everyone tells her what to do. So I think people will look at this character and be like, there’s either a guy voicing that, it’s awesome, or it’s like, a bad ass girl with a really really low voice!
Press: As far as the whole process of going from live action to the recording studio, do you do all of your scenes alone, or were you able to play off the chemistry from some of the other actors?
BT: No, it’s unfortunate because you’ve got to do it alone. And so when they were talking on the panel, they (James Arnold Taylor and David Kaye, AKA Ratchet and Clank,) actually, for the first time in history, got to do it together for one of the things, and you know, I obviously wasn’t invited to this cool… Thing that they had without me!
All: (laughter)
BT: But it’s fine! I recorded all my stuff alone, and it was super easy. I’m pretty sure we did it in like… I want to say a good two hours. A good, solid two hours, we did all of my character’s stuff. I’m really good at ADR voice over type things. I’m like, really good at making my mouth speak when other people’s, you know… Mouths are speaking? So that was easy, but usually, it’s much harder, and then it’s like, you can’t really get into the character that much, because you’re too worried about making it look like she’s talking. Once you get over that stump, it becomes so much easier.
Geekscape: So would you say that’s the biggest challenge transitioning to voice overs?
BT: It’s definitely the biggest challenge. It’s like thinking… Like it’s also hearing your voice, which is a really big challenge. But what I like to think of is, oh, it’s not my voice! It’s like, “Oh my god, that really sounds like a character! That’s cool! I like that take!” Because you can literally hear the difference, and obviously, you guys are hearing my voice totally different from how I’m hearing it. But when you’re hearing it back, you’re like, “Ugh, I don’t like that, that sounds like me.” And then sometimes, you’re like, “That’s just the right amount of me, and a completely other character that we’re introducing.
Press: Now, we’re big fans of (director,) Kevin Munroe here. You’ve worked with a lot of filmmakers, can you tell us a bit about how Kevin Munroe was as a director to you during this project?
BT: Such a nice guy! He was totally down for me to be like, so bad ass. He’d be like, “[be] even more mean! Really give this character shit!” You know? Might as well, why not!? And it was cool, because I think he really saw me when I walked in, I had boots on and a leather jacket, and like, I’m just easily Cora. I’m just like, “That really is me!” I’m like a really big tomboy, so I think when he saw me, he was like, “Eh, let’s not give this girl too much direction, I feel like she’s gonna get in there and get down and dirty,” so it was really easy. We were kind of just chilling, and he would give me direction and I would be like, “Okay! Alright! I’m serving it, I’m ready!” But there wasn’t that much direction to give, especially since a lot of my lines are just yelling. There’s only so many ways you can yell at someone.
All: [laughter]
Press: These conventions like Comic-Con and Wondercon, they’ve evolved so much since they first started. How has your experience been attending them and meeting fans up close and seeing how passionate they are about [your work]?
BT: It’s cool to know, because a lot of people call it geeky and stuff, but it’s not geeky! You can be a geek in anything you do in particular. You can be really good at real estate, so yeah, you’re a geek in that because you’re the best fucking agent there is. And so when people are like, “oh yeah, those geeky… Wondercon, comic things,” I think it’s awesome! It just means these people are such big fans! That’s so cool! Like how I love cats, like, oh my god, my obsession with cats is unreal. I got a cat tattoo. I’m getting another one because this one [cat] just isn’t enough… on my body. I want to start a cat charity! I’m all about cats! So when people see my love for cats, they’re probably like, “Whoa whoa whoa!” But I see these people’s love for like,all these different movies and all these fictional characters, and it’s so cool! I love coming here and seeing people dressed up with crazy outfits and hair and make-up, and you know, they really wanted to go all out because they love that character. They’re awesome!
Press: Were there specific movies or TV shows that you geeked out over growing up?
BT: I wasn’t really allowed to watch TV too much growing up. I definitely watch it more now. Oh my god, I just started The Returned. *gasp* Have you guys seen The Returned!? That is so good! Me and (Bella’s friend,) BP, we just geeked out, and we watched it all day long, and we still need to finish the last episode. That is some good shit right there! So there are definitely some things that I like, loooove, like I really love. Plus, any movie with cats is like… I love it!
All: (laughter)
Look for our upcoming interviews with the filmmakers, the team at Insomniac, James Arnold Taylor and David Kay in the coming days, and check out our review of the game while you’re at it!
