Star Wars: The Bad Batch season two is finally here, and ahead of its two-episode premiere, we caught up with iconic voice actor Dee Bradley Baker (American Dad!; Space Jam) to talk about his lead role as the voice of the Bad Batch and numerous other clones on the acclaimed animated series.
He walked me through his process of getting into character and was kind enough to demonstrate the specific methods he uses to change up his voice to bring life into each and every member of the Bad Batch.
We also talk about the return of Captain Rex and what we'll learn about him here that will ultimately inform the person he becomes in Star Wars Rebels.
Check out the full video interview below and please remember to SUBSCRIBE to my channel!
ROHAN: You're voicing the entire Bad Batch and so many other characters in this series - during recording sessions, are you cycling through the different characters all at once or do you try to record one character at a time?
DEE: We read straight through the script, that is scene-by-scene, but I'll read straight through it jumping from character-to-character. If I need to, like if it's a pre-existing clone that I don't remember, like Rex, I remember, but even if it's like Cody, or someone that I haven't portrayed for quite a while, they'll play me that reference, just so I get a lock on what it is about that guy that makes him who he is, because I want to keep them all separate, but I also want to keep them consistent with what we've done before. So, once I've got that kind of locked down, then we can just read through the scene, and then we go back and generally do three read-throughs of a scene with maybe some spot checks on individual lines, and then we move on to the next scene, and that's how we do it.
ROHAN: When you're developing the different characters and getting into their heads, is there anything specific you try to think about or try to do before recording to get into character?
DEE: Yeah, what we arrived at was this, is that I usually associate an adjective or an image with the clone, and then I pin the performance on that’s the hanger that I hang the coat on, and so, I make sure that those are pinned down for each of them. (switches into character voices) Hunter is kind of a, Hunter's kind of a smoky covered sound like that, and Tech is very clipped and very easy breezy, and Wrecker, well, Wrecker’s Wrecker, and Crosshair is like a coiled snake, and Echo is a little bit grumpy, a little bit deeper. So, I have this, like an adjective or two, or an image that helps me see each one as a different person, and then I can just read through it very easily.
ROHAN: We've seen Rex in Clone Wars and then an older version in Rebels, and now, The Bad Batch season two will bridge the gap between the two - what can you say about how the person we met in Clone Wars becomes the person we later see in Rebels?
DEE: Well, Rex has kind of been through it all, hasn't he? He's a warrior. He's a good person. He is persistent. And, he sees the power and value of his experience and what he knows and his capacities, and so he is an important, sort of leading North Star bellwether for how the clones perceive the larger political powers that are playing out, because the question is, as a soldier, you're part of the armed forces, and you have respect and you have power and you have status, hopefully, but as it shifts and you have new management up top, then that changes completely.
He is one uniquely placed to see this, and his choice is to double down and to go back in and to fight the good fight, and so, he's seen much more of this and understands much more of this than the Bad Batch, who are sort of - they're unique, they're off to the side doing their own thing, but they're gradually waking up to the reality of what's playing out that you can't just play this game in a short sighted or selfish way, or even just to get along or just to hide, because there's nowhere to hide. It will find you, and so what's the stance that you take with that reality and Rex shows the way.
When the new season of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” opens, months have passed since the events on Kamino, and the Bad Batch continue their journey navigating the Empire after the fall of the Republic. They will cross paths with friends and foes, both new and familiar, as they take on a variety of thrilling mercenary missions that will take them to unexpected and dangerous new places.