Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to
release the all-new "Wonder Woman" on March 3, 2009, distributed by
Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available
OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and
date, March 3, 2009.
Lewis is best known for her performances in 96 hilarious episodes of
NBC's "NewsRadio" as Beth, the sarcastic secretary to Dave Foley's
lead character. An actress with notable awards and credits on
Broadway, Lewis has been featured on numerous primetime sitcoms ("Home
Improvement," "Seinfeld," currently recurring role on " 'Til Death")
and hit films ("Godzilla," "Mousehunt").
The star of stage, film, television and animation, Lewis made her DCU
film debut in "Justice League: The New Frontier" as Iris West, fiancé
to the Flash. However, Lewis is no stranger to animation, having had a
key role in Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo" as well as TV series work
on, to name a few, "Wild Thornberrys," "King of the Hill," "Rugrats,"
"Phineus and Ferb," "Ben 10: Alien Force" and the upcoming "Penguins
of Madagascar."
Lewis found time in her busy schedule to talk about playing the
Amazonian "bad girl," finding the voice of a character, channeling
Velma Kelly, and an addiction to Tetris.
Heed the words of Vicki Lewis …
QUESTION: When you read the "Wonder Woman" script, what was your first
impression of Persephone?
VICKI LEWIS: I'll be honest, I knew nothing about the mythology of
any of this. I got the script, and often times I just kind of look at
my part, but this is a fascinating story. I ended up spending half a
night on Wikipedia going through the real mythology of the character.
Persephone is a very fascinating character in Greek mythology and the
comic books. I wasn't a great student, so I love any opportunity at my
age to learn something new. So that's how I prepared.
QUESTION: What endeared you to the role of Persephone?
VICKI LEWIS: I do a lot of animation, and mostly I get cast as the
whacky character. I play a lot of kids, or the strange neighbor next
door, or the really off-the-wall person in the script. But this was
really enticing because Persephone is a solid, commanding woman. It
was an interesting process to find and place her (vocally) – she's a
powerful character, and the direction was 'less is more' in the grand
scheme of this Greek tragedy. I'm very rarely asked to play the
powerful, centered part of myself. It's always there, but I don't get
to use it often (in performance). I played Velma Kelly in "Chicago,"
so I think I drew mainly on that character. But this was a great
experience. I expected to come in and they would ask me to act like an
idiot, which is what I usually get paid to do. So this was an
interesting recording session.
QUESTION: Was there a favorite moment for you during the recording session?
VICKI LEWIS: When you have 900 people staring at you through the
glass of the recording booth, and whispering but you can't hear them,
you really want to make sure you give them what they want. And I felt
like I got it, because I understood the emotion. This character,
Persephone, has some very heartfelt and sad moments, and it was really
vulnerable and really human. It wasn't cartoony – it touched something
somewhat real. So I was actually affected by it in a way I didn't
expect to be.
QUESTION: Was it fun playing the bad girl?
VICKI LEWIS: It's always fun being the bad girl. When I was young, I
had Barbie dolls and I made them fly. And then my friends deserted me
because I turned them into witches. I was always THAT kid. I didn't
even know what a comic book was.
QUESTION: Much of the fanboy populus is into gaming. Are you a gamer?
VICKI LEWIS: I'm not into the games like the kids play today, but I
was addicted to Tetris. I had the Trio, and the Tetris was on it and
then my fiancé got me the iPhone for my birthday and I love it. But it
doesn't have Tetris. So I've kept the Trio's battery alive to play
Tetris. I used to be addicted to Pacman. We were doing "The Wizard of
Oz" at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre, so we were stuck in the
middle of Kansas and we would go to the House of Pies every night
because they had a Pacman machine in their lobby. And we were
obsessed with it.
QUESTION: You glide smoothly between stage, film, television and
animation voiceover performances. All three require different
techniques. What's the trick to making the transition for voiceover
work?
VICKI LEWIS: I started out in theatre in New York and then I did
movies and I'd been out (in Hollywood) for nine months when I got
"News Radio" and it was all a really interesting transition. Somebody
who'd been around for a long time came up to me and basically said
that the difference between stage and film and television is that on
stage the proscenium is where you can see it. Film and television,
it's really got to be here (spreads her arms wide). In terms of
turning that into voice work, sometimes the voice is very subtle, and
sometimes I'm so loud they have me move away from the mike. So in
voiceovers, you learn where the proscenium is in your voice. As far as
acting, I've been working for so long that I can basically tap into
any emotion. I'm like a little trained monkey at this point. So it's
just a matter of finding that place, and adjusting vocally as you
would onstage or in film.
For voiceovers, like 'Wonder Woman,' I feel really blessed that I'm
able to do this and that Andrea (Romano) continues to hire me. She
always lifts my spirits, she always makes me better, and she's always
so gracious. I keep thinking, 'When is she going to see through me,
that I don't have any of this talent she's thanking me for?' She's
just so great, such an amazing director.
Please visit the film's official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com
Images/captions:
Persephone-angry.jpg
Amazonian warrior Persephone prepares for a fight in the all-new DC
Universe animated original movie, "Wonder Woman." Actress Vicki Lewis
provides the voice of Persephone. "Wonder Woman" is slated for
distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Persephone-closeup.jpg
Persephone is one of the key characters in the Amazon's battle with
Ares in the all-new DC Universe animated original movie, "Wonder
Woman." Actress Vicki Lewis provides the voice of Persephone. "Wonder
Woman" is slated for distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
Vicki and Darwyn.jpg
Actress Vicki Lewis and comics legend Darwyn Cooke pause for a moment
during an autograph session at WonderCon 2008. Lewis, who voiced Iris
West in Cooke's "Justice League: The New Frontier," has now provided
the voice for Amazonian warrior Persephone for the all-new DC Universe
animated original movie, "Wonder Woman," which is slated for
distribution March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
(Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)
Trademark information for the images:
"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all
related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics.
All Rights Reserved.