Catherine Taber: Like James Arnold Taylor (Drawn Together), who is our Obi-Wan, Corey Burton (General Loathsom) and Ian Abercrombie (Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious), they are just amazing actors. After we finish a session, I'll say, "How do you do that?" They're all really gracious. A lot of voiceover actors are really happy people, because it's a pretty good gig. (Laughs.) So they're all very gracious, and I've heard great stories, and I've learned a lot just being in the same room with some of these people.
N.B.: What would be your dream project?
Catherine Taber: The ultimate would be to do a live-action something or other, whether a series or a movie, that was sci fi or fantasy based, like the cool stuff I get to do in voiceover. I really and truly am a sci fi and fantasy fan, like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Sometimes it's the past, sometimes it's the future, but there's usually the good versus evil, there's usually some nobility and all those really cool things. Playing a character in a live action thing would be my dream come true.
N.B.: I've seen photos of you as a brunette and a blonde...
Catherine Taber: The brunette is fairly new, and it just happens to be at the same time Star Wars is coming out. Since Padme is a brunette, it's perfect and I'm definitely liking it.
N.B.: Have you met George Lucas?
Catherine Taber: I haven't met him yet, but I do think at some point in the future we will get to meet him. But I've met a lot of people at Lucas, and I had a chance to visit Skywalker Ranch, which was really a neat experience. But Dave [Filoni, the director] works side by side with George, and George has a big influence on our project. And Dave, our director, is a huge Star Wars fan, so it has the touch of the original Star Wars all over it.
N.B.: You're from Georgia. Did your career start in Atlanta, or did you just move straight to L.A.?
Catherine Taber: I did some theater in Atlanta when I was younger, but I made the decision that you have to go to either L.A. or New York if you really want to pursue acting. So I pretty much came out here and tried to get started.
N.B.: You've obviously done really well.
Catherine Taber: It's always a process. You're always pounding the pavement. I was laughing thinking about the last odd job I had before I was able to make a living acting. It was babysitting. So I ended up watching a lot of good animation.
N.B.: And then I'm sure you read stories using lots of different voices.
Catherine Taber: Exactly, exactly.
N.B.: How did you come to be Miss Hoe Cakes on Stroker and Hoop?
Catherine Taber: Being from Georgia. I think a couple of things helped me early on in my voiceover career. I've been doing voiceover stuff for just about five years now, which to me feels like a long time but in the grand scheme of the voiceover world, it's pretty short. But I think one of the things that helped me start getting work pretty quickly was a) an amazing agent but b) the Southern accent thing helped. I think that's how I got Miss Hoe Cakes. A lot of people do accents, but I can do the Southern one for real. That is so funny that you remember that, too, because that is actually one of my favorite things that I've ever done.
N.B.: Is it really?
Catherine Taber: I just love watching it. It makes me laugh. Not just my part, but the other characters and the writing. I just think it's so funny.
N.B.: It's pretty ribald humor.
Catherine Taber: Not for the kids!
N.B.: No, it's not! When you go from working on a low budget show like Stroker and Hoop, is it like you've made it when you work on Clone Wars?
Catherine Taber: I [recorded] Stroker and Hoop by myself, so it wasn't an ensemble. For me, I really enjoy all of my jobs. I enjoy even doing the video game stuff. So when I'm working, each of the jobs is a great time, and I'm basically saying, wow, how lucky am I that this is my work? But I will say that the Star Wars thing, especially Padme in Clone Wars, is really special. When my agent called to tell me I got it I actually said, "Are you screwing with me? This isn't funny if this is a joke." So that was a big deal for me. As much as I love everything else that I've done and get to do, there's definitely something extra special about this one.
N.B.: What is it like to do voiceover for video games? Do you have to give several different line readings for the same line?
Catherine Taber: I think that my experience is probably different from other people who work in voiceover. I've played mostly main characters. And then there are people who come in and do several different characters throughout the game. Like, for my work in Final Fantasy, they have their own perspective right from the beginning. We usually just go through the script and if we need to do something differently, or if there was a technical glitch, we'll go back over the lines. Sometimes we'll do the action sequences, where you do what you're talking about, and then they'll pick one.
N.B.: Like the grunting, and huffing and puffing.
Catherine Taber: Yes, it's hysterical. The first time you do that, you're like, "Really?" Then by the fourth time you're doing it, you're like, oh, okay, do that like I'm being punched in the stomach. I got it. They usually save all of that stuff for the end of the recording because you can end up blowing your voice out.
N.B.: Did you attend Comic Con this year?
Catherine Taber: I was actually in San Diego, but did not attend Comic Con. I was with some other people who wanted to attend Comic Con. And because we weren't doing any stuff, P.R. stuff, for the show, this year, what I decided to do, was use it as a vacation. I sat by the pool and ordered lunch, and was reading the making of Empire Strikes Back, interestingly enough. So I had a great time. I think next year, I definitely will be [attending], so I was taking it easy this year.
N.B.: Do you know how many episodes are planned for the Clone Wars series?
Catherine Taber: I'm not really sure. We haven't been told a specific number, and there's been different things reported, so I probably know as much about that as anybody else.
N.B.: We have a five year old son. Is Clone Wars appropriate for small children to see?
