IAm Phil LaMarr voice actor, face actor (Mad TV, Pulp Fiction, Futurama)

If Marvin hadn't got shot in the face, what would he have made of all this?

Dude, he just watched these two guys lay waste to ALL of his friends and now they're bantering about COPS? He was so far away from being able to process any of this. NOt only did he not have an opinion, he barely had a coherent thought.

Wait, I though marvin was an undercover double agent type of dude, who was on the two guys' side, and they accidentally shot him.

Yea, seems like they knew him.

Well, they knew him because they were friends with him. Either he was friends with them first and then Marcellus Wallace got him on the payroll, or Marcellus Wallace got him on the payroll and then he befriended them. But either way, he was undercover and their friend and also not as experienced as Jules and Vincent at watching mass murders.

They call him "our guy" when they're at the car preparing to enter the building so yes he is on their "side."

But also, after Brett is shot, Marvin seems shocked, but I always felt he was just staying in character because he knows there's another guy in the back. Then again, maybe it's that shock that led him to forget to warn Jules and Vincent about the other guy. I've always wondered about this.....

The back story that Quentin and I talked about was that Marvin and Jules had people in common and when this briefcase thing went down Jules was able to get in touch w/ Marvin and offered these guys who were holed up, scared and obviously way out of their depth a way to resolve this. "All you have to do is make sure the door is unlocked at 7:45." He didn't know exactly how it was going to be resolved and he wasn't street-smart enough to figure that the resolution might have a significant cost.

Hey Phil, a huge fan of your work and I have some questions I hope to get answered.

1. What is your favorite or toughest character/role you've voiced in your career?

2. I'm a huge Samurai Jack fan and was wondering if you have any plans on returning to the role in the future? I really hope the series returns to finish.

3. Which TV Show or any Animated Series you've done has been the funnest to be part of?

Also, loved you in Static Shock/Justice League, grew up watching that show on Kids WB! :-)

1. Vamp from Metal Gear Solid is one of my favorites because it's so far away from anything I or anyone else would ever have thought I could do.
2. If they start it up again and want me back, I'll be there in a heartbeat. 3.Weekenders was a lot of fun because it was my first ongoing series and it was a great group of people (Jason Marsden, Grey Delisle, Kath Soucie, & creator Doug Langdale) Justice League was fun because of the quality and the amazing guest stars and Evil Con Carne was wonderful because I got to work alongside Frank Welker. Thx!

Thanks for answering, Phil! Metal Gear Solid is one of my favorite game series. By any chance you've played it? Have you met David Hayter (Snake)?

Of course, I played it. I auditioned for MGS2 because i loved the previous game so much.

Hey phil. Whos your favorite voice to do on Family Guy? Ollie williams? And whats the weather like where you are? Haha

Wow. You actually bothered to type that. I have to give you points for sort of making it a question. Kinda. IT'S RAININ SIDEWAYS!!!

What has been your favorite Ollie Williams quote?

YOU ENABLE COOKIES?!

That's not an Ollie line. Is it?

Is that a real Ollie line?

Yeah, its after Tom Tucker gets fired he returns to the station with the video of Stewie and Brian after they got drunk and Stewie crashed Brian's car through the wall of the Drunken Clam. Tom Tucker comes in and says something about getting his job back, also he couldn't figure out how to check his e-mail from home so their conversation goes:

Ollie asks him "Did you check your TCP/IP settings"

Tom: "Yes I did Ollie"

Ollie: "Did you enable Cookies"

Tom: "Yes"

Ollie: "You want this dog?"

Ah! Thx!

What's it like to have done work in every video game and cartoon in existence?

Omnipotence is it's own reward, but immortality is bittersweet. No, I've been lucky to work on a lot of really good ones. And two bad ones.

Would you consider your work in C+C Music Factory - Make My Video a good one or a bad one? For the record, I liked your outfit in that one.

THAT would be one of the VERY bad ones. Also, 50 CENT: BULLETPROOF a game so bad I couldn't even get to my character. Not because it was hard but because of the horrible gameplay.

And how did you like your MadTV stint? Was Artie Lange always as fucked up as he says he was?

I really enjoyed the work we did in the first two years of MadTV. Unfortunately, I was on it for 5. They had some enormously talented people on that show in front and behind the camera, many of whom I'm still friends with. Artie hid a lot of what was going on. I knew he was messed up but how bad wasn't clear to me until he bottomed out. And even then there were details I didn't know until I heard them on the Stern show years later

Were you present for the pig suit/coke story? One of the funniest stories I've ever herd on the stern show!

Took me 10 years to find out where the hell Artie was while I was freezing on a windy beach trying to pretend to be hot.

Did you make a conscious decision to become the most ubiquitous voice actor to ever live, or did it just sort of happen?

Also, you're awesome.

I'm still trying to catch up to Tom Kenny and John DiMaggio! I started in VO when I was still in high school but then didn't start pursuing it as a career until well after I was making a living as an on-camera actor. It was something I knew I could do and wanted to do but spent years NOT doing it until I got a VO agent by accident (Thank you Doug Ely)

What's your favorite "sweet something of someplace" line?

The first one "Sweet Lion of Zion!" because that's when I knew the writers had finally found a voice for Hermes. Which increased the chance of him being used and decreased the chance of me being out of work.

[deleted]

Usually on Futurama we the actors spend an hour reading through the script for the writers and producers, then later we spend between 2-6 hours recording.

What was in Marcellus Wallaces' briefcase???

a 25 watt bulb

Actually asked Quentin that, his answer: "it's whatever you want it to be"

And also would YOU say he looked like a bitch?

Never

Oh my god oh my god oh my god.

You're so PROLIFIC! I am slightly freaking out here.

I love your work. Tell me your funniest/most fun time working on Futurama, please??

God there have been so many. Listening to Billy and John doing Bowie's SPACE ODDITY as the Professor. Also there was the time I heard that Katee Sackhoff was coming in to do a voice so I stayed at the studio for an hour after I had finished recording pretending to make calls, etc. so I could "run into" her and then didn't have the guts to ask for a picture :/

Dude, you got shot in the face by John Travolta once. I think you've got enough name power to get a picture with Katee Stackhoff.

Met her a 2nd time through Seth Green, STILL couldn't ask!

Hey Phil, huge fan of Family Guy/Futurama/Harvey Birdman! Few questions:

• Since you are on two of the EXTREMELY FEW shows that came back to life after cancellation, which one do you think deserved its resurrection more?
• What was is like to work on the Pee Wee Herman broadway show?
• Also, what was it like to work on the best game of all time, and by that I mean Make My Video C+C Music Factory?

•There are tons of shows that deserve resurrection or even better, deserve more of a chance to find their footing or their audience before getting canceled. •Pee Wee on Broadway was literally a dream come true. I finally got to live and work in NY, on Broadway, in a show I knew was going to keep running, with a genius/pop culture icon. It really doesn't get much better. •It was slightly less fun to make than it was to play.

What's your favorite current comedy that you have nothing to do with?

What's a funny movie I probably haven't heard of that you recommend?

Community (well, it was) Funny movie? No idea what you haven't heard of but you should see everything Peter Sellers (original Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove,The Part, Being There) has ever done

Phil, you're one of my favorite voice actors. How many moderately sized green grapes can you fit in your mouth at once?

You could have just stopped with the compliment

Hi Phil.

I'm a big fan of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and I was lucky enough to watch some of the British version before the American one and saw a couple of your performances. I just wanted to ask you if you could tell us about your experience working on that brilliant show.

Can you give us an idea of how it was working with those improv clowns that had me laughing my ass off for all those wonderful years. Any juicy secrets you'd like to share?

I had a great time. I knew Ryan but I think that was the first time I'd met Colin and Greg all of whom are not only astonishing improvisers but great guys as well. They shot here in LA. We spent about 2 hours filming various games in front of the audience then they cut them up into 2 or 3 episodes. The only juicy secret I can think of is they asked me what impressions I could do but didn't say why then in the middle of one game, Greg labels me as James Brown as a weatherman I think. So they must have told him. It wasn't technically "pimping" but close.

What's up, Phil? Long time fan of yours and of Mad.

No question here, I just wanted to celebrate one of my favorite characters of all time: Jack the UPS man.

Seriously, you paved my childhood with gut-churning laughter! Thank you!

Thanks! And just for you a little secret: it's spelled J-a-q after a friend of mine from the Groundlings. Most of the writers never realized it either but I would make sure in every script that they changed it.

Did you ever try to make it with Katie Segal or Lauren Tom?

Please Phil, I need this.

Both of their husbands are much larger than me.

what is one thing you would do differently if you could?

Create more work of my own. Which I can and am.

Care to elaborate?

I'm working on a comedy webseries called INSIDE THE LEGEND with Vanessa Ragland. It's an interview show with characters from history, literature, & mythology but none of them are quite how you remember them. www.insidethelegend.com

I'm working on a webseries called INSIDE THE LEGEND with Vanessa Ragland (did I write this already?) www.insidethelegend.com

Hey, Phil. Thanks for doing this. What's your favorite work, as an actor? Who is your inspiration? And if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Favorite work changes from year to year, sometimes Samurai Jack, some of the stuff we did on MadTV, sometimes Justice League. My inspirations? Bugs Bunny, Sidney Poitier, George Carlin. I would be a carnivorous cyborg whale - because really how much further up the food chain could you be?

Has there ever been a role that you have regretted doing or that you wish that you could have done differently?

Also do you have any special rituals that you do when you are/were recording certain characters?

The only role I think I ever regretted doing was Policeman #2 in the Terminator 2 VG and that's only because I lost my voice doing all the death screams. No, actors are a superstitious and cowardly lot but I'm not so much.

Hi Phil, long time fan of your work. My only question is what is your favourite medium to work in? Video games, cartoons, live action? What are some of the perks or drawbacks of each?

The medium is far less important than the quality of the storytelling. I'll take a SAMURAI JACK over a bad feature film any day. It's always harder to do bad material. Good material doesn't always wind up as good as it starts out or it may not find an audience but it's always a better experience.

What was it like doing voice acting for Metal Gear Solid 2? Did you get to meet Hideo Kijima or David Hayter?

Keep up the amazing work!

MGS was a blast! Got to work with Hayter, Jennifer Hale, Paul Eiding all of whom are great and nice. Met Kojima briefly.

Thank you for all your great voice acting!

Thank you for all you internet typing!

First I have to say thank you for everything you've done, especially Jack, Wilt, and Hermes, but also especially Cowboy Curtis. Seeing you on stage was a tremendous pleasure.

I have to ask about Spider-Man 2. Your appearance was so fleeting that it felt like you were placed as an Easter Egg, a flash of someone we'd recognize in the chaos. Was that deliberate? How did that appearance come about?

I think I told this story on the UNTITLED MIKE & LAURA PODCAST but I had auditioned for the Hal Sparks part (Elevator guy) and didn't get it. Then later Sam Raimi wanted to hire a group of actors to mix in with the extras on the train scene so he could be sure to have real emotional reactions to cut to throughout. There were no lines specifically assigned it just changed as the shooting went on. But there are a handful of us who show up in certain moments.

Have you heard anything new about the Samurai Jack movie. Please please PLEASE say yes!

no

I caught some earlier Futuramas recently, and I loved your voice in the beginning of the series. Like when you were admonishing the pigeon in the blernsball game (Get away from me, ya filthy bird). Why'd you change it so much?

I still love everything about Hermes Conrad, but I miss his old voice.

I think it's changed about as much as any person's voice would change over 10+ years

How does one get started working as a voice actor? I'd like to do it someday, so I'm interested in hearing how you got into that world.

Listen to Rob Paulsen's (@yakkopinky) TALKIN' TOONS podcast. Tons of invaluable information and entertaining interviews from THE best voice actors in the business.

Do you have a favorite MADtv sketch that you were a part of?

THE GREATEST ACTION STORY EVER TOLD - The Terminator goes back in time to save Jesus. It's a really good Terminator parody and it's not sacrilegious at all

if you could portray a character you did again who would you want to do?

All of them!

I saw you on my Taco Bell training video getting sexually harassed by your boss. Do you remember that shoot? Can you tell us what it was like?

That was the best acting of my career because the person playing my sexually harassing boss was Playboy Playmate Rebecca Ferratti and I had to act like I didn't like it!

Thanks for the AMA Phil. What sketch (or character) did you like to do the most on Mad TV? Do you think Mad TV still had a few years left (and go on like SNL) or did it end at the right time?

Also, if John Stewart makes an appearance in the new Green Lantern: The Animated series, would you want to voice him?

Thanks again.

I liked doing Prince even though we never came up with a really great sketch for him. Canceling Mad TV was a Kevorkian mercy-killing. Of course, I would.

Was the UBS guy a character you created? If so, how did it come to be?

EDIT: UBS, not UPS.

I did it at the Groundlings Theater before Mad TV. The first sketch we did was basically the same one Mary Scheer and I used to do onstage. Except they made me change the ending so that he didn't get the girl. I'm still not sure why. And they made us say UBS so we wouldn't get sued but it is in fact, UPS. Cause really who're we fooling?

Not exactly a question but the song at the end of "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" is the best. song. ever.

Do you share any similarities with Hermes' personality?

Emmy winner Ken Keeler wrote that. Almost none at all.

What's up with Foster's? Is there any chance of any new projects?

Foster's is done. But Craig McCracken has a new show for Disney

Hey Phil! Loved you on MadTV and in Futurama.

What role are you most recognized for? Do some people not realize who you are until they hear you speak?

It depends on who it is, there are MAD TV fans who've never heard of Futurama and vice-versa. No, I have a special voice that I reserve only for non-recorded conversations. That way the machines can never steal my soul.

Hi Phil! Thanks for doing this AMA & for making my childhood awesome!

My question is: which role are you the most proud of and why?

Maybe Samurai Jack just because it's a project that I feel confident I can show to pretty much anyone and they will find something to enjoy in it.

Favorite Samurai Jack episode?

The first one. What other American animated show would have 10 min. without dialogue?

Hey Phil, you're awesome!

How did you end up in the Make My Video CNC music factory game? Did it make any sense to you when you read your script?

I auditioned for it. No, it stil doesn't make any sense. The game is "edit your own music video?" Who thought that was a good idea? Do they also have a game where you can do the lighting for THE GODFATHER?

What was it like working with Gary Cole and Stephen Colbert on Harvey Birdman? Also, was the environment nearly as hectic as the humour on the show? Was there a lot of improv?

Unfortunately, I never got to work with any of the other cast. Although since then I have worked with Gary Cole & Peter MacNicol several times. (They're brilliant) Still haven't met Colbert.

I can't say I know your work in detail, but I liked you in Pulp Fiction. So my question is, how much time did you spend on the set of the movie? And how is it to work with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson?

Thank you for taking the time to write to someone you vaguely care about! I shot for 10 days or so in Hollywood and Culver City. They were both great - generous and easy-going.

A little bit of gushing before my question... the first time I really "recognized" you was in Mad TV. Watching re-runs all the time, you were great, and from then on I began to recognize your name in other works. Metal Gear Solid, Futurama, Static Shock, The Wild Thornberrys, etc. Your different voices throw me off everytime, and had I not seen your name in the credits I wouldn't have believed it was you.

Even now your IMDB page is astounding, with a list long enough to clear a small forest if I attempted to print it out. You're an extremely talented live actor and voice actor.

That being said, is there anything in particular that you credit for your vast array of work? Perhaps to be more precise, do you feel that people have acknowledged your talent and brought you on for that reason, or was it through contacts and your resume that you were able to seek out more work?

This ratio of 2 paragraphs of compliments to 1 paragraph of questions works for me. Hm, getting work remains a mystery. I believe it is a combination of what you did before and what you do right now. If you go in to audition for a part you have to be really good at that part, but if you have done work in the past that people liked I believe they will be more inclined to think you are really good right now. That can also work against you, if people have seen you be hilarious but now you're auditioning for a dramatic part they may have a hard time taking you seriously. So, in short, I have no idea.

What was it like doing the voice of the Earth King in Avatar: The Last Airbender? How much of the cast did you get to meet? Was it a good experience?

It was a lot of fun. Got to see Mae Whitman & Grey Delisle (two of my favorite actresses) The hardest part was Andrea Romano really wanted the Earth King to sound like my natural voice - and I couldn't remember what it was!