PEARL RIVER, NY – The Star Wars universe has expanded even further with a special approach – the anime – and a resident of the Hudson River is in on the fun.
Actor Adam Seitz is undoubtedly one of the voices of “Star Wars: Vision” – a unique sequence that is a collaboration between DisneyPlus and 7 major Japanese animation studios bringing new sights to a fast-paced movie streak.
It just came out, and the opinions are more than good. “Most of the spinoffs, sequels and reboots that have become de rigueur in modern pop culture have failed to stand out as anything other than nostalgia capitalizations. Star Wars: Visions, on the other hand, eliminates all expectations, ”Karen Han wrote on Slate.
Seitz is in 4 of them. In the primary, streaming now, Seitz voices a sprawling-faced being named Hanbei.
Patch sat down (almost) with the Blauvelt resident for an email Q&A:
Room: Is this your first Star Wars business?
Seitz: I’ve been a part of the Star Wars family since 2011, voicing some fun characters on the online game Star Wars: Old Republic. I also remade a funny mock documentary in 2001 called “Star Wars: Behind the Lines”.
Room: You’ve done a lot of voiceovers in your career, from Dora the Explorer to DisneyPlus – What’s it like?
Seitz: It was a blessing. As a toddler, I needed to be a cartoon. Then I found out that I couldn’t be animated LOL. Now I still can’t imagine anyone willing to pay me to bark into a mic as Clifford the Big Red Dog (until they decided he would really chat and John Ritter took the post). Or a whiff of soothing help as the “Ahhhh” for Nestea’s dive.
I have been fortunate enough to express both the voices of the Lord above and that of satan below. It has been great fun making cartoons for my kids to watch and working on some of the best video games like Grand Theft Auto 3, 4 and 5 and Bioshock. Becoming iconic characters in the business world like Mr. Mini Wheat for Kelloggs or Mr. Potatohead for Lays was a real highlight.
I am also a live-action actor. I have not only voiced, but have also been in over 100 commercials, movies and TV shows and have been lucky enough to be on Broadway 3 times. In fact, I even performed on stage and below the stage doing voiceovers for the Tony Nominated Broadway series of “Talk Radio” with Liev Schrieber in 2007.
Room: Have you seen “Vision” but?
Seitz: I was the only one able to see the scenes in which I acted. I also had the chance to play a minor character named Musha in the Akakiri episode and did a little more work recording dialogue on two different episodes. (The village bride and the duel). In these two, I cover the background voices of random Jedi, bandits, guards, villagers, etc. So, I got to enjoy a few flavors and noticed a few bits and pieces of those 4. Each award-winning animation studio created their own “Vision” quickly to go well with their own imaginative and prescient (you see this that I did there).
Room: What do you think it does for Star Wars to announce Japanese sensitivity to anime?
Seitz: It seems the world has embraced the Star Wars universe a long time ago. I imagine these stories have already been written and distributed to the biggest anime-making studios to allow its distinctive types to shine. You will see, each episode could be very completely different from the next.
Room: Tell me more about being part of the big Star Wars “family”.
Seitz: I grew up in the 70s. I noticed the film 3 times. I had the Star Wars toys and lunch field. So once I was asked to worry for the first time, it was a dream come true. I had played two funny characters before now named Mekks and Targen in an online game for Lucas Arts. It’s called “Star Wars: The Old Republic”.
Another nice detail: in 2002, I made a very humorous trailer with Jerry Seinfeld for his good documentary film “Comedian”. Once out of nowhere, the director called me and asked if I could do a Chewy. I did this over the phone and he immediately projected me into a nice mock documentary filmed with a hidden digital camera / gorilla he was making. I feel like it was called “StarWars: Behind the lines”. I played a fanatic fanatic disguised as a low budget Chewbacca. Other than one line, I only spoke Wookie, I wore brown corduroy pants, a fuzzy brown waistcoat, and a Tina Turner wig. We pretended to camp for days with those who camped in front of the Zigfield movie ready for the episode II premiere. It’s extremely exhausting to search, but a nice watch.
Room: I know it’s an anime, but don’t you want a sprawling face Sith costume? I mean, man.
Seitz: Who wouldn’t?