The voice actor who defined one of DC Comics’ most popular characters caused hundreds of fans to gather in the Javits Center during New York Comic Con 2017.
Tara Strong helped bring Harley Quinn to life in the Batman Arkham game series and countless other movies and TV shows. She’s played Bubbles in the original Power Puff Girls cartoon and also voices Raven in Teen Titans and Teen Titans GO!, among other roles. The fan-favorite actor spoke to the NYCC crowd to speak about her experiences making the seminal cartoon.
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Strong took the stage in room 1A06, thanking the fans for coming out for her first New York Comic Con. She started off talking about the forthcoming My Little Pony: The Movie, and her character Twilight Sparkle. Strong revealed that she was excited to
Asked what her favorite part was, Strong said The Little Mermaid 2 because she got to sing alongside Julie Benson.
Strong advised people who want to break in to take acting lessons, especially improv and singing lessons. Strong said, just because you talk weird doesn’t mean you’ll get a job. You have to know how to act. She stressed to never do paying auditions.
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She gave some insight into the video game strike, where they negotiated better pay for actors who tend to strain their voices for those roles. She said all of the death scenes they’d record tend to wear out their vocals, which would harm their voices and work schedule.
Strong said she’s ok with huge celebrities and actors doing voice acting so long as they’re good. She geeked out about Mark Hamill, known for Luke Skywalker and the voice of the Joker. “If they’re good at it, I’m OK with it. If they’re bad, well, you know, things have to happen!”
Strong spoke about the mutual respect voice actors have of each other, saying the industry is very friendly as opposed to on camera work.
She spoke about how it’s hard to make a living in the business, stressing that you need something to fall back on or a different source of income.
She spoke about how she channels new characters, saying that the creation comes from different inspirations. There is the influence of the character design, the character’s personality attributes, what the producers want, and more.
More Questions and Answers
Strong hinted that she booked a new, “huge” job. It’s a pre-existing character, and teased that fans will be able to learn more in the future.
Asked how she balanced all of her different responsibilities, Strong revealed she would take her kids to the studio. She joked that they don’t like school as much because they grew up at Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. She said she does voices all of the time at home, “sometimes it’s addicting!”
Strong said she likes Dee Baker’s site as a resource for voice actors, and she enjoys Rob Paulsen’s podcast. She also spoke about Frank Welker being one of the sweetest actors she’s ever met.
Asked what role she would like another crack at, Strong said no because she was “really big back then.” About her most rewarding aspect of being Ben 10, Strong said it’s interesting to see how awesome the swag is in England where the show is very popular.
“You guys ready for the truth?” Strong said, referring to the new Power Puff Girls reboot. “I wish them all the best of luck and they have my blessing.” Strong cleared the air about a supposed Twitter beef she had with the new show, stressing that she’s always been supportive of the new actors.
