I Am Groot Director Kirsten Lepore Talks the "Nuance" of Vin Diesel's Performance

The second season of I Am Groot was released on Disney+ earlier this week, and the five new animated shorts see Vin Diesel returning to voice everyone's favorite little tree. I Am Groot director Kirsten Lepore recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the new season and shared her thoughts on potentially working with the Guardians in live-action in the future. Lepore also reflected on I Am Groot's first season, and what it was like directing Bradley Cooper. During the interview, Lepore was asked if she had to give Diesel any notes when it came to his many different line readings of "I am Groot." 

"I don't think he needed any notes," Lepore explained. "He runs through them. He just watches and does all the 'I am Groots' in one go, and he pretty much nails it. And then if there's a different reading we need, it's going to be somewhere in there, in the first or the second [take]. So he really hits it on the head every time." 

She added of Diesel having to say the same line over and over, "There truly is so much nuance, and we know this from doing the sound editing. Every time we would slot in an 'I am Groot,' we would go back and forth on so many of those. If it's not perfect or the right inflection, you won't understand what he's trying to say. So every 'I am Groot' truly has a specific read and a nuance to it that Vin is able to nail."

As for Groot's baby voice, Lepore recently spoke to ComicBook.com about the vocal effects that went into making Diesel's Groot sound younger in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and I Am Groot.

"It's funny, I think he tried to do it both ways. And I know we kind of went back and forth in the record, but ultimately what we ended up doing, which was more consistent with Guardians 2, was just all vocal effects," Lepore explained. "So he does his pretty much normal register, maybe it's a little – he's not doing super low Vin Diesel – but he's kind of doing his normal voice, and then we pitch it up like eight semitones or something, and then we get baby Groot."

Was James Gunn Involved With Making I Am Groot?

James Gunn is best known for directing all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but most fans know his days with Marvel have come to an end now that he's running things over at DC Studios. The second season of I Am Groot was directed by Lepore, who recently spoke with ComicBook.com about Gunn's involvement in the series. While Gunn did not play a role in creating I Am Groot's second season, the director did give his blessing. 

"I think he had a lot of trust and faith in us, especially after Season 1. I took it as an approval where I was like, 'Okay, we got our groove, we're doing our thing, James gives us the thumbs up. I think we're good to go for Season 2,'" Lepore said. "His fingerprints and DNA are always in there because he created this character."

I Am Groot's second season is now streaming on Disney+.