Watchmen: Titus Welliver Says Rorschach Voice Acting Went Against Everything He Was Taught in Drama School

Bosch and Titans star Titus Welliver stars as Rorschach in the new, animated Watchmen Chapter I. The movie, which aims to adapt the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel as closely as possible. Speaking with ComicBook about the project, the actor said that working out Rorschach’s voice was a challenge, and that getting as low and gravelly as he did ran counter to his training. Channelling Mercedes McCambridge’s turn in The Exorcist, Welliver said that he ran the risk of “destroying” his voice if he did more than a couple of hours of recording at a time. 

He also, like costar Katee Sackhoff, expressed an admiration for the feature film adaptation of Watchmen, citing Jackie Earle Haley as an inspiration on how he brought Rorschach to life. 

“I always say, go back to Mercedes McCambridge was cast to do the voice of Pazuzu in The Exorcist, and she was chain-smoking cigarettes and drinking raw eggs and stuff,” Welliver told ComicBook. “It was very hard, and people assume tat because I have a lower register voice that it would be [easier], but it’s not supported by any of the stuff they teach you in drama school. It’s all in the throat, so it goes against all the things you’re told not to do, because it’ll destroy your voice. I could only record for a couple of hours at a time, but it was a lot of fun, I’ll tell you that. Finding the voice was interesting. Obviously there was the template of Jackie, and I wanted to pay homage to him, but also make it my own in some way. So that was a challenge, but that was also a great epiphany, when we all went ‘That’s it!’”

What is Watchmen about?

In an alternate world history shaped by superheroes, once-celebrated “costumed adventurers” have been banned by a society disenchanted with vigilantism. Now, in 1985, the murder of The Comedian, a hero-turned-government operative, draws the attention of Rorschach, the last of the outlawed vigilantes. Rorschach’s investigation embroils his retired colleagues, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, in conflict with their pasts, with each other and in a mystery that threatens their lives and a world on the brink of war.

Watchmen Chapter 1 is available now on digital Video On Demand platforms. It’s coming to Blu-ray on August 27th.