In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the new voice actors for Rick and Morty shed some light on what it was like auditioning for the lead roles for the raunchy animated show.
Former Rick and Morty co-creator and lead actor Justin Roiland was removed from the show earlier this year after facing two felony domestic abuse charges which were subsequently dropped. When the charges were made public, numerous companies — including Adult Swim, Hulu, and High on Life developer Squanch Games — announced they would no longer be working with Roiland. Months later, at San Diego Comic-Con, producer Steve Levy revealed the show would be moving forward with new soundalike actors.
And finally, when Season 7 premiered last month, those actors were revealed: Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty). The two chatted with THR about what it was like going from being diehard Rick and Morty fans to auditioning in “a Zoom waiting room full of people in yellow T-shirts and lab coats” for the chance to become the Emmy-award-winning show’s new leads.
“This audition process was certainly different from any other audition process I’ve been a part of in the past, even just for the sheer length of it. My first submission for this was in mid-February, and [I got the role] in early June. In between, there were many rounds of auditions,” Cardoni told the oulet. “What’s typical for auditions is you do the work and then wait for [a] response while you try to put it out of your mind and move on with your life. But this was many rounds of getting closer and closer and closer to the possibility of it, and it was harder to contain my excitement.”
“It was easily the longest and most intense audition process I’ve ever been a part of, but it was also the most fun,” Belden said. “The people running the auditions kept throwing curveballs at us — things you’d never hear these characters doing — just to see if we could stay in character.”
“It was easily the longest and most intense audition process I’ve ever been a part of.
Before officially landing the roles of Rick and Morty, Cardoni and Belden said they had plenty of experience doing impressions of the characters for friends and coworkers. However, showrunner Scott Marden and co-creator Dan Harmon put the pair through rigorous auditions where they were asked to act out hypothetical scenarios to ensure they could perfectly encapsulate the duo’s madcap energy.
For example, at one point during his audition, Belden recounted moments where Harmon and Marder asked him to speak as if “Morty wasn’t quite as submissive,” “really dominating and angry,” or if he was “just channeling Rick.”
“You could tell they were having a lot of fun with us,” Belden said.
“There was a session with Scott where I had to do some matching to Chris Parnell’s character, who had voiced his half of a combined being. That’s a skill to match existing animation but also match the timing of another actor without that actor being there,” Cardoni said. “Also, towards the end, they brought in a vocal coach for us to work with — even before we were cast. What that showed me is that as rigorous and exhausting as that process was, they were looking out for us. It was a preview of how supportive and how conscious they were of not hurting our voices or going overboard.”
Towards the end of the interview, Belden ad Cardoni revealed that — although they avoid reading online criticism over their vocal performaces — they still plan on critiquing themselves and look for ways to improve their performances.
“When we are recording, it’s not in a vacuum. Everybody on the team is listening and giving guidance,” Cardoni said. “One thing I will say is I listened to myself on the earlier tapes from the beginning of summer, which were still in the editing phase, and I was able to say, ‘Hey, I think I can top what I gave you earlier, can I have another crack at it?’ I’ve definitely settled into a way of working which made the voice more accessible. So, we’re constantly improving and growing and listening and hoping that we grow with the show.”
In our review for Rick and Morty Season 7 premiere, we wrote, “Justin Roiland’s departure hasn’t changed Rick and Morty. The yet-to-be-identified actors playing the title characters sound pretty much identical to Roiland and the first two episodes of season 7 offer the same mix of sharp meta humor, emotional depth, and grotesque animation that has always made Rick and Morty great, delivering bombastic standalone adventures that offer just a bit of character growth.”
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN.
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
