'Batman: The Brave and the Bold' Spotlight on Andrea Romano - Exclusive Interview

We recently caught up with “Batman: Brave and the Bold” casting director/voice director Andrea Romano. Our chat covered her recent work on “The Brave and the Bold,” Avatar, and the passing of Mako (the voice of Uncle Iroh on “Avatar: the Last Airbender”).

Tell me about your work on the Brave and the Bold.

Andrea Romano: I do the casting and the voice direction. It’s been a pleasure because it’s a different take on Batman. I’ve cast Batman seven times in various different projects. This one has a lighter flavor to it and I like that. Batman the Animated Series that I worked on for so many years was very dark, which I loved. But it’s so nice to look at it from a different viewpoint, where the characters have a sense of humor. Even if they’re not funny themselves, they have a sense of humor. They understand when a situation is funny and they’ll comment on it. And, that’s really nice.

There’s another aspect of this series that I like so much - we get to hear Batman’s thought process. We actually hear in voice over what he’s thinking at a certain moment. And, that’s really interesting. I think everybody’s interested to know, ‘What’s going on in this guy’s head? What’s he thinking about?’ And, I think that’s really compelling.

Is there ever a time you try and pool from prior cast members, like Mark Hamill?

Andrea Romano: Absolutely, anybody that I work with. There’s a relatively large talent pool now of actors who do voice over for animation. It used to be that before there were a handful of people that did it consistently. Now, it’s many people. Celebrities, on camera actors, everybody wants to do it. Their kids want them to do it; they want them to be in a Batman episode so they can watch their parents.

It’s like a party and you invite all these guests and they all have a great time. And when you have your next party you want to invite the same guests cause it was such a good experience last time. So, with casting a show and directing a show you can’t help it. You want to bring back some of those guests you had a good time with on the last series. So, as long as they are right for the role, I constantly cannibalize my own casts from other series and bring them on. Whether it’s from a Warner Bros project or a Nickelodeon project like Avatar or the Boondocks, which I directed. So, I just constantly pull actors from everything I’ve worked on. Being an independent contractor the way I am, though I do a lot of different work for Warner Bros., it keeps me in mind of what’s going on at all the various different studios. And what actors are being used at other studios. So I get the pick of the crop. I get to choose from the largest talent pool that probably anyone has.

Which was your favorite animated series to work on so far?

Andrea Romano: Ooo, that’s good a good question. They’re all good. That’s like who’s your favorite child (laugh). It’s hard to answer that question.

Andrea Romano: Each one has something. I’m particularly proud of Avatar, it only just finished airing.

I know last week the final few episodes. It’s sad to see Avatar go.

Andrea Romano: Wasn’t it awesome? (joint laughter) I know. But I watched it. My work is done relatively early in the process. Those last few episodes took a long time to finish producing. So, when I watched them last weekend it was like watching them as a fan. Because, It had been so long ago since I had done it. I didn’t even remember all the specific storylines.

I cried and I laughed and I loved it. And the fires scenes were stunning! I loved that series. I was very proud to be a part of it. I loved doing the Boondocks. Which was so good. I got to direct Samuel Jackson and Quincy Jones and all those people. I worked on Batman the Animated Series was one of my favorites. It was one of my first action shows that I worked on. And getting to know Bruce Tim and work with him was great.

Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Tiny Toons, Freakazoid. All those shows. I love them all. Very few that I haven’t really liked. If I don’t really like it I don’t sign on to do it. I get offered the job. I check it out. I check out the producer and who I’ll be working with and all the creative people. And if we don’t fit well together, then I don’t accept the job. If we’re not having a good time making cartoons (laugh) then we’re doing something wrong. So I want to make sure I’m going to be having a good time doing it.

Is there any time when talent is ok in an audition, but when you get them in the booth it doesn’t work out?

Andrea Romano: I have, unfortunately. It breaks my heart anytime I have to replace an actor. And that happens every once in a while. Not very much. But, every once in a while you have to replace an actor because it’s not working, for whatever reason. They don’t understand the energy. They’re nervous. They’ve not really done this before. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I will work really hard with that actor until I get the performance (right). I won’t let an actor’s voice go out there sounding bad. I won’t do it. I will replace them before I’ll let them go out, and have them say, ‘I sounded like a jerk. I don’t know how to act. I sounded bad.’ I like to work with them until I get what I need.

So, hardly ever does that happen.

I have a question about Avatar. When Mako passed, how did that work out when you had to recast?

Andrea Romano: It was the saddest thing ever first of all. I was so proud to know him. It was such a joy to work with him. His line readings and his acting were so unusual and different and his rhythms were so special. I saw him in one of the last sessions he worked for me, and I knew he was not well. And he had not told everybody how sick he was. I don’t even think he knew how sick he was. But, I remember thinking, ‘this man is really ill.’ And then he worked one more session for me and within a month or two he died.

There was a young man named Greg Baldwin who was a fan of Mako’s since Mako worked on Broadway 20 years ago or more. A Caucasian man, and just had followed Mako’s work. He came in to audition because we needed a replacement. And did a very good impression of Mako’s timing and voice. If you put it right up against Mako you can tell clearly it wasn’t the same guy. Because he loved Mako’s work so much and he was such a fan and Mako was his mentor, it felt kind of right to have this guy do it. It was about the saddest thing.

What was so interesting about that was that when Mako passed away we were in the middle finishing an episode, a very very interesting episode, when there were three stories taking place within the Avatar episode. And one of them was, Uncle Iroh goes in and helps this young punk kid on the street to not be a punk anymore and have a good life. And he also helps a kid a baby that’s crying. And he sings him a song - a sweet little song. At the end Mako character, Iroh, builds a temple to his son who has passed away, and he sings the song again. The same song he sang to the little child at the beginning of it. And (he) cries through the singing of the song. And of course all of us working on the crew fell apart weeping. Just as he passed away this episode was the one we were finishing. So we dedicated it to him.

I remember that. We freaked out when we saw the dedication, and looked it up. We had to write a dedication.

Andrea Romano: I’m glad you did because he deserves the attention. He was a remarkable actor.

A remarkable actor. Great job on Avatar.

Andrea Romano: It was a great series wasn’t it?

Probably the top series of the last decade.

Andrea Romano: Thank you.

Thank you.