Alexander Gould
Alexander Gould shot to fame ten years ago when he voiced the character of Nemo when Finding Nemo hit the big screen back in 2003.
Since then he has gone on to mix film work with TV and this week Finding Nemo is back on the big screen as it has been given the 3D treatment by Pixar.
We caught up with Alexander to chat about working on the film, the impact the movie had and what he has been up to.
- Finding Nemo is back to be released in 3D so how excited are you to see this movie back on the big screen?
It is really exciting as it is such a timeless classic of a movie and the fact that it can be re-released ten years later is a neat thing. It is just an incredible thing to be able to be a part of.
- It was ten years ago when the movie hit the big screen for the first time so what was it about the character of Nemo and the script that initially drew you to the project?
The script was beautiful and it was just an incredible story. I really just auditioned for it and I think they chose me more that I chose it. I don’t think I realised how big of a deal it was at the time.
- Well you have slightly touched on my next question really how was that experience when you look back on it as you have had all this time to understand what you were doing and what you achieved?
It has been really interesting. For a really long time when I was younger I didn’t understand the enormity of what the film was - like I said it is a timeless classic that spans generations.
Only recently have I truly come to appreciate how great a project it was and how great it was to be a part of it.
- Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich were in the director's chair for the film so how did you find working with them?
They were fantastic. At the time I was only seven years old and Andrew Stanton just knew how to work with me so well as he was able to explain to me how the film was going to come together.
It was his project and his baby and he really did a wonderful job in brining it all together and working with him really was just a pleasure.
- You have done quite a bit of voice work since then so how do you find that whole process? And can you describe the process that you went through for Finding Nemo?
In Finding Nemo all of the voices were recorded separate - so I would be in a sound booth in a studio by myself reading the lines with just the director.
Basically you can just come in and it doesn’t matter what you are wearing or what you look like it is all about how your voice sounds. You just read lines for as long as you can, go to bed and come back and do it all again the next day.
Since then I have done more voice work and it really is fun to do and it is very different than on screen work but it is still really great.
- As you say you are in the sound booth by yourself so how difficult is it not having the interaction with the other actors?
It wouldn’t call it difficult it is just very different. I am also use to working on screen and when you do that you are reacting and playing off of your fellow actor but here you have to make up what you are playing off of.
Sometimes it can be easier because on screen if you are working off someone who is very dry and isn’t giving you a lot to play off of it can affect your own energy. But here you can just make up your own energy.
I remember when I was working with Andrew Stanton he would give me the context of the scene and the line and get me to the right energy.
Sometimes it would take me a while to really understand it and I would have to say the line over and over and over again but eventually we would get it. It is definitely a very neat way of acting.
- You have said already that this movie is very much a timeless classic and it really seemed to strike a chord with people and it remains one of the biggest and most successful Pixar movies of all time. So what do you think it is about this movie that people really latched on to?
I think it has just a really great story of the coming of age of a son and the over protective parent; which parents relate to and kids relate to as they want to be a little bit more adventurous.
But in the end it comes back and has a really nice message of listening to your parents as well as believing in yourself. I think it is a really great message and it is relatable to people all over the place.
- Away from the film have done a lot of TV work over the last few years especially in Weeds so how have you found you extensive TV projects?
I have had a great time doing them and Weeds was an incredible and indescribable experience. For eight years you are working with the same people and you really do just become a family and you all just mesh together so well.
It was really really fun to be a part of it and I am really grateful that I got the chance to be a part of it.
- While you have had a good time on that show how exciting is it to know that you can move forward on other projects as you won’t be returning to Weeds?
It is really exciting to have that opportunity and from that role really be able to branch out. I feel that a lot of roles in television can really typecast someone as one type of actor or playing one type of role but I really don’t think that my role in Weeds did at all.
I think I was really lucky to have that and have such a versatile role to be able to roll with and branch
out into the future with.
- Throughout your career you have moved between TV and film so how do you find that the two mediums compare?
When you get into a film it is one story and one set development of a character and you are able to delve into one character for a short period of time and discover everything about them.
Whereas in TV you are playing the same character over a long period of time and you have to grow with the character, learn with the character and sometimes change the character a lot - particularly when you are in a situation like I was where I started the show when I was ten years old and finished when I was eighteen.
It forced me to grow up with the character and learn what the character changed in to as he was growing up with the writers of the show. So the two are very very different but they are both really fun mediums to work in.
- We have talked already about how you can branch out into different roles so where are you hoping to take your career - do you want to stay in TV or is film very much your focus now?
I am open to either. Right now I am not actively looking to continue at the moment and in the future things are up in the air.
But I am looking for projects and I think it’s more of if the right role was to come along rather than looking for anything specific.
- Throughout the last few years as well as working you have been studying as well so how have you found that balancing act between studies and work?
It has been difficult and I have always had a problem with it. But I have made it through and I have graduated high school and I am hoping to go on to college next year.
My family have been a huge factor in it as my mum and dad have always impressed on me that studies should come first and I should always make time for it. Acting was important but it was not as important as getting an education and I credit my parents with a lot of that.
- Finally what is next for you?
As of right now I don’t have anything lined up and I am not actively looking for anything but over the next couple of years who knows. So college and possibly something - but I am not exactly sure.
Finding Nemo 3D is released 29th March.