I had a wonderful audition yesterday! I was invited to come and audition for Filmax’s newest feature-length animated film Nocturna.

When I got to the recording studio, the directors of the film were in the café talking with José Pozo, the director of El Cid and Donkey Xote (both of which I was in). I shook hands with everyone, but José gave me a big hug! He told the two young directors how great I was and which of the characters he thought I should read for. It was such a boost having a guy like José in my corner. And I’m not just saying that because he also told me that he found my blog on the internet and bookmarked it under “favorites” (Hi José!)

The first character I read for was Mr. Pee – a creepy little guy with a huge head who makes kids pee in their bed. I whipped out my best Joe Pesci and then turned it up a notch. I liked this character a lot!

Next was The Cat Shepherd (a main character). This guy looks like the Goodyear blimp in a striped sweater – a giant but friendly taskmaster. I mixed one part John Goodman and two parts Batman (old-school) to read for this guy. I think it might sound better with someone who has a lower voice, but I’m not the director.

Last, I read for a little light bulb named Murray. He was wearing a hardhat in the picture I saw so I gave him the roughest, deepest, scratchiest Brooklyn accent. This little guy had balls!

All in all, the casting was good fun. The directors were very friendly and we all had a laugh. As always, I felt much more comfortable with the comic secondary characters than with the straight main character, but we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?