Exclusive Interview with Will Arnett! Star of Secret World of #Arrietty! #Disney #Review #Movie

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Today I had the amazing opportunity to interview Will Arnett the voice of POD aka Arrietty’s father in the Disney animated film The Secret World of Arrietty!  His character Pod is a traditional Little Person and angry with Arrietty for allowing herself to be seen by a human being. He knows how high the stakes are for his family and wants life to continue on the way it has been. This film is incredible and I’m so glad I could talk to one of the stars about it!

Here are some Highlights from the interview I did with a few special bloggers!

The Movie of Secret World of Arrietty is Based on the Book “the Borrowers” were you familiar with the books prior to making the movie? Had you read the story? 

Will:

I had not read the books. And I did not know a lot about these stories or the books before I got involved in this project. I was very new to all of it.

You’re best known for your comedy work. I’m Curious to Know how you came to be the stern but loving Pod in this film? It’s a little different from what you’re mostly known for.

Will:

Well it’s one of those things where the people who were involved in making the film,  Disney first came to my wife and me and asked us to be part of it.  And I was excited that they thought of me, especially for me to do something that is a little bit outside of what maybe people are used to seeing me in. But you know at the same time for many years have been a voice over guy and have done a lot of Voice over work and have been a part of many different films in the animation world for the last 10 years so I think they thought of all that work as sort of an entree that would allow me to do something like this which is a little more serious. I know a lot of people think of Pod as sort of stern or whatever, but I think of him as the steady hand in this story. I was just happy they thought of me in this way and I was excited to something a little out of my comfort zone.

What is the process of working on a film like this? Is it most individual work? Did you get to read it as a cast to get a feel for the other characters. How did you record?

Will:

It is individual. For the most part in animation you are on your own. In terms of when you record. It’s just the way it’s set up. Of course I had the luxury of knowing some of my castmates pretty well. For example my wife.  So we were able to kind of talk about it a little bit, but you generally don’t really have that luxury.

Prior to this film, were you familiar with the Miyazake or Studio Chibli Films? And if so what was your favorite one?

Will:

I had been familiar. The Studio Chibli has some pretty iconic film. I mean there is Spirited Away and Ponyo. I know they’ve made like 15-20 movies, I haven’t seen them all…But definitely Ponyo was the most recent. But Spirited Away was the first film of theirs I saw and I think we can all agree it was amazing. So when they asked me to be a part of this film, I jumped at the chance since I was such a fan.

Happy Valentine’s Day Will!<—This was me!

Will:

Oh thank you and same to you!

Were you originally Drawn to the Character Pod because your a father as well and he’s a father so he’s a character that you can relate to? <—This was me!

Will:

I wouldn’t say I was drawn to the character necessarily, I would say once I started working on this film my performance was colored by it. What you don’t understand before your a parent is what it means to be a parent and what it means to have a child and that definitely changes your entire world view forever the moment your child is born. I wouldn’t have had the same perspective had I not been a parent when I started making this film. It definitely had an impact on me being a parent.

I know this doesn’t have anything to do with Arrietty, but We’ve heard for years that there is going to be an Arrested Development Movie…Do you know anything about that? Can we hope?

Will:

There is going to be a movie. We’re making a mini-series first some time this year and so we’ll have a mini series leading up to the film.

Did you have the opportunity to Work and Record at all with your wife Amy Poeler at all during the making of this film? <—This was me!

Will:

We did not. That wasn’t the way that it was set up. Unfortunately that was the way they recorded this film. And obviously talked about which is a luxury that you don’t usually get to even talk about it. So yeah we talked about it but unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to actually record together no.

So those are some highlights from the interview! He was awesome and so is this movie! And for all you Arrested Development Fans you heard it hear first there will be a mini series and movie! Woo hoo!

Here is also a little info about WILL ARNETT!

Aka (Pod) can currently be seen on NBC’s new hit comedy “Up All Night” opposite Christina
Applegate and Maya Rudolph. Arnett has also partnered with Jason Bateman to form DumbDumb, a
comedy enterprise that creates and produces brand-inspired entertainment content to audiences across
all forms of social, digital and traditional media.

Arnett is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed Fox sitcom “Arrested Development,” wherehe portrayed Gob Bluth for three seasons and earned his first Emmy® nomination. He recently starred in Fox’s comedy series “Running Wilde” opposite Kerri Russell and wrote for the series alongside writer/director Mitch Hurwitz. Arnett frequently guest-stars as Devon Banks on NBC’s “30 Rock.” Last year, he earned his third Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for this role. Arnett has also lent his voice to Fox’s animated sitcom “Sit Down, Shut Up” from creator Mitch Hurwitz.

Arnett can also be seen in the Warner Bros. and Legendary Film’s “Jonah Hex,” based on the DC Comics’ publication of the same name. The film was released in June 2010, and Arnett starred opposite Megan Fox, Josh Brolin and John Malkovich. He also starred in Walt Disney Pictures’ romantic
comedy “When in Rome” and “G-Force.” In addition he voiced a character in DreamWorks’ 3D animated adventure “Monsters vs. Aliens” alongside Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen. Arnett also starred in the basketball comedy “Semi Pro” opposite Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson and lent his voice to “Horton Hears a Who!” He also appeared in “Blades of Glory,” “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown,” “R.V.” (opposite Robin Williams), “Monster-in-Law,” “The Waiting Game,” “The Broken Giant,” “Southie” and “Ed’s Next Move.”

Before “Arrested Development” Arnett was a regular on the NBC comedy series “The Mike O’Malley
Show.” His additional television credits include guest-starring roles on “Parks and Recreation,” “Sex
and the City,” “The Sopranos,” “Boston Public,” “Third Watch” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Arnett also appeared on NBC’s “Will & Grace” playing Jack’s dance nemesis. Additionally, he can be heard in a variety of commercials, most notably as the voice of GMC Trucks.

Arnett currently splits his time between New York and Los Angeles where he lives with his wife, actress Amy Poehler and his two sons.

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THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY opens in theaters everywhere on February 17th!