So thrilled to announce Joey Sourlis! As the voice of Daniel the Faun! I've been wanting to work with Joey for a while now and finally, the stars have aligned to make it happen. It's a role I could have really cast a long time ago if I had really wanted, and I don't know why, but I never was in a rush to do so. I guess because Daniel doesn't appear until about halfway through the game, so there was no reason to do so. But once I decided to put out a bunch of ro
les at once I guess I just figured why wait any longer? And I suppose it's good I did wait this long because otherwise, I might not have ended up casting Joey in the role. I think Daniel served as an interesting challenge to cast, but I didn't really have an idea of how exactly he should sound more of just what the vibe was his actor would need to be able to portray. It was definitely interesting because any time I'd open an audition I could never be sure what I was going to get. The general consensus was kind of either over the top or really apathetic. Which really wouldn't do for the entirety of the script, it might work for like three lines, but Daniel sort of fluxes between irked, indifferent, and angry. He's not a one-toned sort of character (though granted I'd like to think most of PSA so far aren't). S
o when Joey auditioned I was excited because he had auditioned for me before and while for that previous role he wasn't the perfect fit, I knew he'd turn out something good. And what he shared about his heritage and how it informed his interest in voicing the character made me feel like he was the obvious choice. No one else that auditioned for the role had the cultural connection to the character so to me it really would have been a squandered opportunity. It would have been one thing if Joey just completely bombed it, but as you can hear in the teaser he absolutely did not. Joey just really nailed it, sometimes you really don't know until you hear an actor really perform the role. Sometimes it is just sort of a leap of faith. And that kind of was the case here, Joey did a solid audition I felt, "hey this could work, part of me isn't 100% sold, but I just got a feeling that when I hear him do the whole thing, he'll really nail it." And sure enough, that was the case by the end of hearing all the lines back from Joey the first time, it seemed like such
a no-brainer. I'll be the first to say my casting process isn't the most professional out there, it might not even be seen as conventional. But I do consistently get the results I hope for. I consistently am reassured that how I approach it, is the correct way of doing it. If I did what others do, I don't know- copied their methods. I don't think I would have gotten to maybe work with all the incredible actors I have so far. Everyone's methods are different, but if I hadn't done it my way I wouldn't have met Joey in the first place and thusly gained that desire to make sure we ended up working together on this project. Others might have then taken that and just found a character and cast Joey, based on his previous work, but again I may not have gotten then to have him in his perfect role for him as Daniel. Because I wouldn't have been hearing what he thought Daniel would sound like, how he thought he should speak. While Joey's voice wasn't how I imagined Daniel in my head, his performance was 100% how I thought the lines should have been delivered. And like I said by the end of hearing them all I couldn't even think of anyone else in the role, like his voice sort of just effortlessly rewrote the preset my brain had provided. Sometimes when I have this preset voice in my brain that it just naturally provided even if doesn't make any sense like in the case of Ferdinand, it can be hard to sort of overwrite it. Like it lingers there even after you've heard your VA do the lines. With this role that didn't happen it was so just- almost instant, by the end of the recordings that process was complete and I wasn't even cognitive to that fact. I don't know if that tells you much about Joey's performance, but it does illustrate how perfect I think he is for the role of Daniel. It's a
n honor to be able to work with him. And I am so excited to hear his performance opposite Mylo's as Uni. Which is a whole other facet one should consider too. This character has to play off another through the entirety of the story. So that's a dynamic you have to consider that you may not initially think about too. For example, if I had cast someone with a more animated performance or too animated, it wouldn't have worked to illustrate how Daniel is a foil to Uni. They both would have just come off as these obnoxious characters. Conversely, you couldn't cast someone who was too apathetic either, because then it makes it harder to believe that Daniel would continue to put up with Uni. Daniel's actor needed to be able to walk that line, we need to be able to look through Daniel and see someone that at least somewhat likes Uni, and has some sort of soft spot for him. And Joey really does this through his performance, it really felt like he adopted Daniel's mindset while recording, I wouldn't even be shocked if you were to tell me he did physical mannerisms to help capture those subdued, underlying feelings. It really is a wonderful performance and I hope you're all excited to hear more of it in the future. I for one can't wait to get programming the Daniel - Uni interactions. Well, I've rambled enough. Joey Sourlis, weclome to Pleasant Sparkle Academy maye your time here feel a lot less dreadful than it does for Daniel himself ha, ha, ha.
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