SUPER TROOPER (#130, JAN 2012)
Dee Bradley Baker might just be the busiest member of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars cast. He certainly had his work cut out when voicing the clones during their deadly encounter with Jedi Master Pong Krell on the planet Umbara. Interview by Jonathan Wilkins
When you first signed on to do the show, did you ever imagine that you’d be working on such complex storylines as the recent Umbara story arc?
The short answer is “No.” This is insane! Not only to be involved in a show that’s gotten so big, so deep, and so gratifying to watch as a fan, but also to be involved in the Umbara arc is striking in a lot of ways. One of them is the involvement of Walter Murch, whose work with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola includes THX-1138 and Apocalypse Now. He is very exacting, very thoughtful, and has a unique directorial mind. Despite all the fun things that I get to do on the show, to be directed by Walter for episodes like this is a whole different level from anything I’ve been involved with. I can hardly believe it. As I was watching it up on the screen at Skywalker Ranch I was amazed. It’s really knockout stuff.
When you first saw those scripts, can you remember your initial thoughts?
My initial thoughts were Oh, boy! Here’s another clone arc! It’s always very challenging and interesting, and a lot of fun. As we got into it, and as we marched across the dark planet of Umbara, with a Jedi general who has strategies and methods that are not in line with what the clones are used to, I realized that we had something here that we’ve never seen before.
To spend four episodes on this planet, trying to fight our way out and trying to find how to get along with this general, was really rather difficult for me. With the level of personal involvement I feel with these clones, to be sent into this story with this despicable character actually bothered me. It’s something I’d never seen before in this show and it was not an easy thing to bring to the surface, but once it got out there, it became pretty dramatic!
So how did you overcome those feelings?
The only way to overcome them is to fully realize them, and that’s really what we did in this show. This story and the performances don’t pull any punches. You see Rex pretty much lose it at one point, which I’ve never seen before. You see clones that come into conflict with their general in a way you’ve never seen, and the only way to exorcise that is to bring it all out and bring it to life. This is more like a war film and really has some interesting issues involved in terms of who the clones are, what the war is, how they deal with the difficult situation and how the war is fought.
Rex is incredibly popular with the younger fans (see page 19). Was there ever any concern whether they would be okay dealing with such dark themes?
This is not a show that I think is written with just kids in mind. I think this is a story that George Lucas wants to put out there, and most of it appeals to kids, but a lot of it appeals to adults and deals with issues that are in the adult world.
This story is predestined to play out in a way that everybody already understands in Episode III. The fans who know and love this series know what’s coming. I think it’s something you can expect to manifest itself more and more as we get closer to Episode III with our television series. With the television format and the length of the series, we’re able to portray it with depth and reality, and with a sense of humor and humanity that adds so much to the epic storyline of this saga.
How important do you think Season One’s “Rookies” was in putting the clones to the forefront for episodes like these?
To my mind, that was really the first big experiment: whether we could throw an entire storyline to these clones, who in the feature films were not really presented with distinct personalities or any sort of differentiation. It was a really cool creative risk to step out and do that and I think most people will agree that it really paid off. It showed that these guys were interesting and different. We can always go back to the clones because actually, they have a lot to do with what’s interesting about this whole conflict. What happens to the humans that are thrown into this war to fight against droids? These guys are intelligent, they’re flexible, they have a sense of humor and you love them because of it! They’re able to adapt and think, and to attack their problems and solve them as humans facing great odds, and a great war. This comes in the face of the manipulation that they’re really only beginning to become aware of and, in this case, perhaps even against one of their own commanders.
The humanity of the clones makes what happens in Revenge of the Sith even more tragic and poignant.
Absolutely. That’s the thing that’s killing me: I want to know how this plays out for Rex! He’s Anakin’s right hand man; he’s there for him! What happens to Rex? I want to know what happens to Ventress, and to Ahsoka, for goodness sake! But for me, it’s about what happens to Rex. I’ve heard that the finale’s been discussed, but to my knowledge, it hasn’t been decided yet. But then again, I’m pretty far down the command chain!
How important is the writing in separating the various clone characters?
The differentiation comes from the really marvelous writing on this show—that’s ultimately my guide in separating the fellows and portraying their distinctness clearly. I don’t know all the writers, but that ultimately is the compass for me. The bedrock of any good show, whether it’s dramatic or comedic, is the writer, and it’s often an unsung position or part of the whole project. But you can’t have a good show without good writing: I don’t care how good the rest of it is. We’ve got great writers and I rely on them every episode!
When you’re working with (supervising director) Dave Filoni, what sort of direction does he give you?
Dave’s very clear. He knows the story and the clones. He’s an ultra Star Wars nerd, and deeply involved with this entire universe. He knows what he’s talking about. Working under him is easy, because he knows what he wants. That’s ultimately what you need as a voice actor—a good script and a director who knows what they want. We get a lock on that right up front and we pretty much go straight through recording these days.
Doesn’t that get confusing?
It used to, but now we’re used to setting the characters. We have a little method for setting their status, their degree of obedience, their age and all these other things so that I can flip back and forth with just a quick little note I make next to their name on the side of the script. I don’t get asked to do something like this ever. From a voice actor’s standpoint, it’s a very unique project.
Do you think there can be more stories like the Umbara arc?
Yes there can, and there will. I have it on good authority. Bring in the drop-ship and let’s go!
Dee Bradley Baker on why kids can’t get enough of Captain Rex!
Captain Rex is what a kid aspires to in a lot of ways. He’s smart, dependable, strong, able, flexible, and able to make things happen, and also to be a integral part to the story. All of these, I think, are things that a kid wants, and Rex is that in an attainable way. He’s not a Jedi or superhuman. He’s also the right hand man of the central character [Anakin]. Kids may think, If this human can be so important to the main character—the Chosen One—why couldn’t I be heroic like that? ! think these days people want to be that hero character because the world needs heroes. We know that there are villains; we’ve seen that quite clearly in the past and throughout history. People thirst to see the heroic, and to partake in that, and that’s a part of what’s so brilliant about this series. It brings that out in sort of its own epic, mythological, fantasy kind of way, but this is real stuff! I think it speaks for that yearning for the heroic that people have in themselves, that really ties them into the series and to Rex.
