Wonder Woman: Bloodlines is DC’s newest animated film. At New York Comic Con, actresses, Courtenay Taylor and Mozhan Marno, shared their thoughts with the press about their roles in the feature.
To discuss the recent Wonder Woman animated original, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, the talents behind the solo feature came to the famed New York Comic-Con to chat about their contribution to the Wonder Woman Rogue Gallery.
The Workprint sat down with Courtenay Taylor and Mozhan Marno. Taylor is a voice-acting veteran, sporting an acting resume with 169 credits in tv, film, and video games. Marno has acted in television, such as The Affair and Madame Secretary, and video games, but this is her first role in an animated film.
How is the real world affecting the frequency of women characters?
Taylor: Donald Trump is our president, so it gave us something to be mad about. No, it definitely. I think this is just another example of women’s stories or female-driven stories both behind the camera and in front of the camera and in front of the mic are gaining a lot more traction and interest. And I think that it’s really awesome to have this have so much female energy both in the good characters and the bad characters. That was really exciting and I think that’s indicative of what people want to see that for so long it’s been male-driven story-lines. And so now, to see that you can actually have an exciting story-line that engaging for everyone, not just for girls, but for everyone, and have it filtered through a woman’s lens. It’s exciting, women just tell stories differently, both through writing, directing so there’s a whole mine of good stuff that the surface is just getting scratched, we’re just getting started.
What’s your favorite thing about your respective characters?
Marno: I think mine, she’s sort of tickled by things that are about putting people in difficult situations, and she finds joy in that. It’s kind of fun to play somebody who’s that manipulative and power-hungry.
Taylor: I loved Doctor Poison before this, and I wanted to see more of her character. So I’m still waiting for her standalone origins story. I was just excited to give her a little more dimension than I’ve seen, and I really would like to see her deal laid out. Hopefully, this will lead somewhere in that direction. I think what I would really like to see in the world of superhero storytelling is more origins stories for the villains. I want to know about that. Let’s do it! Doctor Poison: Bloodlines. I want to see more feature-length movies. Hopefully, that’s starting, and I would like to see it in animated stuff too and be able to push these characters out because they’re interesting. Just because you have a bad attitude or bad press doesn’t mean you’re not super interesting. And yeah, I’m excited to see the Joker and see how it turns out.
What can you say are the challenges and fun parts of this movie?
Taylor: I have played bad characters, voice wise, for a long time. That I get to actually play both sides of the field in really heroic characters and also really some villains. I play a lot of people who are struggling with the light and the dark so I love that tension, that sort of teetering where you’re not really sure where they’re going to go. Obviously, Doctor Poison, you’re pretty sure where she’s going to go, but to bring that humanity and pain that I think she feels to this party.
Marno: I don’t do a lot of voice work, so that’s different. It’s a totally different process, and you’re alone in a recording studio with a director but not with any other actors so you have to generate the whole thing: you have to generate the scenario and the relationship with the other character and hear the other lines in your head and respond to something that’s not there. It’s a completely different process.
Taylor: I’m famous for hitting my head on the microphone. So I’m a very physical voice actor so I’ve been doing it for a long time, and people are always like, “really? Twenty years in and you’re still hitting your head on the mic?” and I’m like “uh, sorry.” They are starting to use head mics, which is nice because then you can just move around. Yeah, I think that challenge is the reverse for me, coming from a voice acting background, that there are actually people.
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines is available on digital today. A physical release on 4K Combo Pack & Blu-ray Combo Pack will release on October 22.
Here’s the trailer for Wonder Woman: Bloodlines:
