Scottish accents in Hollywood aren’t just limited to
Sean Connery’s masculine rolling r’s or the late James Doohan’s
faux-brogue anymore.
After Pixar set its latest computer-animated extravaganza “
Brave”
in the misty environs of ancient Scotland, the filmmakers were, as
usual, able to tap some of showbiz’s hottest personalities to give voice
to the characters – and luckily, many of them came with their own
natural Scots intonations.
Kelly Macdonald (“Boardwalk Empire”),
Craig
Ferguson (“The Late Late Show”) and
Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”) gave
PopcornBiz a roguish, broguish earful about bringing the tones of the
bonnie homeland to “Brave.”
On working with their natural accents:
Craig Ferguson: It's a sign of the times. I think the
world is different than it was maybe 20 or 30 years ago when regional
accents were a very exotic and odd thing, but with the Internet and the
YouTubes and all the different communication systems that exist in the
world, I think that people's ears are much more attuned to authenticity
in accents now. I think that's a part of the smart planning of this
film, and also, if you're going to make a film about Scotland it's
probably a good idea to have Scottish people in it.
Kelly Macdonald: I'm Scottish and I've read things that have said I have a terrible Scottish accent. People don't know.
Kevin McKidd: The
film was very well formed by the time that I joined it. The story was
pretty much set and all of that, and I think that they just pretty much
wanted us to bring our voices. They were very open to us, like if they
said, 'This is the line of dialogue,' and you say, 'I could say it that
way, but it'd be more natural and a Scotts-person would say it more like
this, or it could be funnier if you say it this way.'
Ferguson: They kind
of know what they're doing. I think that it'd be a bad idea as a voice
actor to tell Pixar that it doesn't look very good. I don't know how
long you'd be working there.
McKidd: I started as
Young MacGuffin, and that took a while because they wanted Young
MacGuffin to be that kind of character that nobody can understand a word
he says because his accent is so thick. Then they offered me Lord
MacGuffin, the older character, the dad, and we started doing sessions
where I'd do both at the same time and I ended up just meeting somewhere
in the middle, kind of between a rock and a hard place. So we'd do Lord
MacGuffin in the morning, because I'd just woken up and my voice was
[gruff] like that, and then we'd do Young MacGuffin after lunch. I just
basically channeled my dad for Lord MacGuffin because he's grumpy and
old. I channeled myself as a young [boy] because I was a very, very
painfully shy boy. That's why I became an actor. I sort of channeled
that painfully shy young boy that I was.
On being part of a Scotland-set story starring Pixar’s first female lead:
Macdonald: Attention
to detail is not my strong point and it totally passed my by that I was
going to be the first female protagonist in a Pixar movie until quite
recently, really until I started doing interviews. I'm kind of glad that
I didn't know while I was doing it because it would've been a lot of
pressure, but I don't think that I've personally watched a Pixar movie
and felt wronged in that there wasn't a female protagonist. They make
films about fish and toys and robots, and there are some really strong
female characters in those films, in 'The Incredibles' and Jessie from
'Toy Story.' So I never felt that I was missing out on that, but I feel
very privileged, having said all of that. I feel very privileged.
Ferguson: Disney is
so powerful that Kelly no longer owns her own voice, and so as she
speaks to you now she begins to owe the Disney corporation money. I will
now answer all of her questions.
On working with Pixar:
Macdonald: As soon
as I was asked to go in and meet some people from Pixar, just with the
name Pixar you know that it's going to be special. So, I had no doubt in
my mind that the finished product was going to be just really special
and cutting edge.
Ferguson: When the
name Pixar is on the offer, it's not really an offer. It's more of a
summons. Pixar require your presence in this film and you go or you're a
fool. So that's kind of what happens. They've earned that right by what
they've done, and so what I think the special feeling is, realizing
what these people have done, trusting that they will be able to do it
again and letting them.
On fellow “Brave” voice actor, comedian and Scottish icon Billy Connolly:
McKidd: I remember
maybe 15 or 20 years ago, he did a tour of all the little village halls
in the whole of Scotland. He went around and did all the town halls of
Scotland. He came to my town and I was this sort of theatre rat and I
got to do his follow spotlight in Elgin Town Hall. I couldn't keep the
follow spot still because I was laughing so hard, and he started making
jokes about me. He was like, 'You up there, stay still with the follow
spot!' He's like the god, the granddaddy of Scottish comedy and has been
unbelievable.
Ferguson: Billy is
an Elvis to me. Billy is Jackie Robinson as far as I'm concerned. Billy
changed the game. When I was a kid, when I was at school, Billy released
a comedy album called 'Solo Concert.' You listen to young, black
comedians talk about Richard Pryor and that's who Billy is to me. I'd
never seen anyone do anything, who sounded like me, who came from the
same socio-economic group as me, and did that. I'd seen English actors
pretend to be Scottish. I'd seen caricatures of Scottish people, but I'd
never seen anything like that. I think that John Lennon said that
before Elvis there was nothing. And that's kind of how I feel about
Billy.
Macdonald: I hurled
myself at Billy Connolly. He was doing a session when I first went in
to read for this part. Billy had just been in doing a session before me
and before I knew what happened I was around his neck like a monkey. So
yeah – It's not just a male thing.
On whether there’s a Scottish network of creative types within Hollywood:
Ferguson: We can't tell you that.
McKidd: Or we'd have to kill you.
Ferguson: It’s the Scotch-a Nostra.
