Evil Separatist leader Wat Tambor rules with an iron fist during the exciting Ryloth story arc of The Clone Wars. Voice actor and sound editor Matthew Wood chats with Starwars.com about his role as Wat Tambor, which scene this season is his favorite and why telemarketers might be surprised at who answers his phone.
How do you prepare yourself to voice Wat Tambor? What's the biggest challenge doing his voice?
I put a garbage can over my head and harass our sound designer, David Acord. The biggest challenge with doing Wat's voice is trying not to have the vocal process spin out of control and having to grab the dial to rein it in. Ben Burtt and I named it the "Stallone Generator" -- Eh Ah Oh Uh! Poor Wat can't quite keep it together.
What makes Wat Tambor such an interesting character to play?
Leader of the Techno Union army? What isn't interesting about that?
What do you like about voicing the battle droids?
I love their sad determination and their quest to be better than their programming.
When telemarketers call you do you ever answer the phone as a battle droid, General Grievous or Wat Tambor?
Actually, I just forward all telemarketer calls to the Spice Mines of Kessel phone tree, that holds them up for at least an hour and then when they do get through it isn't a pretty sight.
Which Clone Wars character has been your favorite to voice this season?
The scenes in "Lair of Grievous" between me (as Grievous) and A4-D were fun. I want more interaction with that character. I like the idea of someone who can boss Grievous around while looking out for him.
I've been working with this show since Sept. 2005 and I've only watched it get better and better. Dave Filoni and his crew have the passion and the Star Wars know-how to really grow this series well. Our sound crew may be just a small handful of people, but we pack a big punch and have a blast while doing it. I can't wait to see how Season 2 shapes up.
