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We ask Elijah Wood and Yvette Nicole Brown about any prior interest in Among Us, what made them sign onto the project, and the fun they've had recording it.
"Hi, great to be speaking with both of you.
Hi Alex.
Hope you're doing well today.
Basically, I guess I'll just get started with a sort of general jump into the series itself."
"It's obviously based on a video game, Icon Video Game Outlet.
What familiarity did you guys have with the game going into it?
And if you didn't have any, what made you interested in this project particularly?
I had heard of Among Us, but I knew that it was a multiplayer game like a lot of people all over play together and I didn't want to mess up anybody's life, so I didn't play."
"But I was really in love with the idea that each of these little characters are all this one color and they each have a purpose and they're working together, or are they?
I just loved everything about it.
So when the idea of being on the show came up and I got to audition, I was over the moon."
"Yeah, I mean, similarly aware of it.
Very aware.
Very popular amongst multiple age groups of kids and adults.
And I think rose to sort of more fame during the pandemic for obvious reasons."
"But yeah, never did get around to playing it.
For no good reason, you know, I intended to check it out.
And obviously doing a voice for a character on the show provided even more interest to check it out.
And I still haven't."
"We will though.
Not having enough time, I guess.
Yes, that's the problem, isn't it?
But something that you touched on there, which I thought was really interesting, is how the characters are all one color."
"Now on the show they have different outfits and things like that and obviously you guys give them lovely personalities and things.
But do you find that, especially with the fact that there's no mouths, there's just little mannerisms here and there, did that give you a bit of freedom, I guess, in how you would express and perform in doing the voice service for these characters?
Absolutely, because they themselves, as I will show you, are so individual."
"Isn't it cute?
They're so individual.
They look alike in a lot of ways, so you've got to find a way to use your voice to make them something special."
"And I think everyone, Kimiko, Liv, Ashley, Wayne, Phil, Randall, Dan, Debra, everybody did it.
They made these characters so unique and wonderful to watch that I fell in love just watching them."
"And Patton, I forgot Patton.
Yeah, I agree.
Having a sort of blank palette in the sense that there isn't a great deal of expression coming from the design of the characters, it does allow for a lot of freedom to sort of make them whatever you want to make them and have fun with that."
"And they are all really unique and all very specific in the way that they're written.
And the scripts are so good.
So good.
The sort of path that we had as actors was made very easy for us, I think."
"Yeah.
Great.
I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised by that because obviously, as you said before, Elijah, it leans into a younger audience, and that's perfectly fine."
"That's obviously where it's found loads and loads of success.
But the show is quite – it's very well written for, you know, and it sticks out.
I was going to ask as well, performance capture-wise or voice capture-wise, how did that work?
Were you guys all separate?
Did you get a chance to share the booth at any point?
And do you think that had any effects on the performances at all?
I was separate."
"Did you record anyone, Elijah?
I was separate too.
Yeah, I was separate.
You know what's funny?
I think since the pandemic, I've done more voiceover sessions just myself than normal."
"But I think when they cast – this cast is amazing.
It sounds like we were all together.
It really does.
And I don't think any of us were."
"No, I don't think so.
I mean, it is – unfortunately, it's one of the aspects of doing voiceover work is that your schedules don't necessarily have to align because everyone can record separately."
"So unless they really want to make sure that they capture a certain dynamic with everybody in the room, which certainly does happen from time to time, it's oftentimes that we do it by ourselves."
"Yeah.
Do you find that when you're recording that, is that sort of something that you have to imagine the dynamic of what's being said?
And what's the process, I guess, for doing that in the booth?
Well, we have great casting directors that read with us for the most part, and they are – I think a lot of them are actors or used to be actors because they give a lot when you're in the booth."
"And then also as an actor, at a certain point, as many years as me and Elijah have been doing it, you can hear the music.
Like if you read the script, you can tell how someone – especially if you know who the other actor is, you can almost tell how they probably will do it, and you just react as if you're hearing that in your mind as you're going along."
"Yeah, well said, well said.
And occasionally, sometimes, depending on where we are in the process, they will have recorded some of the other cast members, so we'll get little bits of it."
"They'll play it.
Which helps too.
Yeah.
You guys play brilliantly well, Orange and Green, in the show.
At any point, were you tempted to, or would you have been tempted to swap roles after seeing all the other shipmates and what they do?
Is there any point that you guys would have considered swapping to a different person?
Maybe someone would have wanted to be the Doctor, I think."
"Well, everyone thought the Doctor.
Everybody thought the Doctor was just gorgeous.
Everybody wanted to be the Doctor.
But I think there was a point in every episode where I wish I was as talented as someone else."
"You know, there's some things that my castmates do that are so weird and wonderful and funny that I was like, oh, I didn't think of that doggone Wayne Knight.
You know what I mean?
Like I'm just thinking of things."
"Or Wilson's.
It's just crazy.
Yeah.
It's a pretty incredible group of people.
Yeah, we were lucky."
"We really were.
And I won't get into any spoilers.
But if you guys theoretically, hypothetically lived until the end of the season, because it is Among Us, people do get killed."
"Would you consider a potential Among Us season two way down the road, perhaps?
Yes.
Would love to.
I'm a big fan of Owen Dennis, who created this."
"Infinity Train is incredible.
His work is really extraordinary.
And we just want to keep working with him.
Yes.
He's a brilliant writer and creator."
"And he's got great vision.
And he definitely has an idea for how to carry it on.
So if that should happen, would love to come.
I didn't know that."
"He's got an idea how we could continue.
He's got an idea.
His idea, I don't think this is spoiling anything, is just to reset it."
"And it's a different.
And start over.
Just a different scenario.
I love it.
It's essential."
"Yeah.
It's a new thing.
It's like deja vu.
Yeah.
Love it."
"Brilliant.
Brilliant.
I'm speaking to Owen tomorrow, actually, so I can ask him.
Please do.
I can dub you in, Elijah."
"I can say, oh, Elijah told me, you know.
And Alex, tell him we both want to come back if he does.
Yes.
I will.
I'll be sure to get you guys through it."
"Don't worry.
I'll get you guys in.
I'll do what I can.
Thank you.
That was such fun, guys."
"Thank you so much.
Nice to meet you.
You're welcome.
All right.
Lovely to meet you."
