will.i.am says voicing animated films is his favourite job.
The Black Eyed Peas star has recorded solo work, is a mentor on British talent show The Voice and now he lends his voice to character Pedro in Rio 2. He also appeared in the first instalment of the kids’ movie in 2011 and has revealed why he enjoys it so much.
“I like this the most,” he told BBC Newsbeat. “They hire you to be imaginative and clever and funny. Just imagine, you’re really playing make-believe - more so than acting. It’s not animated yet, it’s just you and a microphone, imagining what it might look like. After that, the talented animators, the magicians, bring it to life.”
Anne Hathaway also returns to the second film to voice bird Jewel. While animation work can be quite isolating, she did have some scenes with her onscreen father, Andy Garcia. She harboured a bit of a crush on the actor and isn’t sure whether that’s strange or not.
“I did a few scenes with Andy Garcia. He’s the most loveable guy – he’s so sweet and funny. And kind of sexy, which is weird because he plays my dad…” she mused, laughing.
“We had a great time. We did this scene where our characters meet and she thought he’d died 20 years earlier; it’s kind of a miracle to find out her father is alive.”
Alongside his voiceover work, will is proud of his achievements with The Black Eyed Peas as well. However, he doesn’t think the band would fare well in a talent competition.
"We wouldn’t join it, and if we did join it, we wouldn’t win. And if we won, they would be joking. Because we are different," he told British newspaper The Metro recently. "We mean something different in popular culture. We create our own stew. Everyone else is eating spaghetti."
