You may know her from all three 'Despicable Me' movies as the voice for the spunky and independent, Edith. We got a chance to chat with her about 'Despicable Me 3' and voice acting!
How did you get to acting, specifically voice acting?
I’ve always loved performing. When I was younger, I saw my sister performing in community theater shows and I admired her a lot so I decided I would start to audition for shows too. I fell in love with it. I never knew that my voice was unique, but when I started working with my agent, she said that my voice was really distinct and I should be going out for voiceover roles. It was kind of something I fell into because when you’re younger you never really think about who voices characters in movies.
How did you get to be in the franchise of 'Despicable Me'?
When I was 11, my agent called me with a voiceover audition and I actually had to miss it for my 6th-grade camping trip. When I got back from the trip they still hadn’t found the right voice so I was asked to come in and audition at my agency. A few weeks later, I was called to go out to California for a working session, which was kind of like a callback. After I finished in the booth, somebody came outside and said “Dana, we’re so sorry,” and I was so devastated, but he finished his sentence by saying “you’re going to have to stay here all day to record the role of Edith!” I couldn’t stop jumping up and down. I remember the feeling so well and it feels like it was yesterday.
Do you have anything in common with your character?
I think that we both have that trouble-making attitude. I too have an older sister and when I was younger I would always try to mess with her and her friends. I think that kind of goes hand-in-hand with having an older sibling.
Why do you think so many people love your character?
They love her because she’s fierce. She has an awesome attitude toward life and is just really confident. On top of that, she’s really funny and surprises people with her humor. I honestly think that she’s really admirable because she’s a tomboy and she owns who she is.
You are going to be starring in a comedy horror film, how did you handle the change in roles?
Obviously, it was a big change for me because The Ice Cream Truck was my first onscreen role. In voiceover, you kind of have to pull emotion out of thin air, but with onscreen stuff, you have somebody to react to. I really loved it and it was a super fun experience. I would love to do more onscreen acting.
DANA GAIER