• Alison Brie : voice of Unikitty • Chris Pratt : voice of Emmet • Will Arnett : voice of Batman
Favourite film . Last book that you read . Last film you saw ? Oh my , I have such an eclectic taste in films everything from Toy Story ( 3 ) and The Little Mermaid , to ARGO to Silence of the Lambs . I ’ m a bit all over the place , but I generally like anything that sparks an emotion or hits a nerve … I like a good giggle , to be scared senseless or to blub into a tub of Ben & Jerry ’ s ( preferred flavour Vermonster ) in my PJs . I also love musicals like Moulin Rouge , and Star Wars has a very special place in my heart too . Controversially , ‘ Return of the Jedi ’ is probably my favourite Star Wars Movie – I was always obsessed with Leia , I love Jabba and I am also pro-Ewok ( told you it was controversial !) When it comes to books I ’ m also ashamed to admit I love a trashy celebrity auto biography – last one I read was probably Scarlet Moffatt ’ s ( Sorry Scarlett Moffat if you are reading this ! I am not at all suggesting you are trashy – I love you to bits !) Last movie I saw was The LEGO Ninjago Movie . It would have been rude not to as a lot of my friends and colleagues worked on it !
What was the best piece of advice that you have been given ? Stop worrying about what people think of you ! ( It hasn ’ t really worked , as I am still worrying what people think of me … in fact I think I have probably made the situation worse by sticking myself on telly , so now I worry what even more people think of me !)
Do you get back to the Wirral often and what do you like to do when you ’ re here ? I try to come back to the Wirral to visit my parents whenever I can and if there are any family events happening . I am home every Christmas , and a couple of times throughout the year , it ’ s mostly social stuff , catching up with relatives and people from school , or popping to the local garden centre for a cream tea or a piece of cake with my mum .
Are you a collector and what are your favourite things ( art , watches , cars , etc )? Being a toy designer , it ’ s probably not going to come as a great surprise to many people that I actually collect toys – anything from my childhood favourites from the 80s to collector vinyl toys . The dream is to ultimately have a nice display room where I can showcase all my favourites , but unfortunately most of them are in storage or squeezed into my spare room toy-tetras style . Anyone who visits is pre-warned to open the spare room door at their own risk , unless they want to be buried alive under an avalanche of plastic bricks , robots in disguise , or rainbow-maned plastic ponies … yes that ’ s right people , I ’ m an extreme herder !
Do you have a bucket list and if so , what ’ s on it ? I think I ’ m doing pretty well as far as my list is concerned . It would be lovely to have some time to take a proper cooking class , but that will have to wait for now . In the meantime , I just want to have the odd surprise and challenge thrown my way occasionally to keep things fresh and exciting so I am always on my toes !
If you weren ’ t a toy designer , what other job would you like to do ? Probably a wedding planner ! I love a good wedding , and have been to so many now … ‘ always the bridesmaid never the bride !’ I love organising parties , and decorating and all that kind of stuff and I also think I am capable of handling the odd Bridezilla too ! I have probably been planning my own wedding since I was about 7 years old ( Muriel style ), but as I haven ’ t met my match yet , I would be more than content making other people ’ s marital dreams come true . If not a wedding planner then maybe a costume designer or a chocolate taster !
What ’ s your favourite food and do you like to eat out or prefer to cook ? I do like to cook , but with my busy schedule I don ’ t have that much time . Also , cooking for one can be quite monotonous , so I tend to eat out quite a bit with my friends . There isn ’ t a lot of choice for food in the town I live in so we usually default to our favourite restaurant , which does a variety of different specials all with a Danish twist ! But when I am travelling I do love a bit of sushi . When I am in LA , I always pop to Katsuya for Albacore with Crispy Onions and Yellow tail sashimi with jalepenos ! Living abroad means I really miss real comfort food , like my mum ’ s Sunday Roast , so when I ’ m back in Britain I love a good old British pub lunch like Sausage and Mash , with a good old dollop of wholegrain mustard . I also have an incredibly sweet tooth too - I ’ m a bit of a chocoholic and love anything salted caramel , especially ice cream ! So yes all the good healthy stuff , which then means I need to go on a crash diet before I appear on telly !
Where do you like to go on holiday and why ? For a proper relaxing holiday , it ’ s probably Bali . I have been there twice and it is beautiful . One year I thought , right , I ’ m still single and may never get married , so I decided to splash out on a lavish ‘ honeymoon for one ’ and stayed in the most wonderful Spa Resort in Ubud , with breathtaking manicured grounds set in the heart of the lush jungle with a view over the layered rice fields . It was the most tranquil , relaxing , zen place I had ever been , the moment I walked through the gates I was hit by a wave of calm for the first time in my life - it was so beautiful I wanted to cry !
You have family here in UK – will you be spending Christmas here or in Denmark – or somewhere else ? Yes I will be back on the Wirral over Christmas and the new year catching up with my family and old school friends .
We all want the LEGO Millennium Falcon ( no really , we do ) but what ’ s top of your Christmas wish list ( for yourself !) … A break ? While my job is amazing , it is pretty full-on ; overseeing toy development as the day job , travelling lots while assisting making a movie and filming a TV show at weekends can take its toll - so I really just want to wind down and spend some time with the people I love and don ’ t get to see very often .
If you would like to follow Matthew , you can find him on Twitter at @ matthew __ ashton ( double underscore ). wirrallife .. com 23 19