Film Interview: Will Forte – Scoob!, Or Dedicated Dogsbody

December 21, 2020

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Will Forte voices Shaggy in Scoob!

 

 

What are your first memories of Scooby-Doo?

I don’t ever remember the world without Scooby-Doo. I don’t even remember the moment that I first saw Scooby-Doo. I just feel like it’s always been there. It’s been a part of my life since I was a part of the world.

 

As much as fans around the world know Scooby and his friends, this is the first time we’re seeing how they all came together. Is it special to you to be a part of that?

Oh, yeah! It is such an honour to be a part of this movie in general and, yes, to be a part specifically of that moment where people find out how Scooby and Shaggy met is particularly special.

 

The heart of the movie is a guy and his dog. On a personal level, do you have any connection to that?

People can’t see but I’m wearing socks right now printed with my dog’s face. His name is Ross. He’s kind of a mix of Labrador, Dalmatian… there’s a little bit of everything. We want to do genetic testing to see exactly what he is, because we don’t know. My fiancée found him outside of a Ross Dress for Less store when he was about five months old so that’s where he got his name. He’s only been a part of my life for about a year and a half now, but I am so in love with this dog. I just left him this morning and I have to say, it’s so hard to leave him. I’m so happy to come back home and see him every day. I should get him some socks that say, “Number One Dad.” I should get him some dog socks that have a picture of my face.

 

I have read that you like to be organised and have things under control. You were 15 minutes early for this interview! So here you are, playing the part of Shaggy, who is the total opposite of that. What was it like trying on that personality?

I am very organised in certain areas of my life, and completely Shaggy-like in other areas. Anybody who would come over to my house and see what it looks like in there would not think that I have a big thing with organisation. But there is a method to my madness. So it was not that foreign to portray a character who’s as laid-back as Shaggy, because I certainly have things that I’m very, very easygoing about, and others that just drive me crazy.  It’s weird stuff, compulsive-level stuff, like not leaving the house before you check the stoves and the showers all the time. But there’s other stuff that you would think would bother me, that I don’t even think about. I can’t think of any of those things right now, but the moment I walk out of this room, I’ll remember 50 examples of what I’m talking about.

 

Apart from his passion for relaxation, another thing that Shaggy is known for are his custom sandwiches. What would be your perfect sandwich?

My perfect sandwich is a burrito. Does that count?

 

Absolutely.

I’m a huge burrito person, of any kind. I’m not going to get specific, just every burrito under the sun. I was going to say breakfast burritos especially but then I started thinking about all the dinner burritos that are so good and I just can’t narrow it down. I just love all burritos. It’s not the wrap aspect, because I’m not so hot on like a cold turkey wrap. It’s specifically something about tortillas with cheese and any kind of meat in there. I usually go with chicken or eggs. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the warm tortilla.

 

You’ve done some animation before. You look at storyboards, you talk to the director…what was that process like for you on Scoob?

This was nerve-wracking, because Shaggy is such an iconic character and I got very much in my head about it. Early on, when I was talking with Tony Cervone, the director, I believe he said, “Don’t worry too much about doing a spot-on Shaggy impersonation, like the Shaggy of the past.” I’m not very good with impersonating voices. So that made me feel a lot better. He said, “Certainly, we want some aspects that sound like classic Shaggy, but we’re not too stuck on it sounding exactly like that.” Still, it’s tough because this is such a beloved character for so many people. The show and these characters have been around for what? Fifty-one years now. So there’s just a reverence for the people who have been a part of the history, like Casey Kasem. It’s big shoes to fill, but you just go in and do your best, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.

 

I understand that sometimes while doing a voice role, people will get a little crazy, maybe take their shoes off, jump up and down. Is there anything you want to talk about that you did to get into this character?

Well, sometimes that happens. I remember one time I was trying to make heavy breathing sounds as the character was running away, so I was actually running in place trying to do this. But they said, “No, no, we can hear your feet.  So just try to do that same thing without moving at all.” It’s tricky trying to create some of these action sounds without making any kind of weird outside noises, so it’s interesting to watch. I remember once having to do a kissing scene that was odd. I think this was for Clone High, years ago, on MTV. I played Abraham Lincoln and I had to kiss, I think it was Cleopatra. It’s so weird to be sitting there in a booth where everyone is watching you kiss the air. It was interesting, but I did not have to do anything like that for this role.

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