Amanda Troop is best known for her voiceover work and extensive on-camera credits. She recently brought her talent to the role of “Maggie Sawyer” in the animated feature The Death of Superman, which premiered at this year’s Comic-Con and will be digitally available on Blu-Ray/DVD as of August 7th. She also stars as the lead in the animated series Box Peek. The web series is directed and created by Kyle Bosman and distributed by Easy Allies.
In addition to voice acting, Troop has a number of on screen appearances under her belt which include recurring on the hit FX comedy series Wilfred alongside Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, and Fiona Gubelmann. She will return to the small screen with a guest-starring role on Bobcat Goldthwait’s truTV anthology series Misfits and Monsters, which is airing now. Other television credits include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, General Hospital, Bones, and Children’s Hospital. Troop has appeared in notable commercials for well-known brands such as Allstate and a two-year campaign with Chevrolet. She also starred as Meera Reed in the Nerdist parody “It’s My Throne” alongside Riff-Raff and Simon Rex.
We had a chance to pick Amanda’s brain recently and she was nice enough to answer the following questions for us:
1. You began acting in theater at 11. Where did your interest stem from?
My parents were both in the Army, so we moved around a lot. When my dad retired, we moved to Florida to be closer to my grandpa, and my mom decided we needed to get involved in a volunteer activity. In this case, it was building sets at the local theater, The Naples Players. She ended up signing me up for musical theater classes, which I initially did NOT want to do, but once I got over my stage fright, I knew acting was something I wanted to do as a career.
2. You’ve acted in theater, TV, and do a lot of voice work. Which is your favorite and why?
I can’t choose! They’re all my favorite, for different reasons. In a theatre performance, you’re live, no safety net, and you get to feel the energy from the audience as you perform. There’s an intimacy to TV and Film, because of the proximity of the camera–you can play with subtlety, or you can tell incredible stories with special effects and make people feel like they are there. And with voice over, imagination has free reign–as an actor you get to play all kinds of people, creatures, animals, inanimate objects… the sky’s the limit!
3. What is your favorite TV Show you’ve worked on and why?
Hm, another tough question–I’m going to say, “the next one.” As an actor I’m so grateful for the opportunities that come my way, and when I’m on set, I make that job my favorite job. I make sure to always show my thanks to the crew, director, casting, and cast, because each show is made up of so many moving parts, and we all have to do our best work, and also work well together, to make the finished product be a success.
4. What was your favorite Voice Over job and why?
My answer here is similar to the last question, but with a slight caveat that certain VO jobs are naturally tougher than others, such as video games in which you’re performing battle scenes. Those are always challenging, though I do love a good challenge. One of my favorite jobs that you might not know about, was I got to be part of a giant blue monster family in a few commercials for a British telecommunications company called Sky TV. My brother was played by the extremely funny Amy Phillips, Holly Hunter played my mom, and John Goodman was my dad…. which of course called to mind another giant blue monster played by John Goodman. I admit, I pretended that I was recording a lost segment of “Monsters, Inc.” I was a tiny bit star struck when I walked into the studio and realized who I was going to be recording with, but both John and Holly were warm and welcoming, and Amy and I became friends.
5. Tell us about “Maggie Sawyer” in “Death of Superman…”
Sawyer is an officer in the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, and she’s long felt that police work can be done by police, without the intervention of superheroes. Until the one time she needs Superman to save her, and then her opinion changes a bit. In this film, we see her with her partner, Dan Turpin, hot on the heels of some high-tech bad guys–she’s clearly got the situation under control….until it goes off the rails and Superman helps out. She’s a wonderful and strong character to get to play, and she has an important backstory as well. Sawyer was one of the first openly gay characters depicted in a major comic book franchise–she has a long-term partner, Toby Raines, and in one version of her history, she has a relationship with Batwoman. I was really proud to get to play her. The movie is beautifully animated, with stunning fight choreography, and I hope everyone loves it!
6. Tell us about your guest role in “Misfits & Monsters.”
This show is so much fun! It’s an anthology series, each episode a story from the dark and hilariously twisted mind of Bobcat Goldthwait. So far this season we’ve seen a psychopathic animated bear, and a werewolf run for President. Each episode stars a well-known comedian, but is also chock-full of other comedic actors and known faces from comedy. My episode stars Melissa Joan Hart, and was originally titled “Sleepover,” though now it’s called “Goatman Cometh.” I play Emily, the highly anxious mother of a boy taking part in a sleepover that goes very very wrong. Maybe this is the one case when a worrier’s worse fears actually come true! I’m really enjoying the season so far–can’t wait to see what else is in store.
7. Tell us about your work in the Harry Potter Alliance
I’m a pretty big “Harry Potter” fan (the books, though the movies are fun too), and what I love about the Harry Potter Alliance is that they take the principles of the books (the most powerful weapon is love) and they apply it to making social change. Their current campaign is “Neville Fights Back,” and the focus is on maintaining net neutrality. Last year and this year I participated in one of their big fundraising efforts, which is a virtual marathon that you run, walk, or wheel, over the course of a month. I’m team Blue and Bronze (Ravenclaw, naturally)–wanna join me? https://www.thehpalliance.org
8. What advice would you give to aspiring actors?
You have to love the whole career of acting, not just the time you get to perform, but the business side as well. It’s a balance of being creative and staying sharp, and also doing what you need to do to make good connections, lasting relationships, and taking care of your finances. If you are getting into acting right now, and you don’t love auditioning, you either need to learn to love it (I like to think of it as a time I get to act!), or if that’s not possible, give yourself the permission to consider whether this career is right for you. If it is, then one day you’ll figure out how to love the process… if it’s not, that’s completely ok! I think many actors feel that if they say they’re going to commit to an acting career, that quitting invalidates their efforts, or in a worse case, validates the people who doubted their abilities to get in to acting. None of that is true–it’s a very tough business and giving it a try and finding out it’s not right for you is as valid as giving it a try and knowing you’ll never want to stop. My second piece of advice is read. Read all the time, read lots of different things, absorb stories wherever you can. As an actor, first and foremost, you’re a storyteller. Learn all the ways stories can be told, and learn stories that you have never heard, and it will increase your depth and your empathy.
9. Who was your favorite actor to work with and why?
My mom! When I was 13 I auditioned for my very first play, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller. I was terrified to audition, and my mom offered to audition with me. Note: she is not an actor. I got the role of Betty, and my mom ended up playing two different roles in the production! She gave me the support I needed to try something I knew I wanted to do, but hadn’t yet found the courage to try, and I will always be grateful to her for that.
10. What’s your favorite TV show of all-time and why?
There is a LOT of good TV out there… I was immediately thinking of David Tenant in “Dr. Who,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and “Game of Thrones.” But I think I’m going to go with the original “Smurfs.” I had to watch it every Saturday morning when I was a kid, and I loved the medieval qualities, the magic, the cute tiny village made of mushrooms… the whole show was simply Smurf-tastic!
11. Do you play video games? If so which one is your favorite and why?
Yes, indeed I do! I love Zelda, especially the cell shaded games, like Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks. But my current favorite is Dragon Quest Builders. Cannot WAIT for Dragon Quest Builders 2. My favorite franchise of all time was the Kings Quest series–I started playing those on our old mac, and they are definitely the reason I’m still hooked on video games. And maybe the fact that my husband Brandon founded both Gametrailers.com and EasyAllies.com… I guess playing video games is something I was meant to do!
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