Inside Out has two stand-out characters if you ask me, Sadness played by Phyllis Smith and Bing Bong played by Richard Kind. Sadness was the misunderstood character and Bing Bong the break-out star. While in San Francisco a few weeks ago we had the pleasure of interviewing them. I was excited to meet them both since I had loved Phyllis from her role on the Office and Richard in the many, many roles he has had over the years.
Picture a small room with 25 bloggers with their backs turned, but their camera’s all facing backward to catch Phyllis and Richard as they came in the room. Weren’t we surprised when they entered the room and Phyllis was filming us! The entire room just exploded in laughs!
The first order of business after they sat in front of us was to ask if they were surprised at the popularity of each of their characters? Phyllis didn’t seem to realize just how popular Sadness had become so Richard made it a point to tell her. “All right, I’ll tell you. It’s popular.” He went on to say that he wasn’t surprised at all at how popular Sadness was because everything about it is the perfect voice performance and a perfectly written part. It was so touching the way he was directly speaking to her at this moment about her character, it obviously meant something more to him. No one wants to be sad and yet we identify with you, he said. So I am so taken by your performance because although it’s down in the dumps it’s not– it’s not depressive. It’s simply sad. And I think that that’s an amazing thing that they and you did.
Phyllis was visibly taken by his remarks and went to exclaim that she loved his character and how much heart Bing Bong had. Richard remarked that he really loved Bing Bong.
So how does one stay in character as Sadness we asked. Phyllis explained that she didn’t constantly think of horrible things to get into character, that she just tried to say the line as truthful as she could and with the direction of Pete Docter, she was able to deliver. Richard chimed in that Pete was very encouraging and knew just what to do to illicit the right reactions from the voice actors.
This was the first time Phyllis did voice-over work and the 5th Pixar movie for Richard. The role of Bing Bong resonates not only with Richard but with his daughter. He told us about the time his daughter got to see the part int he movie where Bing Bong dies and after seeing it she sobbed. He asked if it was because he as her father had died in the movie or was it Bing Bong dying that upset her, which he believes was the case. This was precisely when he realized just how good the movie was even though he wasn’t sure just how they would explain the intricate parts that made up the movie.
Bing Bong developed as a representation of childhood joy, that imagination that all kids have. He was fun to write for because he was an off-the-wall character and really embodies this sort of spirit of the film. ~ Peter Docter
When you play such creative characters we wondered what parts of their real selves went into each of the characters. Richard said that his energy and being animated helped develop Bing Bong and that he is free of negativity. How could he not be, just look a him! I smile every time because he is just a mix of all the happy things that a child could put together.
This was Phyllis’ first foray into voice av\cting and he loved it so much that she wants to do more! Coming from a dance background, she fell into acting and then fell in love with it. Funny tidbit, when she first tried out for The Office they wanted her for the part of Pam. Imagine that.
They were both so incredibly charming and funny, I really enjoyed this interview. Afterward we were able to take a group photo with them and they were so gracious and down-to-earth they continued chatting with us.
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Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense trip to San Francisco by Walt Disney Studios to attend various events. All opinions are 100% my own.
Dianna Ranere