A Brief Chat with Megatron Himself, Frank Welker

Like Peter Cullen, the actor who provides the voice for his on screen adversary, Optimus Prime, Frank Welker is a bona fide icon of the voice recording world. Not just because he has more than four decades of work and 600 individual credits to his name. Not just because yes, he provided the voice for Megatron, one of the most famous villains in cartoon history. Rather, it's because people know and identify him just from his voice, which may run contrary to the idea of actors disappearing into their roles, but it demonstrates that what he does is so distinctive and special it transcends the limitations of the medium.

Sci Fi Squad recently caught up with Welker via email to discuss his illustrious history in voice recording, in conjunction with Shout! Factory's Sept. 15 DVD release of Transformers Season Two, Volume One. In addition to talking about bringing Megatron to life, he talks about the technical and creative challenges of voice work, and reflects on a few of the roles that linger in the memories of movie and TV fans long after the characters left the screen.

Sci Fi Squad: I'll start with the obvious first: How did you get into voice acting, and by the time you performed on Transformers, was your work as Megatron initially just another job or was the process of getting the role distinctive in your career?

Frank Welker: Well, to your first question, I was doing standup comedy in a club in Los Angeles when this fellow and his girlfriend walked in and sat down in the middle of my dog and cat fight. Based on my performance of barking and growling and hissing, he cast me in a Friskies dog food commercial and his lady friend cast me in Scooby Doo! Now that is being in the right place at the right time.

As for Transformers, yes at the time it was just a job - a really fun job because of the cast, but honestly none of us knew much about Transformers and how popular this show would become. I remember what a surprise it was when someone called and invited me to a Botcon. A what? I had never heard that term before. It has been a fun awakening and my thanks go out to the fans for their support, education and for not forgetting us!

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad