WATCHMEN Animated Film Star Titus Welliver Says Playing Rorschach Went Against Everything He Learned in Drama School
Bosch star Titus Welliver provides the voice of Rorschach in the new, Warner Bros. upcoming animated film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen.
In a recent interview with CB, he talked about his experience working on the project and explained why voicing Rorschach went against everything he learned in drama school because it could ruin his voice.
Welliver said: "I always say, go back to Mercedes McCambridge was cast to do the voice of Pazuzu in The Exorcist, and she was chain-smoking cigarettes and drinking raw eggs and stuff.
"It was very hard, and people assume tat because I have a lower register voice that it would be [easier], but it's not supported by any of the stuff they teach you in drama school. It's all in the throat, so it goes against all the things you're told not to do, because it'll destroy your voice.
“I could only record for a couple of hours at a time, but it was a lot of fun, I'll tell you that. Finding the voice was interesting. Obviously there was the template of Jackie, and I wanted to pay homage to him, but also make it my own in some way. So that was a challenge, but that was also a great epiphany, when we all went 'That's it!'"
Welliver is a talented actor, and I like what he’s done with the voice of Rorschach. He is a perfect fit for the role!
Watchmen follows an alternative history in the U.S. in which superheroes emerged in the 1940s, the US won the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal was never revealed.
In the story, the US and USSR are closing in on WWIII, while most superheroes are either working for the government or are in retirement.
It follows the moral struggle of superheroes Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, the Nite Owl and others as they come out of retirement to deal with the murder of Edward Blake, known as The Comedian, a state-sponsored superhero.
Watchmen Chapter 1 is available now on digital Video On Demand platforms. It's coming to Blu-ray on August 27th.