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Cool guy Matt Lanter is Liam Court in the brand-new second season of 90210 that has just started heer in South Africa Thursdays on M-Net at 19:30). But listen closely . . . Matt is also the voice of Anakin Skywalker in the brand-new second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on The Cartoon Network (DStv 301) Fridays at 18:00 (which means a new episode today by the way!)
I asked Matt Lanter how he fits in playing one part of 90210's super couple at West Beverly, as well as battling droids on far flung planets in, you know . . . that galaxy far, far away! And whether it's Naomi or Princess Amidala, girls are never far away. I wanted to know whether he has any advice for guys on girls, to tell me more on voicing an ever darker Anakin Skywalker in the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and what his friends think of him doing the voice of the character who will eventually become Darth Vader!
For my questions and what Matt answered, get your light saber out and click on READ MORE below!
Matt, you’re the voice of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars of which the second season just started here in South Africa on Fridays on The Cartoon Network, and you’re in the new second season of 90210 that also just started on M-Net - both of which we’re seeing at the same time. How do you fit both the voice work and the acting in?
With difficulty! Ha, no usually scheduling works out because Star Wars: The Clone Wars only takes up a few days a month. We can usually record one episode in a four hour session. My manager handles all of my scheduling, thank goodness!
Were you a fan of Star Wars before you got to voice Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series? Did you know, or how much did you know of Anakin Skywalker and Star Wars before you started voicing him?
I had really only seen a couple of the films I think, so I can’t really consider myself a fan before I got the role. I honestly didn't know much about the characters or how they all fit together. Of course I knew who Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were but didn't know the full story. Now I'm proud to say I'm a Star Wars geek!
From the first season to the current second season Anakin Skywalker is already becoming darker, more daring, more . . . ''ruthless'' in a way. Viewers are definitely getting more of a sense in Star Wars: The Clone Wars - especially in this second season even more so - that he didn't turn into Darth Vader over night but that it was a journey. How do you approach voicing him and that slow progression?
It's something that Dave Filoni [the director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars] and I have talked about here and there. But keep in mind that I won’t ever have to be as dark as Vader because the Clone Wars all take place before Revenge of the Sith but I think those flashes of the darkside will come more frequently as the series continues. I'm not exactly sure what's in store for Anakin for the remainder of our series.
What does your friends say that you’re actually a part of the Star Wars legacy now and that you're Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars?
To sit back and think about it like that is pretty amazing. I'm very proud to be not only voicing an iconic character in a popular and loved franchise but also because we are making a quality show that millions of fans and families can enjoy together. My friends would say the same.
The guys you play - Liam and Anakin - constantly have some rough patches with Naomi as well as princess Amidala. Any girl advice for guys who don’t build boats and don't have light sabres?
Ha! Choose wisely my brothers.
Now that is some sagely Jedi advice!
Catch Matt Lanter in:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars II, Fridays, The Cartoon Network (DStv 301), 18:00
90210 II, Thursdays, M-Net, 19:30
