Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: Animal Control, fox, vella lovell

Animal Control: Vella Lovell on Chaotic Moments, Voice Acting & More

Animal Control star Vella Lovell discussed the series' most chaotic moment (Rob Gronkowski?), cast chemistry, voice acting, and more.

Vella Lovell has been as versatile as it gets on TV with her work on The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Hulu's Dollface, Prime Video's As We See It, and NBC's Mr. Mayor. She's also making quite a presence in the animated world with Netflix's She-Ra: Princess of Power and Disney+'s Kiff. Her latest is Fox's Animal Control as Emily Price, the good-natured director at the Animal Control Northwest precinct. The series is set in Seattle, where the employees at the local Animal Control begin to see their lives complicated by humans and not so much by animals. Lovell spoke to Bleeding Cool about the most chaotic moment on set she was not party to involving former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, why her favorite moments of the series involve the entire ensemble cast, acclimating to the voiceover booth, and how she's grown on the Fox sitcom.

Animal Control Star Vella Lovell on Emily Finding Her Voice and Confidence, and Animal Co-Stars

Bleeding Cool: What was the most chaotic moment on set, and was it a take that was kept?

It was probably a scene I was not in this season, which just aired. It was a Gronk-kind of Super Bowl-themed scene. It's like one of those legendary scenes I've just heard about, but I luckily did not have to be on set that day. The premise was Gronk had a party where he wanted to have all the actual animals of football mascots. There was a buffalo, an eagle, and a goat. I'm bad at football. Is there a team that's the goats?

No.

There were a lot of crazy animals all on set at the same time, and they only had one day to get it all. It sounded like that was full of chaos, which was the scene. It was supposed to be chaos, but it sounded like it was "actual chaos," and the fact that everyone pulled it off is a miracle.

This question might overlap a little bit, but did you have an overall favorite scene three moment, or has that not aired yet?

A favorite season three moment? That's a good question. Honestly, yeah, there's a moment at the end of this season that I'm excited about, but that hasn't aired yet. There's also any scene where we're all together; there was a little bottle episode scene where we played trivia a few weeks ago. That was so fun when all of us could work off each other, be in the same room, and ping-pong off each other. Those usually end up being my favorite scenes to shoot.

You've also been active in voiceover work and with your recent work in 'Gay Pride and Prejudice' and the Kiff franchise. How do you feel like you've adjusted to voiceover work compared to when you first started?

Thank you for asking that question. It's like such a new unexpected little path that popped up. It started with 'She-Ra and the Princess of Power' and then I got so lucky to do 'Kiff' and then 'Gay Pride and Prejudice' which my friend Zackary Grady wrote. I never thought it was something I would do. It has surprised me how much fun I've been having with it. It's a huge challenge because I feel like I'm a more physical actor.

I get into characters, though I have a dance background. I usually get into my characters through my body and facial expressions. You can't do those things when you're voice acting, or you can try to make your voice change, but it's been so fun to find all the different colors, characters, and weird little people I have inside of me. It surprised me as an actor and it's something I want to keep doing, and it's a lot, especially animation. It is so much fun, and it's so exciting to see it come to life. It's a labor of love to make an animated series, for sure.

Do you do the acts your character does when you're in the booth?

You must; like I remember when I first started, I was nervous. You're trying to do things through your voice, but at least for me, it's like you can't. If someone's like, "Okay, in this scene, you're running up a hill," and I'm thinking, "To the best of your ability so that it doesn't mess up the microphone." I must do it like, and you look so stupid in the booth and look ridiculous, but it makes a difference.

If you're supposed to be flinging something, you must pretend like you're doing it. It's the most equated to being a kid and playing pretend that I've experienced as a working actor. It taps into your sense of joy, fun, and play, and you must just make yourself a little bit of an idiot to stay loose and open to things, and it's so much fun.

Shifting back to 'Animal Control,' what do you feel that Bob, Rob, and Dan have brought out of you as an actor, what you've learned and done throughout the series?

Oh, that's so sweet, and Tad Quill, who's our showrunner. When I started, I was coming off 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' and 'Mr. Mayor,' which each had their distinct style. This show has its own style and energy, and this show ['Animal Control'] has taught me to trust myself, and that like I am capable. Rob Greenberg, like when we were shooting the pilot or the first episode, was like, "Everything that you're experiencing is correct, but you can trust it a little bit more. You don't have to show us as much."

That was informative for me to remember that everything I'm experiencing or reacting to is correct, and I can trust that a little bit more. I feel like I've grown a lot as an actor, and they trust all of us. It truly is an ensemble show. None of us are taking a back seat, and so when someone trusts you with the responsibility of the story, you grow. You get to meet the moment, and I feel like I've done that. I hope we keep doing it because I feel like the show has hit its stride finally in the third season.

Animal Control, which also stars Joel McHale, Michael Rowland, Ravi Patel, Grace Palmer, and Krystal Smith, airs on Thursdays on Fox and can be streamed on Hulu.

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