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Phil LaMarr Discusses Live-Action & Voice-Over Work, AI Debate & More

Phil LaMarr (Moriarty: The Silent Order) spoke with us about AI vs creativity, live-action vs voice-over work & his Futurama return.

Phil LaMarr is one of the most versatile actors and voiceover legends in our generation. Since his debut in the animated series Mister T in 1984, LaMarr became a regular on-screen presence with his live-action debut in the CBS' Murphy Brown becoming a regular in the sitcom scene that includes The Royal Family, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Wings, and Mad About You. He also took the occasional serious role in L.A. Law and the Quentin Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction. His biggest break was the FOX weekly late-night sketch series Mad TV one of its initial cast members appearing in 115 episodes from 1995-2000. With nearly 550 credits to his name, LaMarr continues to become a powerhouse in the voiceover world, playing the title role in Samurai Jack, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Bob's Burgers, and Invincible, and reprised his role as the lovable Jamaican bureaucrat Hermes Conrad in Hulu's Futurama while still occasionally taking the live-action role. While promoting his latest project and living his childhood dream of playing Sherlock Holmes in the Audible series' Moriarty: The Silent Order, the actor spoke to Bleeding Cool about the issue between artists and artificial intelligence, living in the live-action and voiceover roles, and if he feels any pressure creatively returning on a series that's frequently canceled and revived like Futurama.

Futurama Star Phil LaMarr on Why Writers and Actors Won't Let AI Affect Them Like the Music Industry

Bleeding Cool: With the SAG-AFTRA strike over, what are your thoughts on one of the major issues with the use of AI?

LaMarr: It's interesting because I've been in the industry for a long time and watched it shift and change. The battles that the Writers Guild (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA have been having this year are over some of the same issues that have undercut the music industry. Think about it, the technology that got rid of CDs and changed the music industry. Now rock stars get a fourth of a penny for their stream on some app. That level of change, systemic shifting, is what our unions have been working against because these new companies, tech companies that are now taking over entertainment, are trying to make it like tech, not about audiences, content, and creativity. It's like, "No, dude. We're not building machines. We are telling stories that people want to feel, and AI is not going to make that possible."

Having been in both the live-action and the voiceover worlds, can you compare your experiences?

The biggest distinction between performing on a microphone and performing on camera is how long it takes. To shoot a two-hour [live-action] movie can take six months with 16-hour days. Audio is easier because you don't have to reshoot a scene if the lighting guys screw up. Ultimately it comes down to the quality of the writing, directing, and production. When you do a great animated show, live-action film, or audio series like this, that is the same level of enjoyment and less of a challenge when you must do something that's poorly written. That is a challenge regardless of what medium it is.

How does it feel when you get to revisit a project like 'Futurama?' Is there a tentativeness or pressure to keep things fresh in the performance?

Returning to a quality project is always a blessing because you can enjoy what you're doing, but when the finished product is at this level, then you enjoy it afterward, too. To come back is, you know, I would not hesitate, the same way with 'Futurama,' we get canceled and then come back from the dead. The writing and cast are still as great, and I'm not going to have a second thought about that and the same thing with 'Moriarty.'

Moriarty: The Silent Order, which also stars Dominic Monaghan, Helen Mirren, and Anya Chalotra, is available on Audible.

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