Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: dee bradley baker, star wars the bad batch, the bad batch

The Bad Batch Star Dee Bradley Baker on Challenges of Multiple Roles

Dee Bradley Baker reflects on the legacy of the Star Wars animated series The Bad Batch, voicing multiple characters, George Lucas, and more.

It's not unusual for voice actors to play multiple roles on projects, but to do it to the degree that Dee Bradley Baker does it in the Star Wars universe is a feat in and of itself, a type that would make the late Mel Blanc proud. While Baker has voiced all clone troopers in Dave Filoni's animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels, the actor had to provide distinctive voices for all the male lead characters of Star Wars: The Bad Batch since they're all clones which include Hunter, the leader; Wrecker, the muscle; Crosshair, the sniper; Tech, technology specialist; and Echo, a clone-turned cyborg. Omega, the lone female member, is voiced by Michelle Ang. In addition to the leads, Baker also voiced Commander Scorch, Captain Rex, Commander Wolf, and Barton Coburn, among several other named clones. The actor spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about switching voices without missing a beat, crafting the personalities, and more.

Dee Bradley Baker on Fleshing Out the Personalities of The Bad Batch

When it came to the initial concept of The Bad Batch, it was several years in the making, "It's really kind of the challenge of my career, and it's the great joy of working on this show, is what it asks of me because initially when we started 'The Clone Wars,' it wasn't clear that this would work or, even for me, that I could do this, that I could make these guys sound alike but also distinctly different. And that's really for me the key to the appeal of these stories, is that these soldiers are individuals," Baker said. "They've got to feel different: Each has a different age, different weight, different authority, different attitude. And so, at first, it was a little bit more effort to kind of lock that in. But once we got going, I saw that this is something that I could do and that it works beautifully in conjunction with what is provided by the writers as well as the visuals that are provided so that these all feel like different soldiers and different individual people. And the fans really respond to that."

As far as how Baker breaks down his process, "[Voicing these multiple roles is] like how it used to be with switching between channels on a TV, where there's a click and a click and a click, and you're still watching TV. But each is a very different channel, and that's how I see them in my mind's eye as an actor, is that they are individuals that I just switch to — or another metaphor I use is like jumping from rock to rock in a stream to stay above the water. But it's a different rock, and I'm just jumping to a different rock."

The idea of The Bad Batch came from Star Wars creator George Lucas, but the series went into production long after he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012. "We originally fleshed out the idea of 'The Bad Batch,' which was, of course, George Lucas' idea back at the end of 'The Clone Wars,' and then that sort of became its own little escape pod from that series into 'The Bad Batch' [the soldiers were first introduced in a four-episode story arc in The Clone Wars' seventh and final season]. He [suggested] the idea and kind of said, 'Well, what do you think?' And so we rather quickly just kind of blocked out the differences between these characters," Baker said. "There's a different attitude to each, and I kind of come up with a different image for each of those that I can lock into. And very quickly, Dave [Filoni, chief creative officer at Lucasfilm] and I arrived at something that felt right and that he liked, and we tried it, and once it was put on its feet and fully animated and everything, everyone said, 'Yeah, that was great.' And eventually, happily, they said, 'Yeah, let's do some more of that. In fact, let's make a whole show around it,' which I think worked out really beautifully."

Baker is pleased with its execution. "I'm really gratified that this is kind of the fulfillment of George Lucas' vision and legacy in Star Wars in a way that's just really satisfying. And that really hits in a beautiful way, and I think it really points to his genius, as well as Dave and [executive producer/supervising director] Brad Rau and [executive producer/head writer] Jennifer Corbett, that it's this great collaborative effort of really good storytelling. It's a unique challenge for me," he said. "But ultimately, when I'm performing it, I don't want anyone to think about me. I want to be invisible to the characters that we're creating and to the story that we're telling; that's what's important, and that's the most gratifying part of what I see from fans at the conventions is that they love this story, and they love these characters."

For more including what voice fans ask Baker to do the most from the series, which character is his favorite, what happened with Echo in the finale, the final season, and more, you can check out the entire interview here. All three seasons of The Bad Batch are available on Disney+.

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