PATRICK WARBURTON

You'd have to walk miles before finding someone who wouldn't recognise Patrick Warburton.

With one of the most prolific voices in the entertainment industry, Warburton has cultivated an everlasting occupancy in the animation circuit. He has worked on numerous projects with The Walt Disney Company, notably voicing the Spinach Puff-loving Kronk in 'The Emperor's New Groove'. Furthermore, he has been the voice of Joe Swanson in the enduring comedy series 'Family Guy' for over two decades. While in the live-action space, he led popular sitcoms such as 'Rules of Engagement' and 'The Tick'. Not to mention, he played the laconic on-again, off-again boyfriend of Elaine Benes in a truly iconic 10-episode stint on 'Seinfeld'. Warburton is a master of his craft. Few understand humour and presence better than he does. That prowess has seen him conceive a variety of memorable characters that have seen him treasured by audiences, young and old.

Warburton has touched down in Victoria to appear at this year's Metro Comic Con. Before he hit the floors of the Melbourne Showgrounds, I was able to talk with New York's greatest car salesman. We discussed working with Jerry Seinfeld, the vibe he got from Sting, and the convention edicts he sets for himself. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

CONNOR DALTON: First of all, sir, it's an absolute pleasure to be speaking with you today. I'm really appreciative you found some time for me in your schedule in what I imagine has been a long day of press.

PATRICK WARBURTON: Well, thank you, Connor. Listen, I appreciate your time. It's great to be here. I haven't been here since '99 when we shot 'The Dish'.

DALTON: That's right. That's a top film, but I want to start off with a couple of questions about 'Seinfeld'. I'm a massive fan of the show and your performance as David Puddy. How did that role become yours?

WARBURTON: It was an audition. I was a huge fan of the show. My wife and I used to sit on the couch every Thursday night to watch 'Seinfeld', and I remember specifically looking at her one night and saying, "Why can't I get on a show like 'Seinfeld'?" And then, two weeks later, I had an audition. I was doing enough TV at the time where I didn't have to go on for casting, so I went right in for producers, which meant the very first time I read was for Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David.

There were maybe 10 other guys that had gotten callbacks, and a lot of them kind of seemed like Tonys or Vinnies, you know? What you would figure for a New York mechanic. I thought, "Well, that's not really me." I remember when I read the material when he would say things like, "Yeah, that's right," or this or that, I just decided to go (lowers his voice), "Yeah, that's right." I made him really stupid, and it just brought some strange character to it, which apparently resonated with Jerry and Larry David. They were laughing in the room, and when I walked out, I thought, "I think this went well."

DALTON: You have some hilarious moments across your ten episodes. My favourite is 'The Face Painter.' My parents actually suggested I conduct this interview in that Devils makeup, but I didn't think that'd be a wise idea if you're jet-lagged and had already done several interviews. But what are your memories of shooting that episode? It was a reverse from the character's calm demeanour.

WARBURTON: (laughs) Yeah, that was fun. We had done the first episode; it was called 'The Fusilli Jerry'. That was the one where I stole Jerry's move and was using it on Elaine [Julia Louis-Dreyfus], to his dismay. A couple of weeks later, they brought me back. We did 'The Face Painter', and that was fun because there was just more to do. I had a blast. But I was already signed and doing another show for CBS at the time. So during seasons seven and eight of Seinfeld, my agents let me know that 'Seinfeld' inquired as to what my availability was, but I could not do 'Seinfeld' because I was on another network show. That was frustrating, to say the least, Connor. But then they cancelled the show that I was on, and I crossed paths with Jerry before the ninth and final season of Seinfeld. He asked me if I'd come back on, and fortunately, at that time, my schedule allowed it. So I did most of my episodes during that ninth season.

DALTON: Seinfeld hasn't been your only collaboration with Jerry. The two of you worked together on 'Bee Movie', and that film has spawned one almighty cult following. Legions of people empathise with your character, Ken, for his understandable concern regarding his girlfriend's connection with Barry B. Benson. What was it like working with Jerry in the realm of animation?

WARBURTON: That was great. I worked more with Jerry on 'Bee Movie' than I did on Seinfeld because Jerry wasn't directing episodes of 'Seinfeld'. But on 'Bee Movie', he was always in the room whenever I was doing the Ken character. We actually worked a lot more together on that. I'm always thankful and pleased whenever Jerry invites me to the party. I did a little tiny thing in his 'Unfrosted' movie, and what was interesting is that producers on Unfrosted came up to me and said, "You're the only 'Seinfeld' alum in this. There's 100 cameos, but you're the only one from 'Seinfeld' that Jerry has here." I felt honoured that he had me.

DALTON: My first exposure to you was as Kronk in Disney's 'The Emperor's New Groove'. That film's production history was infamous. The story was overhauled, songs were removed, cast members alternated. Was it a bit of a chaotic period for you when you joined the film, or did you come in once it found its feet?

WARBURTON: I wasn't aware of the history of that one when they brought me in. I assumed that it was always the comedy that was the problem. But initially, I think it was more of a dramatic piece called 'Kingdom of the Sun'. Sting did the music. I'm such a huge Sting fan. He's such an amazing artist. But I wasn't sure about the vibe I got from him when I met him. I think what I represented to him was everything that was wrong about the movie for him (laughs) because he had done so much music for 'Kingdom of the Sun', and all this music he did, I guess, didn't happen because it became this comedy, and I was a big part of that. It was me, Davey [Spade], Eartha Kitt, and John Goodman. There's a documentary that's certainly not sanctioned by Disney called 'The Sweatbox', I believe, which I still haven't seen. I could probably find that on YouTube. Would you know?

DALTON: It is on YouTube, but you didn't hear that from me!

WARBURTON: I got to see that. It didn't keep Sting from playing at the premiere, though. I remember that it was at the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. After we screened the movie, the curtains went and there was Sting. He played for everybody. That was cool.

DALTON: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention 'Family Guy'. I got to tell you, if I'm on social media, give it five minutes, and I'm finding a clip that involves Joe Swanson screaming. Aside from the Wilhelm scream, I think it stakes a claim as the most iconic yell in film and television. Are you aware of how popular it is?

WARBURTON: (laughs) I don't know. There are ways to scream and protect your voice, which I think just more recently I'm better at because back in the day, if Joe had to scream, I would let the directors and producers on the show know, "We got to hold off until I've done everything else," because I just trashed my voice when I'd do the Joe yell. But it's one of those things. If you breathe and protect your voice like you do when you sing, you can yell and not do so much damage, but one of the things about Joe's scream that's maybe made it what it is is the fact that it is an unregulated yell from the bowels that does trash your voice. It makes it sound horrible and yet wonderful.

DALTON: So far in this interview, we've discussed three animated projects you've been involved in. Did you envision voice work being such a prominent staple of your career when you were starting out?

WARBURTON: I didn't because up until about '98, all I'd ever done was live-action stuff. But I had these neighbours next to us in Woodland Hills back then: Scott and Drew. Drew was an agent at the agency I ended up going to. The other was S. Scott Bullock, the wonderful voice actor. I talked to them because some of the prodding from my wife was like, "Why don't you do cartoons?" I said, "I'll check into it," and so I did. I took a meeting, and I got some immediate opportunities. One was to audition for 'The Emperor's New Groove'. Another was to do 'Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'. Tim Allen wasn't doing the cartoon, so I was like, "Sure. I'll be your poor man's Buzz." I knew exactly what that was, too. I knew exactly who I was going to be. I was going to be that guy that kids would watch, and they'd go, "That's not the real Buzz!" (laughs)

Those were some of the early jobs I got, and then 'Family Guy', all within a year. It was a good start. Then I continued to do those and other great opportunities like 'The Venture Bros', 'Scooby-Doo', and all those other Disney movies. I ended up doing a number of Disney movies, but none as special as 'The Emperor's New Groove'. In the realm of Disney movies, it would actually be considered more of a cult one because when it came out, they sunk most of their advertising money on '102 Dalmatians' with Glenn Close. 'The Emperor's New Groove' did steadily while it was in theatres, but it never did great. Although, since its theatrical run, it has become much more of a cult Disney classic.

DALTON: And I'm flying the flag for 'Kronk's New Groove'. My sister and I watched our DVD so much when we were younger it had to be replaced. "Getting a thumbs up from Papi" is part of our everyday vernacular.

WARBURTON: (laughs) That's great.

DALTON: With conventions like Metro, everyone knows what fans get out of it. Over the weekend, you're going to meet a lot of people who view you as a hero of theirs. But for someone like yourself, a guest, what do you take away from attending events like these?

WARBURTON: I like personal connection. Sometimes, I get a little prodding from whoever I'm working with at conventions where they're like, "You got to get your line moving a little bit better," but that's really hard for me to do because I like to make eye contact, I like to ask a question. Plus, people pay money and they wait in lines. There is some compensation. This is a big flight - 16 hours each way - but I also wanted to come to Melbourne. I wanted to come back here. I haven't been here since I did 'The Dish', as I mentioned at the top. I don't do a lot of conventions because they do take a lot out of you. Your attention's got to be there all day long. But if I just wanted to make cash, I'd be on Cameo, who have come to me a number of times to see if I'm ready. I'm just not ready to do it, but they're easy. You sit at home, do your videos, and get money.

But I like the personal connection. I've told buddies of mine, "I would sooner have drinks the night before I'm working on a set than I would at a comic con," because if you decide to go to a con, you see buddies of yours who want to go out and have drinks, and I just will not do a comic con hungover. It's important for me to be able to not be beat up, to be rested, to be able to make a nice connection with everybody, and try to make it as special for them as I can. I like the authenticity of that as opposed to just doing stuff on a phone and sending it.

DALTON: Beautifully said. Sir, this has been a delight. I'm a big fan of yours, so I'm really pleased we had some time to chat.

WARBURTON: Thank you, Connor. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. I really appreciate it.

DALTON: Also, I'm digging the stache.

WARBURTON: (laughs) It's a little Tom Selleck. Cheers.

For further information about Patrick Warburton's appearance at Metro Comic Con, you can head to his profile on the convention's website. Metro Comic Con takes place from July 13th to July 14th at the Melbourne Showgrounds. For general information and additional enquiries, visit the website homepage.