“UGLY BETTY” STAR ANA ORTIZ PLAYS ANIMATED DETECTIVE
IN DC UNIVERSE ORIGINAL FILM “BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT”
As
one of the stars of the ABC hit series “Ugly Betty,” Ana Ortiz has
enchanted the primetime audience playing Hilda Suarez, big sister to the
title character. Today, Ortiz offers fans a 180-degree acting pivot from
her most noteworthy role by voicing gritty detective Anna Ramirez in the
DC Universe original animated film “Batman Gotham Knight.” The film is
available today, July 8, on DVD, Blu-Ray and OnDemand.
Ortiz initially auditioned for the same part in “The Dark Knight,” but
lost out to Monique Curnen. Her disappointment didn’t last long as
casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano took one look at the animated
Ramirez and – without prior knowledge of her live-action audition –
immediately sought to cast Ortiz in the voice role.
“An agent submitted Ana many years ago, before ‘Ugly Betty’ hit the
air,” Romano explained. “I’ve been looking for something to work with
her on, and this project was so unusual that it just seemed right. I was
clearly looking at the character, and how she interacts with other
characters – and when I actually saw the physical character, she was
first actress to come to mind.”
Ortiz has had recurring and/or regular primetime roles in “Boston
Legal,” “Over There” and “Kristin,” as well as making guest appearances
on hit series from “NYPD Blue” and “ER” to “The New Adventures of Old
Christine” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” However, “Batman Gotham
Knight” was her first starring role in an animated voiceover. She has
since recorded as a tiger for an animated Noah’s Ark film.
“Ugly Betty” production moved to New York last week, and with it went
Ortiz – back to her hometown. Before making her first visit to the new
set in the real-life Gotham, Ortiz took a few moments to discuss her
time in the animated Gotham – as detective Anna Ramirez in ‘Batman
Gotham Knight.”
Question:
What were your impressions of your “Batman Gotham Knight” segments?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I loved them – and I wanted more! This was one of my first real
voiceovers and, to do it for Batman, that was quite an honor. My husband
and all of his cartoony friends were really into it – they all watched
my copy of the movie and dug it. I have to admit that it’s fun being in
something that my guy friends could get into. So now I’ve got my macho
cred, too.
Question:
What did you think of the physical appearance of your character?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I was thrilled – I’ve always wanted curly long locks, so that was so
cool. And she’s super cute. I loved she wasn’t too stuffy – sometimes
with lady cops, they try to be too much like guys. She was foxy, she had
jeans and a cute little blazer. It was fun to see her when we were doing
the voices, but it’s really cool to see the film in its final form.
Question:
What were your initial impressions of the script and your role in the
story?
Ana Ortiz answers:
It was cool for me because my character is a peacemaker. Usually the
roles I get are the in-your-face instigator or fighter, but the nuance
with her is as a peacemaker -- getting her partner to calm down and
understand that Batman just might not be a vigilante. It was fun to play
that angle, because usually I’m playing the one screaming and fighting.
As a person, I would say I’m sort of a peacemaker, but I think I’ve
evolved into that role. When I was younger, I was more of a fighter.
L.A. has helped me find that side of myself.
Question:
The core theme of your segments, especially the more involved
“Crossfire” chapter, deal with trust. Do you trust easily?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I think I trust fairly easily – which is odd for a New Yorker. But I
think I do trust because I’ve had pretty good experiences. I think I’m
also a good judge of character, so that’s a good combination – it’s
worked out well for me so far.
Question:
As this was your first full-blown animation experience, was there any
nervousness on your part entering the recording booth?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I just wanted to do a good job, and Andrea had given me such a great
vote of confidence. Batman is such an icon and, for me, it was an honor
to even be doing it. You want to be great, you want to bring justice to
the characters, and bring these characters to life. It’s a whole
different style of acting and the artwork is so impressive that I guess
it was a little nerve-racking to try and do that, but it was also fun.
I was definitely nervous going it alone at first, but when Gary (Dourdan)
came in and we started to do some scenes together, that’s when it
really, really came alive. It felt like we had a cool thing going in the
studio and, watching the film now, I remember certain moments when our
energy together was really working well. He walked in and that really
turned the switch for me. The relationship those two characters have on
screen – we were able to do that in real-time in the booth.
Andrea’s direction was important for me, because I’m kind of new at
voiceovers for animation. There’s so many specifics that you do in the
booth that I wasn’t hip to. For starters, acting alone is difficult, so
I was learning those tricks. But then Gary came in and when you act with
a partner, that raises the bar. He pushed me to meet his energy. So I
really enjoyed the support of Andrea and Gary.
Question:
What helped you more in preparing and executing your voiceover
performance – your experience on the stage or your experience before the
cameras?
Ana Ortiz answers:
Stage acting has helped me in every aspect of my life, not just acting.
I think it gives you a confidence and helps to always keep you on your
toes. My best friend is a member of an improv comedy theatre, and it’s
like she always says: ‘Anything can happen at any moment.’ In theatre,
you have to always be prepared. There’s nobody there to save you. You
have to figure it out for yourself. It’s a good skill for life and,
definitely for any other work that I’ve done, it’s been my saving grace.
Question:
Would you like to do more voiceover work for animation?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I want to do as much as I possibly can. I love it, love it, love it.
Voiceover is so good – you can do crazy voices and all kinds of
characters. Being Latino, it’s hard to get cast for anything that isn’t
specific. People expect me to be that larger than life character they’ve
already seen, and it’s so specific that it’s hard to get other parts. In
voiceover, they don’t judge you on your looks or your past roles -- I
can be a 90-year-old man or a tiger or whatever. It’s very freeing. So I
want to do as much voiceover as I can.
Question:
Are you a fan of the comic book or super hero genre?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I’ve always been a comic book fan, but I’m a girl – so I liked Archie
and Betty and Veronica, and Mad and Cracked. I liked super heroes, but I
was more for live action, like Linda Carter as Wonder Woman. Of the
Saturday morning cartoons, I liked Super Friends and Animalympics.
Otherwise, I wasn’t a huge cartoon girl.
Question:
Are you a Batman fan?
Ana Ortiz answers:
I guess being in New York, you always have a certain affinity for anyone
who lives in Gotham. But I was raised as a Superman girl, because my dad
is a Superman freak. I mean, he didn’t name his kid Kal-El or anything
like that, but he is obsessed with Superman and he loves Smallville.
When I got the job on Ugly Betty, and they told us were were going to
air on Thursdays at 8 p.m., I told my parents and my own father started
saying ‘What am I going to do? What am I going to do?’ It’s because we
were going to air against Smallville. He kept asking ‘What am I going to
do? I can’t miss my Smallville?’ I told him – ‘Dad, you’re going to
watch Ugly Betty.’ Ultimately, we had to get him a TIVO. But I couldn’t
even believe it was a quandary.
Interview and images provided by Warner Bros. Animation.
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