Patrick Warburton Says He's Not a "Chameleon" Voice Actor (EXCLUSIVE)

Jun. 23 2022, Published 2:19 p.m. ET

When it comes to performing, there appears to be an concept that being too specific gets you "typecast." However, all one must do is look at Patrick Warburton's occupation to see that this is not the case at all.

He voices Grandpa Shark within the Baby Shark cartoon, Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove, and Joe in Family Guy. In truth, one have a look at his IMDb web page finds he's achieved voice work for more than 80 projects.

His on-camera work is just as multifaceted: he's played the narrator Lemony Snicket in Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, General Rick Stoner in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Puddy in Seinfeld; the list is going on and on.

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Patrick — who is promoting his latest collaboration with Days Inn, where he voices a Complimentary Pillow — revealed that while he sees himself as a live-action actor first, he enjoys the challenges of voice acting.

Patrick Warburton does not see himself as a "chameleon" voice actor.

As the Days Inn Complimentary Pillow, Patrick makes use of phrases of encouragement reminiscent of "You're gonna rock it today!" and "Can I tell you your hair smells fabulous today?" in a voice that is spot-on for his iconic character Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove.

"Some voice actors are chameleons and some are not; I’m of the latter," Patrick replied after we brought up the similarities.

While the term "chameleon" is often applied to a couple actors, the variety of roles and genres that Patrick's tackled on his résumé would suggest he's extraordinarily multifaceted, both in the studio and on digital camera.

Patrick went on to show that he sees himself as a live-action actor "first and foremost" and that most of his pleasure comes from that work. However, both live-action and voice appearing provide their very own challenges.

"It needs to be bigger as we're in the animation realm as opposed to live action," he mentioned of voice acting ahead of adding, "[With] voice-over work you're in a studio by yourself almost always ... kind of like a cold, isolated room. You gotta work your ass up and [get] juiced up."

Patrick's voices list includes Buzz Lightyear, so what does he think of Chris Evans' 'Lightyear'?

Along with Tim Allen, Patrick also voiced the Toy Story personality — within the animated collection Buzz Lightyear of Star Command — prior to Chris Evans took over, and he is a fan of the latest iteration of the nature.

"From what I've seen from [Chris'] Buzz is he brings a great voice," he shared. "These are characters that are going to live on forever." He also defined how it's each and every artist's responsibility to interpret the nature the best way they see fit.

The similar may well be mentioned for his position of Lemony Snicket, which he says A Series of Unfortunate Events executive producer and director Barry Sonnenfeld and Daniel Handler "went to bat" for him for.

Patrick says he used to be "fortunate" to paintings a number of times with Sonnenfeld, whom he calls a "force" and "an incredible creator."

"Oftentimes in this industry, they seem to lack imagination," he mentioned. "When I did A Series of Unfortunate Events ... Barry and [Daniel] wanted me to do it. They went to bat for me."

And we can see why. The series currently has a 94 percent Rotten Tomatoes ranking, with many outlets praising his efficiency, demonstrating that Sonnenfeld and Handler's vote of confidence within the actor was once warranted.

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