Ricky Church chats with Steve Blum about Star Wars Rebels…
Earlier this year, Star Wars Rebels concluded it’s four-season run as the crew members of the Ghost made a desperate attempt to free Lothal from Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Empire’s grip. One character who went through quite a journey in the series is Garazeb Orrelios, more commonly known as Zeb. A loyal member of the Ghost, Zeb was the crew’s comic relief, but was also a fierce warrior when the situation called for fighting, one who never gave up. Zeb’s journey even took him to become friends with Kallus, an Imperial agent who ordered the slaughter of Zeb’s people, but due to his regret he saw the error of his and the Empire’s ways thanks to Zeb and defected to the Rebellion.
As Star Wars: The Complete Fourth Season is released on Blu-ray and DVD today, Flickering Myth got the chance to interview Steve Blum, the voice behind Zeb. Blum has had quite a career in voice acting, from television series to video games and working on several characters in comics or sci-fi, from Wolverine in various X-Men cartoons to Green Goblin in Spectacular Spider-Man, Starscream in Transformers Prime even even Urdont Grunt in the Mass Effect video games. We chat with Blum about the journey Zeb was on, why Star Wars Rebels is special and his extensive career in voice acting. Check out our exclusive interview below…
Ricky Church: Zeb is the jokester of the group, but is shown to be a serious member of the Ghost crew when things get tough. How did you balance Zeb’s comedic aspects with his serious ones?
Steve Blum: He’s a person! I think the mistake many new actors make when developing a character is thinking that they can be defined by one thing. Yes, Zeb’s not human, but he’s lived a life. He has thoughts and feelings and fears and flaws and attachments like anybody else. Like me, Zeb can be an idiot goofball one moment and the most serious/caring/ferocious/tender person the next. It felt natural because the writing felt natural. When the writer gives us such a rich, well defined environment to live in, emotion, action and reaction follows as easily as breathing.
RC: Zeb and Kallus went through quite a relationship shift over the course of the series. First they were archenemies, then they were uneasy allies and finally friends. Can you talk about the final moments of their story when Zeb takes Kallus to the new Lassat homeworld?
SB: Quite a journey indeed. Trusting someone who you have been bred to hate is an amazing exercise in forgiveness and faith. One of hundreds of reasons that I love the Star Wars universe so much. From the very first time Zeb and Kallus appeared together, I joked that someday they’d become a couple and end up on Lirasan together. I had NO idea that it would actually happen! It was the greatest gift anyone had ever given me in terms of a character’s evolution. I’ve been thanking Dave Filoni ever since. The shippers went out of their minds and I wholeheartedly encourage that. Could just be buddies/brothers, but I love the idea that they could be more.
RC: The final season of Rebels saw Zeb have a bit of a rivalry going on with Thrawn’s assassin Ruhk. How did it feel for you to go up against a fan-favourite character from the Legends canon? Did you get a chance to speak with Warwick Davis and bounce ideas off him?
SB: Ah Ruhk… One of the creepiest, most annoying, yet wonderful characters in the universe – and played to perfection by Warwick. A worthy adversary and terrifyingly animated. Savored every moment. Sadly, I never got to work with Warwick in the same room! I’m a huge fan of his. I may have fanboyed a bit if I’d had the opportunity to play the scenes in real time.
RC: You’ve had quite a large career in voice acting from video games to TV series. You even played other supporting voices in Rebels, like various Stormtroopers, Imperial officers or propaganda reels. Where do you find the range for such a variety of voices?
SB: Been a pretty good run so far! It’s all I know how to do, and thankfully, they keep letting me do it! I’ve been organically creating voices since I was a 12 year old kid sorting comics in my grandfather’s bookstore. After almost 30 years in the business, it’s honestly second nature to have a vocal idea spring forward from a picture or description and after decades of developing muscle memory in the throat, I now have the technical ability to pull off most of what I hear in my head when it happens. I actually had to break down that process recently (and go MUCH deeper!), because I recently started teaching voice acting live online. Quite a journey to figure out all of the working parts – internally and externally, that contributed to learning this stuff and being able to negotiate the business all these years. If you’re interested in learning about voice acting (insert shameless plug here), please visit https://www.blumvoxstudios.com/ . We’ve put together a fun, value-packed, informative, ridiculously affordable program to take a deep dive into all of this. I teach the classes through live webinars twice a month.
RC: You’re also known to the wider fan community through your work voicing Green Goblin in Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine in Wolverine and The X-Men, Grunt in Mass Effect and Starscream in Transformers Prime. What’s it like for you to take on such beloved characters?
SB: Geektastic and sometimes really scary! Especially the characters with rabid fan bases. I always try to check in with the actor who played the character before me to make sure they’re ok with me taking over a legacy role. Don’t always have that opportunity, but I like to know the full history of a character if I can. Once I get over that hurdle, the greatest challenge is simply to do justice to the character so it won’t be distracting, disappointing or upsetting to the fans. In most cases, (like Wolverine, Gobby or Starscream), I had a lush pre-formed template to work with, but in every case, the producers wanted a different spin. I start with the voice I’d want to hear as a fan or with the voice that automatically appeared in my head when I read dialogue from that character in comic books or in scripts. I mentioned the organic nature of my approach earlier. I always go with first instinct and let the directors guide me from there.
RC: Zeb’s relationship with Ezra changed a lot over the course of the series. Where Zeb was very against letting Ezra in on the crew and even left him to be captured, albeit reluctantly, their bond grew to be a sort of big brother relationship, or at the very least Zeb is Ezra’s fun uncle. Did you have any input on their evolution? What was something you did to really sell their bond?
SB: Our relationship began with words on paper, and developed with the wonderful advantage of my love and respect for Taylor. He’s an amazing person in real life and at this point, I honestly feel like he’s my little brother. Yes, these are fictional characters, but part of the genius of this show is the casting. The chemistry of the people of the Ghost crew is real. I think that contributed immensely to our relationship onscreen. That and fantastic writing and direction. In terms of the evolution story wise, I’d have to attribute all of that to Dave, the writers and the team at Lucasfilm. Taylor and I were just embodying the words they gave us. The bond was effortless and real. Taylor is one of my favorite people on the planet.
RC: Some cool Star Wars trivia is Zeb’s design is based off Ralph McQuarrie’s original designs for Chewbacca. How cool is that for your character to have behind the scenes ties to Chewie?
SB: Cool and humbling!! To get to voice a new canon character in the Star Wars universe is insane. But a new race? AND he’s based on a previously unused McQuarrie design?!?? Head exploding!!
I can’t begin to express how much that’s meant to me. As a fan and as an actor. Deeply, profoundly grateful for that every day.
RC: What were some of your most memorable moments with Zeb? Is there anything you learnt from playing Zeb or this series that you’ll carry over into your next roles?
SB: The ability to live through a slice of a character’s life in such an epic way is one of the greatest experiences I could imagine. I think the most profound thing I take with me is the dynamic, ever present sense of gratitude. To work on a project with this much heart and vision is rare. Zeb was amazing, but it’s the people behind the scenes that made it all so meaningful. From the people in charge at Lucas and Disney, to every single member of the cast and crew, I felt respected, supported, included and encouraged at every step of production. They are the standard by which all other shows will be measured.
Thank you to Steve Blum for taking the time to speak with us!
SEE ALSO: Exclusive Interview: Star Wars Rebels’ Tiya Sircar on Sabine and the conclusion of the series
Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Fourth Season is now available on Blu-ray.
Ricky Church
