Nicolas Cantu is the voice of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
He tells us why the Turtles' dialogue is so much more natural in this movie.
This article is presented by Paramount Pictures.
In the new film, the Turtles father Splinter tells Leonardo that he has honor.
He even brought his talents to another beloved 80s property when he voiced the robotic B.O.Y.D.
in the reboot ofDuckTales.
They became part of my world through merchandising.
I just thought they were the coolest dudes ever since I was four years old.
I have made up more about theNinja Turtlesin my head than any other fictional character.
How would you describe Leonardo?
He still has that dream, thats the goal hes working towards, and hes the most serious.
Hes still a teenager, so youre always gonna be goofy.
Do you see any of yourself in the character of Leonardo?
His position regarding his brothers is very similar to how I grew up.
That was very much me growing up with my brothers.
Were very similar in that sense.
How did the four of you create the brother-like connection in your performances?
We love it, and its great.
But if you guys want to step over each other?
Thats how people talk.
Not every line is delivered and then people wait to speak.
Its this mishmash of a conversation that is so real.
You get that a lot with brothers.
People dont let each other finish sentences.
They venture to get their ideas out before the other one.
What was the audition process like for Leonardo?
They wanted to see my full body as I did the lines.
I think they did that because they just wanted to see more of my personality.
When youre recording your voice, you’re able to kind of get a character coming through.
I think casting wanted to see who the kid behind the voice would be.
But it was also really silly because they asked us to do 30 seconds of dancing.
I just remember thinking, when are they ever going to use this?
Why do they need to see me dance for a cartoon?
But I busted a move, and now here I am as Leonardo.
It was the dancing that did it!
Are we going to see Leonardo bust a move in this movie?
What do you think of the way the movie is animated?
Theres stuff like that in the visual style and I thought it was sick.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhemhits theaters on Aug. 2.
*Parts of this interview are courtesy of EPK.
