Will the characters' voices sound right?

[Start Wreck]

A fair bit of effort has gone into getting actors who look the part, but what about how they sound? The original actors' voices are easily as iconic and recognisable as any other part of the original series. Will the new actors 'put on' voices? Or will they use their own?

I got thinking about some possibilities: what if sound-alikes were hired to dub over the movie? Then you get the look and the sound at the same time. Though I doubt the actors would be too pleased about having their performances overwritten like that; but it would be more authentic. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can do damned good immitations of the original characters' voices (but look nothing like them).

In a recent interview with Simon Pegg on the Jonathan Ross show, Pegg was hesitant to do his 'Scotty' accent, jokingly through fear of being 'sued up the arse'. Maybe he didn't want to give the game away!

I know it's still heavily under wraps, but some lucky folk have already seen a near-complete version of the movie. Does anyone mention the vocal performances specifically?

 

[Franklin]

The big three tend to look the part. The others, not so much. Though Pegg looks a lot more like a young James Doohan than I thought he would.

They're not going to dub anything, that would be silly.

But your right that the voices will take some getting used to.
-- Scotty and Chekov will have real accents, not fake ones.
-- Nimoy's voice was as iconic as his looks. Because of that, especially since Quinto so looks the part of Spock, the first few words from his mouth may seem jarring.
-- Takei's voice is strong, too. So it may be the same way with Sulu.
-- Pine's been clear that he does Kirk his own way, and not Shatner as Kirk. If we remember that what's become the stereotypical Shatner cadence is way overplayed, Pine's delivery will be fine. Think Shatner's Kirk speaking in early episodes.

As I've said before, at least for me, it'll be strange at first to see these actors on screen and speaking. But I'm guessing they'll be convincing enough that everyone (well -- ) will sit back and accept them after the first five minutes.

 

[trampledamage]

I don't blame Pegg for not wanting to do the accent on the Jonathan Ross show - it's hard to turn an accent on and off at will, and if he tries to do the voice and screws up, he's going to be slaughtered by all the fans.

 

[darkshadow0001]

-- Scotty and Chekov will have real accents, not fake ones.

Are you sure? Because I thought I've heard Doohan and Koenig talk before and they didn't really have accents like they did on the series. I thought they were real too, but I don't think they are.

 

[EyalM]

-- Scotty and Chekov will have real accents, not fake ones.

Are you sure? Because I thought I've heard Doohan and Koenig talk before and they didn't really have accents like they did on the series. I thought they were real too, but I don't think they are.

Nither of their accents were real. They were both Canadian, I believe.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

-James Doohan was Canadian; his Scottish accent was fake (and most say not very good).

-Walter Koenig is from Chicago; his Russian accent was fake (and most say not very good).

-Simon Pegg is English; his Scottish accent will be fake; we don't yet know how good (or bad) it will be.

-Anton Yelchin was born in Russia, but moved to the U.S. at a very young age. He Doesn't have a Russian accent; however his parents have accents, and I assume he could perhaps emulate them and have a believable accent.


...As for the question in the OP...

The fact that the voices will "not being exact" will NOT be a problem with me. I'm sure at first it may be a bit odd seeing and hearing someone else in those familiar roles, but these people are actors -- they should be able to convince me they are who they are supposed to be after 10 or 15 minutes of screen time.

I want them to use their real acting voices (and hope the casting was proper). It would REALLY bother me if they tried to imitate the original actors' voices, or if their voices were overdubbed.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't expect new actors to sound like the old ones. As long as they give good performances, that's fine.

 

[Eric Cheung]

-- Scotty and Chekov will have real accents, not fake ones.

Are you sure? Because I thought I've heard Doohan and Koenig talk before and they didn't really have accents like they did on the series. I thought they were real too, but I don't think they are.

Franklin was referring to the characters, not the actors. And he was referring to the new versions of the characters anyway, not the ones from TOS.

That said, Pegg said he studied his wife's accent and a very specific region of Scotland for the part and Yelchin said he'd reverse his W's and V's as Koenig did, what else of an authentic Russian accent we'll learn soon enough.

All four actors share some heritage with their characters. Koenig's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants, not unlike Nimoy. The heritage of both portrayers of Scotty is a little more off, Doohan's family's from Ireland and Pegg is from England, though his wife is Scottish.

And having seen performances from all four actors I'd say that Pegg and Yelchin should be absolutely stellar. The other actors all were given the freedom to decide how much they'd take from their predecessors, and most have said they won't be exactly like them. But as with Pegg and Yelchin, they all seem to be good actors, so it'll be fine.

 

[JNG]

I got thinking about some possibilities: what if sound-alikes were hired to dub over the movie? Then you get the look and the sound at the same time. Though I doubt the actors would be too pleased about having their performances overwritten like that; but it would be more authentic.

I'm afraid I don't understand how that's any more authentic.

 

[Classic Fan]

So, in that case will Pine... Bespeakingin... Broken annnndd.... Exagerated sentences!?


Seriously, Yelchin and Pegg will try to be as close to the mark as possible, however if the actors immitate their previous counterparts it will ruin the whole aspect of the re-boot. I can understand little character quirks being incorporated by the the current actors choice as a kind of hommage to the previous actor that they have learend to respect over the course of filming.


Pegg won't be flawless, hell who is, but itt'll be a ride and half.

 

[MisterPL]

Will they SOUND like the original performers? What is this, The Brady Bunch Movie? I'm happy if the do the characters justice. If I want to see a decent Bill Shatner impression, I'll watch Kevin Pollak.

 

[Kelso]

Christopher Reeve didn't look or sound like George Reeves... but I can accept both as Clark Kent/Superman

Daniel Craig didn't look or sound anything like Sean Connery... but I can accept both as James Bond.

As long as the actors can do justice to the script, I really don't see the need for them to be physically (or vocally) evocative of the originators of the roles.

 

[Eric Cheung]

Changing the voices has the same problem as the person who wanted to superimpose the faces of the original actors on the new ones: It wouldn't work, and therefore would be really distracting to the point of being silly.

Although they actually did it in Space Cowboys (though that was a black and white flashback for about five minutes in which most of the action took place in fighter jets or press conference wide shots, not for a full feature).

 

[JNG]

So, in that case will Pine... Bespeakingin... Broken annnndd.... Exagerated sentences!?

I can't find it, but I read an interview that more or less stated that no, he would not be.

 

[ancient]

ABRAMS: "Say 'Nuclear wessel'"

YELCHIN: "No."

ABRAMS: "Say 'it is a wussian inwention.'"

YELCHIN: "AAAAAARRGH!!"

 

[NiteTrek]

I got thinking about some possibilities: what if sound-alikes were hired to dub over the movie?

I'd say put down the crack pipe.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

ABRAMS: "Say 'Nuclear wessel'"

YELCHIN: "No."

ABRAMS: "Say 'it is a wussian inwention.'"

YELCHIN: "AAAAAARRGH!!"

I hope that's on the blooper reel!

I got thinking about some possibilities: what if sound-alikes were hired to dub over the movie?

I'd say put down the crack pipe.

Hell no, he shouldn't put it down. He should puff, puff, pass.

 

[Good Will Riker]

-- Takei's voice is strong, too. So it may be the same way with Sulu.

Takei's voice was softer when he was younger and only became deeper as he grew older. His deep voice became a distinguishing trait around the time The Undiscovered Country and Generations ("Oh my!") was released, and not before.

So, John Cho (The Korean American actor who is first billed in this film. ) will do just fine using his natural speaking voice.

-- Pine's been clear that he does Kirk his own way, and not Shatner as Kirk. If we remember that what's become the stereotypical Shatner cadence is way overplayed, Pine's delivery will be fine. Think Shatner's Kirk speaking in early episodes.

Comparing Shatner's Kirk with that of Pine's Kirk is reminiscent of comparing Michael Keaton's Batman/Bruce Wayne with that of Christian Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne. Pine will bring his own unique interpretation of the character in portraying this familiar inconic hero role, and at this point, I hope that the fans are open-minded in being receptive to Pine's portrayal of Kirk based on his screen presence/own acting merits.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Zachary Quinto's voice is interesting and distinctive, but sadly lacks the resonant quality of Nimoy's. As for the others, I really don't know what they sound like. I've seen a couple in movies but their voices didn't make an impression.

...and I'm glad to see we're worrying about everything.

I doubt the actors would be too pleased about having their performances overwritten like that; but it would be more authentic.

That would be very disrespectful of the actors' talents. I'm sure we'll get used to the "new" voices just like the new faces.

 

[trekkerguy]

Will the char... will the characters sound right?

I suppose we should ask about their fish aswell...