As a die-hard fan of Wallace & Gromit, I can say that Ben Whitehead‘s journey into the world of these beloved characters is nothing short of extraordinary. Born and raised in Cheshire, his childhood dreams of voicing Wallace seemed as fantastical as one of Wallace’s own inventions. Yet, here we are, two decades later, with Whitehead embodying the iconic cheese enthusiast.
According to Ben Whitehead, “Avoid eating Wensleydale cheese prior to entering a recording session.” He explains that “cheese is essentially the stickiest food item you could consume.
It’s likely that Whitehead is familiar with the fact: The 49-year-old actor lends his voice to Wallace, a character adored by many as the cheese-loving inventor, whom millions of us will recognize in this year’s Nick Park and Aardman Animations’ stop-motion adventure at Christmas.
As a movie enthusiast, let me share my take on the upcoming Wallace & Gromit film, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”. This time around, we see the notorious penguin, Feathers McGraw, causing chaos again. Our beloved characters, Wallace and Gromit, are put in a pickle as they navigate through another thrilling escapade that challenges Wallace’s brilliant mechanical skills and tests Gromit’s unwavering resilience. In the recording studio, I can confidently say that my enthusiasm for this production has been rather difficult to contain!
Originally from Cheshire, Whitehead relocated to the South East during his childhood years. Since then, he’s been extensively working on portraying the character of Wallace. “I was 14 when A Grand Day Out debuted in 1989,” he shares. “Being a massive fan, I started mimicking Wallace just for fun. I never imagined that someday I would actually embody him.
In the animated films “A Grand Day Out,” “The Wrong Trousers,” “A Close Shave,” and “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” Peter Sallis lent his voice to the character Wallace, as he did in all of these sequels.
Right from the start, while developing Wallace and Gromit at the National Film and Television School, creator Nick Park believed that the voice used by actor Peter Sallis in the Holmfirth-based comedy series Last of the Summer Wine was ideal for Wallace.
In 1983, the youthful Park penned a letter to Sallis, inquiring about his willingness to take on a task. To his astonishment, Sallis consented. As per Whitehead, “Sallis had always envisioned Peter for it,” adding that Sallis seemed to be the one who guided him internally.
Twenty years after Whitehead first stepped into the enchanting realm of Wallace & Gromit, I found myself welcomed as a script reader during auditions at their Bristol studios. By 2005, I had ascended to the role of Peter Sallis’s understudy in Wallis and Gubbins, an experience that remains unforgettable to this day.
At our initial encounter, I was filled with a lot of anxiety. In the movie Were-Rabbit, Helena Bonham Carter portrayed Lady Campanula Tottington, and when her cardigan slipped from the studio chair unnoticed by me, Peter scolded me for it. He asked, ‘Why didn’t you pick it up?’ To which I replied, ‘I was terrified, Peter! I’m surrounded by such accomplished actors here. I don’t know how to act!’
By 2008 and A Matter of Loaf and Death, Sallis was in his late eighties and dealing with macular degeneration. Consequently, Whitehead started wearing the knitted green tank top permanently. How did he manage the transition? He aimed to make it seamless, ensuring listeners didn’t notice a drastic change in voice.
As a movie enthusiast, I’d say this: Just like Park, Wallace hails from Lancashire, but as Whitehead points out, Sallis didn’t stick to a traditional northern accent for his portrayal. Interestingly enough, Peter, who was actually from north London, found himself in the limelight towards the end of his career for two roles that were set up North. It’s quite ironic, don’t you think?
Recently, it was announced that an artificial intelligence will be used to recreate the distinctive voice of the late Michael Parkinson for a podcast. Is this development a cause for concern for Whitehead?
“We have a great line in the film about AI, and I can see it will change voice acting. But Aardman doesn’t seem like a company that would employ it; they need to work with actual human voices. I think, ultimately, everyone will want the lengthy, painstaking, hard-working graft of a Wallace & Gromit film. You certainly can’t replace it with a computer at the moment. Who would want to? And Michael Parkinson AI? I just don’t see that. Though he did have a lovely Yorkshire voice.”
If you find it surprising that a screen actor known for his portrayal of a beloved Lancastrian character is quite fond of Yorkshire, there could be an explanation: “Whitehead reveals his father hails from Yorkshire.
Just visited York with my mom and a friend, and my friend suggested Holmfirth instead. We stopped by the cemetery where Peter was buried, alongside his ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ co-star Bill Owen. I paid tribute to him there. On Peter’s tombstone, it reads, ‘A Star of Last of the Summer Wine and Wallace & Gromit,’ which speaks volumes about its importance in his life.
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2024-11-28 16:35