Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl star on replacing Peter Sallis and honouring the actor’s legacy

As a long-time fan of Wallace & Gromit, I can confidently say that Ben Whitehead has done an exceptional job stepping into the iconic role of Wallace. His journey from Peter Sallis’ understudy to the official voice of Wallace is truly inspiring and a testament to his dedication and talent.

On Christmas Day, the sixth installment of Britain’s beloved stop-motion series, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” will debut. For the first time, Ben Whitehead provides the voiceover for Wallace in this film.

Legendary actor Peter Sallis, who was famously part of all 295 episodes of the series “Last of the Summer Wine,” initially lent his voice to the character Wallace in the 1989 BAFTA-winning short film “A Grand Day Out.

From the ’90s through the 2000s, Sallis consistently voiced Wallace across films, commercials, and video games. He decided to retire in 2012. Unfortunately, he passed away on June 2nd, 2017.

After a hiatus of more than a decade since their last appearance in 2008’s “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” Wallace and Gromit are back on screen once again. In this new adventure titled “Vengeance Most Fowl,” the legendary duo is now being voiced by Whitehead, guiding them through their latest escapade.

He stated that he’s been collaborating with Aardman since the release of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in 2003. During this period, they’ve granted him the opportunity to grow as a voice actor and perfect his portrayal of Wallace, which has been an amazing experience.

Originally, I was slated to step into Peter’s shoes, but surprisingly, I didn’t go through the traditional audition process for voicing Wallace. Instead, I walked in as a reader actor, and it turned out that I could mimic the character’s voice. Initially, my focus was on nailing the voice, and over time, it evolved from an imitation into a distinctive voice of its own. This progression, I believe, significantly added to the success of portraying Wallace.

Whitehead aimed to respect the established image of Wallace cherished by fans, yet simultaneously give the character a fresh twist, making it distinctly his own interpretation.

Nick [Park] and Merlin [Crossingham], the directors, provided significant assistance by advising me to focus more on developing the character and delivering an authentic performance rather than strictly matching the voice. This was incredibly helpful, allowing me to infuse the role with my unique interpretation.

In general, I’m quite flexible and often think on my feet. However, for this specific task, I’ve found myself focusing more on accurately capturing the intended tone rather than generating new ideas.

Based on the extremely favorable responses to Vengeance Most Fowl (and our own review that you can check out), it’s clear that Whitehead and the entire team didn’t merely succeed – they created an exceptional piece of work. This brings us to our final, crucial question: How did they manage to pull off such a fantastic production?

It’s common knowledge that Wallace prefers Yorkshire Wensleydale as his favorite cheese. However, if we were to guess the choice of the man who works with clay, that might be something else entirely.

Whitehead comments, “That’s an excellent query,” he says. “I have a particular fondness for robust aged cheddars. They suit me just right. Over the weekend, I picked up some and it was truly exceptional. A delightful Somerset cheddar cheese is hard to beat.

There you have it. A crackin’ choice indeed.

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2024-12-23 15:35