I Come From A Military

I've Been Singing My Whole Life, Since I Was A Kid; But Never Formally As A Career. I Did It In Plays When I Was Younger, And I Sang All Styles Of Music: Everything From Italian Opera To Blues.

It Was Really Fun And Intimate In A Way. Working With George Miller Is Exquisite. Gloria Is Different From Anything I've Ever Played Before. The First Time I Saw The Characters In The Studio I Remember Thinking That Mumble Looked Just Like Elijah, With Such A Cute And Endearing Face. I Don't Think Gloria Looks That Much Like Me.

I've Been Trained In Dancing And I Used To Be Quite Good, Though I Am A Bit Rusty Right Now. But I Could Probably Brush Up In A Couple Of Months. The Funny Thing Is That I Actually Took Classes From Savion Glover, Who Worked In Happy Feet, When I Was A Kid. Isn't That Wild? I Was Part Of A Selected Group That Was Brought Into New York From New Jersey (which Is Where I'm From) To Study, Every Saturday: Ballet, Jazz And Tap. It Was A Musical Comedy Group.

I Never Had A Chance To Learn How To Drive.

I Got A Phone Call From George Miller [the Director] Asking Me To Play This Role. We Sat Down And He Showed Me On His Computer A Documentary-type Montage Sequence Of Real Penguins Swimming, In An Esther Williams Synchronized Sort Of Way, And Doing Things I Have Never Seen Them Do. Then He Explained His Vision Of The Film, Asked Me To Read The Script And To Voice The Character. I Was Cast A Little Bit Later, And He Let Me Do The Singing As Well!