Interview with Viva Piñata Voice Actress and Animator, Louise Ridgeway

When Rare animator and voice actor Louise Ridgeway stepped into the sound booth to record her part as Leafos in Viva Piñata™, she imagined reading a bedtime story to her nine-year-old daughter. The result was a warm, loving performance that stole the hearts of Piñata fans everywhere, not to mention the rest of the game industry. Louise’s talents were recently recognized when she was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance: Female at the Tenth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Read on to discover Louise’s thoughts on Leafos, giggling in the recording booth, and why her award-winning voice almost didn’t make it into the game.

What was your reaction when you heard you’d won an award for your role as Leafos?
My reaction was one of pure shock! I think I was the last person to find out that I’d won it, as I wasn’t in the day we were told. I had never imagined or expected that I had even a remote chance of winning, so when they told me I was overjoyed. It’s really exciting doing this kind of work, but then to win an award on top of it is really brilliant. I’m very proud of the Leafos speech that I did and all the hard work that everybody did to make it successful, and I’m very honored to have been given an award of such high standing, especially considering the very talented actresses who were also up for an award in the same category as me.

How did you get started in voice acting? Did you go to school for it?
Well, technically, I didn’t do any training as a voice actor! I’m actually one of the lead animators here at Rare and spent my years at college studying classical animation. I basically started voice acting when I began at Rare, and over the years I’ve gotten more and more comfortable doing it. Leafos is easily the best voice acting I’ve done. I think you have to be confident in your ability to do the speech and not be afraid to act in front of your friends and colleagues (it is great fun, though).

What are the tryouts like for a role in a video game?
Well, the guys know me and know how much I enjoy doing the speech, so they usually give me a shout to do the “placeholder” speech in a game. A couple of people may try out for this or do placeholder speech. Eventually, you’re meant to have your speech replaced by a professional actor later on, but this time, luckily for me, everyone was really happy with the Leafos job, and so I stayed in the game.

Do you play Viva Piñata, and if so, how do you react to hearing your own voice in the game?
Honestly, it’s really weird. We all sound different in our heads, and I cringe when I hear myself in the game. My daughter was very impressed, though, and any time one of her friends comes around, she pulls out the game to show them her Mommy’s voice acting.

Who’s your favorite Piñata?
Hmm, that’s a tough one, but I think my favorite is probably the Fizzlybear. He’s so cute, and I love saying “Fizzlybear”—what a great name!