Eric Bauza gets Looney as he talks about his many voices in Space Jam.
Toronto native is the voice of Daffy, Porky, Elmer and more in the new Space Jam Chris Knight
When I spoke to Toronto native and professional voice-over artist Eric Bauza, I promised myself I would NOT ask him to talk to me like Daffy Duck. Though I really, really wanted to. But I’m a professional.
Turns out I got my wish, and still kept my journalistic integrity intact. To a question about whether he met any of the actors on Space Jam: A New Legacy — a film in which he provides the voices of Looney Tunes characters Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd and Marvin the Martian — he broke out the Duck voice.
“Even before (the) pandemic I would often record on my own,” says Bauza, in his own easygoing cadence. “But then there would be moments when I would be in the booth with Lebron — Mr. James! — and get to act with him in character. So he had someone to act with, even if it was just voiceover. And having that element of — ”
Without a pause he continues in that slurpy, unmistakable lisp: “Daffy Duck sitting right beside you...”
And through some kind of cartoon physics, Bauza’s voice bounces back in. “... versus not having him there, is always going to be helpful.”
Space Jam: A New Legacy is the sequel to Space Jam, the millennial cult classic starring basketball legend Michael Jordan and a host of Looney Tunes characters. Bauza was 16 when it hit theatres.
“I’ll take you back to 1996,” he says. “Kennedy [subway station], the platform to the train. I went downstairs and plastered on every billboard pole on the platform down there was Bugs, Taz, Tweety, Lola, “the Monstars,” Michael Jordan, all of ... the teaser posters for Space Jam. My jaw dropped to the floor. I just wanted to hop over the tracks and rip that off and hang it in my bedroom.”
Bauza attended Cardinal Newman High School (now
St. John Henry Newman) in Scarborough, where his parents still live. “School cafeteria was my Greek theatre, the forum, that’s where I held court,” he says with a laugh. “They made the mistake — or maybe the right trajectory — of allowing me to do the morning announcement. Me behind the microphone in high school. You can imagine. It was a field day.”
He was already a fan of the Looney Tunes, and remembers seeing a Nike Super Bowl ad in 1992, featuring Bugs and Michael — Hare Jordan and Air Jordan, it was called. “And then four years later, that’s when Space Jam arrived. I was a fan even before Space Jam happened, and I can tell you right now I’m a kid in a candy store.”
Bauza’s page at imdb.com lists his first credit as “additional voices” in the 1997 video The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue. Since then he’s chalked up almost 300 credits, lending his voice to such animated TV shows as G.I. Joe, Scoobydoo, Ducktales, Ben 10 and
Lego Star Wars. It’s a good living, but a mostly anonymous one.
“I could go to the grocery store and no one will bother me,” he says. “But if I go to San
Diego Comic Con then it’s over.
I’m as recognizable as any A-list celebrity in a convention arena.”
And much like a celebrity taking off his ball cap and sunglasses, Bauza can bust out The Voice any time it suits him. “Being able to do Daffy Duck at U.S. Customs at the airport will get you through in under two minutes,” he says, lisping like it’s rabbit season. “They just listen to this voice and they stamp that passport and you’re off to the races.”
Back in his own voice he continues: “They go from these tough-as-nails guardians of the nation to these six-year-old kids asking if I can do a voicemail for them.” I ask if it’s more satisfying to create an original voice for an animated character, or to perfectly mimic those of the late Mel Blanc, nicknamed The Man of a Thousand Voices, who originated Bugs, Daffy, Porky and others. “I think the dream of every voiceover artist is to create the brand new original character,” he says. “But the legacy characters ... getting to pick up the mantle for a character like Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck or any other world-known character is amazing, because I feel like I’m giving back to what helped me get into this career. And if I’m doing it justice — I hope that I am — if I’m in this movie I know I’m doing something right, that’s for sure.”
Voice acting was a relatively niche occupation when Bauza began. But already there had been celebrity performers, like Robin Williams as the Genie in 1992’s Aladdin.
“That kind of opened another door, with all these big-time names coming in,” he says. Still, success is predicated on the same rules as for any other performer. “You have to rely on your skills as an actor. Good acting will always get you in the door.” Does he have a favourite Looney Tune? “Daffy for me has always been the favourite of the bunch,” he says. Switching to a rabbity voice, he adds: “Bugs Bunny will always be the king of cartoons, doc.” “But for me Daffy is so funny. He is definitely the guy that just tries so hard and always fails. I think that’s like everyone on Earth.”
Time for one last question. I ask if it’s difficult or time-consuming to get from one character to another. The answer comes as a wonderful surprise.
“It’s just knowing these characters,” he says. “Bug Bunny’s 81 years old, I think Daffy’s rounding 80.”
Daffy picks up: “So it really is knowing the highs and lows –”
Porky Pig continues: “– of these caa-ca-a-characters.”
Foghorn Leghorn: “I say, I say, you could spend an entire lifetime –” Elmer Fudd: “– studying these cha-wacters, and I’m gonna get that wascally wabbit –” Marvin the Martian: “– if it’s the last thing I do, Earth creature!” My professional deportment is in tatters. Bauza continues blithely: “It’s like being able to switch on a dial, I guess. Or you just have to be super bored. You gotta spend some Scarborough winters studying these characters, and come out of hibernation, and suddenly you are Daffy Duck.”