Sound advice
The man behind Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, among others, offers up his thoughts on voice acting
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 voice-over. And having that element of — ”
Without a pause he continues in that slurpy, unmistakable lisp: “Daffy Duck sitting right beside you ...”
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.
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. 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.”
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.