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“Hug Attack!” is the iconic phrase often said by Pandy Paws, a cartoon character from “Gabby’s Dollhouse.”
But of course it’s not the cuddly stuffed cat saying this, it’s the actor behind the voice.
Sophomore Tucker Chandler has spent his childhood behind a glass box, voice acting for television and movies.
“I started when I was seven or eight back in elementary school, so I’ve been in the voice acting field for a long time,” Chandler says.
When Chandler was younger, he was nominated for an Emmy for his role as Alex the Lion in the animated TV series “Madagascar: A Little Wild.”
Yet he is most notably known for his role as Pandy Paws in “Gabby’s Dollhouse.”
Chandler originally got into voice acting because of his brother.
“I had a good family friend named Laura Miller who played the role of Lisa Loud in ‘The Loud House’ and Lamby in ‘Doc McStuffins’,” he said. “She’s been in hundreds of things, but she introduced my brother to the field. One day he got an audition for Life cereal and my dad decided ‘what if Tucker does a read for this?’”
While he enjoyed it, being a nine-year-old working actor certainly had its struggles.
“I would need to go straight from school to three-hour recording sessions where I would stand still for three hours straight,” he said. “That’s probably the worst thing in the world for a nine-year-old.”
As middle school started, standing still became less of a problem, but playing the same character began to wear him down.
“I had to commit to the same character over and over,” he said. “It was my typecast vocally.”
Although this was discouraging, the people he worked with and his future prospects kept him going.
“Knowing that I was securing myself a college education kept me going,” he said. “I can pay for college now and it’s because I spent a long time being a stuffed animal.”
The process of making even one episode of a show is extensive. It involves learning songs and lines only a day ahead, while only five minute breaks in between.
“You get roughly three takes that allow you to varry how you say the line,” he said. “Then the directors tell you what they need emphasis on and you adjust over and over for however long.”
Chandler added that people often have the wrong idea about the job.
“I’ve had people in the past ask me about getting into voice acting and they’ve asked me things like ‘oh can I have your agent’s number?’” he said. “But that’s not how it works.”
The art form of animation and voice acting is often forgotten, it’s not as visible as on screen celebrities. However, just because voice actors aren’t seen doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be recognized.
“A lot of people don’t realize how hard it really is to make it. It’s not like they get a picture of your face and they want you right away. You make a voice for yourself and if your voice matches what they want, you get the job.”
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 print edition.
