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RadioFree.com: I've always said that you and Mr. Cullen pretty much defined my childhood love of animation in the '80s. It's a pleasure speaking with you...
FRANK: [laughs] Thank you. It makes me feel old, but in a very good way.
I was always curious: what voice did you use for Soundwave in the original series, before they ran it through all the voice filters?
Now, this is a secret... [pauses] Actually, the secret's out. It was a kind of combination of things, but it sort of was the Dr. Claw voice, remember, from Inspector Gadget. [demonstrates the voice] "And it kind of was like this." And when you kind of run that through, it kind of gave it that echo and metal sound. It was a combination of different voices, but it really kind of came from Inspector Gadget.
 
Listening to you now, I'm just amazed by your voice. Any tips on keeping your voice healthy, and maybe suggestions on how I might be able to sound like a teenager even years from now?
[laughs] Well, you know...I don't know if it's DNA, or luck, or a messed up throat, or just being goofy, [but] I have been able to do, like, Fred Jones for 44 years. It kind of still sounds the same. [does Fred's voice] "Hey, would you do it for a Scooby snack?" But I think the thing that you want to do is, if you're going to do a session and you have to do high voices, get a lot of sleep. Go to bed early. I used to do stand up comedy and a lot of dogs barking and all that. Just drink a lot of bubbly things, goes good on the throat. Avoid getting hit and just let your imagination go.
With Mr. Cullen's ability to do that deep, booming voice that he uses for Optimus Prime, how do you suppose it is that he's managed to avoid getting typecast as a villain in animated roles?
You know, that's a very good question, because he does have that kind of [deep voice], and I know he can do it in a second. But, you know, I think he's just too steeped in being a good guy. [jokes] He doesn't see the evil--how fun that can be. [laughs] No, I think he's done some in the past. But he does Optimus so well. That's a real interesting point. I know he's got a lot of deep [voices], and he can do some really high voices, too. And impressions! You need to get him to do his John Wayne and Broderick Crawford. It goes on and on...
It was so great to have you both reunited for Transformers Prime. Now that the series is winding down, can we look forward to the possibility that you two will come together again as Megatron and Optimus in the future?
I hope so. I mean, there's always a good chance, and never say no. And, you know, we both have been killed off at different times and come back, so there's always that opportunity. And it seems like it's worked so far for a long time. I just can't see it really going away.
What other projects can we expect from you in the near future?
Well, Azrael the cat in The Smurfs 2, coming out this summer. A lot of Garfields, Curious George movies and things. So it looks that it's going to be busy for a while. You can't get rid of me that quick!
Nor would we want to! Thank you so much for being such an important part of my childhood, I really appreciate it.
Thank you for being there. You're what we do it for!
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