Interview with Ana Ortiz about Batman Gotham Knight

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Interview with Ana Ortiz about Batman Gotham Knight

Written by DVD David

Wednesday, 09 July 2008

Ana Ortiz

An interview with "Ugly Betty" star Ana Ortiz, the voice of Detective Anna Ramirez in the all-new DC Universe animated
original movie, "Batman Gotham Knight."

The film is available today on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Ortiz has had recurring and/or regular primetime roles in "Boston
Legal," "Over There" and "Kristin," as well as making guest
appearances on hit series from "NYPD Blue" and "ER" to "The New
Adventures of Old Christine" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." However,
"Batman Gotham Knight" was her first starring role in an animated
voiceover. She has since recorded as a tiger for an animated Noah's
Ark film.

"Ugly Betty" production moved to New York last week, and with it went
Ortiz - back to her hometown. Before making her first visit to the new
set in the real-life Gotham, Ortiz took a few moments to discuss her
time in the animated Gotham - as detective Anna Ramirez in 'Batman
Gotham Knight."
Girl Cop

Question:
What were your impressions of your "Batman Gotham Knight" segments?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I loved them - and I wanted more! This was one of my first real
voiceovers and, to do it for Batman, that was quite an honor. My
husband and all of his cartoony friends were really into it - they all
watched my copy of the movie and dug it. I have to admit that it's fun
being in something that my guy friends could get into. So now I've got
my macho cred, too.

Question:
What did you think of the physical appearance of your character?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I was thrilled - I've always wanted curly long locks, so that was so
cool. And she's super cute. I loved she wasn't too stuffy - sometimes
with lady cops, they try to be too much like guys. She was foxy, she
had jeans and a cute little blazer. It was fun to see her when we were
doing the voices, but it's really cool to see the film in its final
form.

Question:
What were your initial impressions of the script and your role in the
story?

Ana Ortiz answers:
It was cool for me because my character is a peacemaker. Usually the
roles I get are the in-your-face instigator or fighter, but the nuance
with her is as a peacemaker -- getting her partner to calm down and
understand that Batman just might not be a vigilante. It was fun to
play that angle, because usually I'm playing the one screaming and
fighting. As a person, I would say I'm sort of a peacemaker, but I
think I've evolved into that role. When I was younger, I was more of a
fighter. L.A. has helped me find that side of myself.

Question:
The core theme of your segments, especially the more involved
"Crossfire" chapter, deal with trust. Do you trust easily?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I think I trust fairly easily - which is odd for a New Yorker. But I
think I do trust because I've had pretty good experiences. I think I'm
also a good judge of character, so that's a good combination - it's
worked out well for me so far.

Question:
As this was your first full-blown animation experience, was there any
nervousness on your part entering the recording booth?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I just wanted to do a good job, and Andrea had given me such a great
vote of confidence. Batman is such an icon and, for me, it was an
honor to even be doing it. You want to be great, you want to bring
justice to the characters, and bring these characters to life. It's a
whole different style of acting and the artwork is so impressive that
I guess it was a little nerve-racking to try and do that, but it was
also fun.

I was definitely nervous going it alone at first, but when Gary
(Dourdan) came in and we started to do some scenes together, that's
when it really, really came alive. It felt like we had a cool thing
going in the studio and, watching the film now, I remember certain
moments when our energy together was really working well. He walked in
and that really turned the switch for me. The relationship those two
characters have on screen - we were able to do that in real-time in
the booth.

Andrea's direction was important for me, because I'm kind of new at
voiceovers for animation. There's so many specifics that you do in the
booth that I wasn't hip to. For starters, acting alone is difficult,
so I was learning those tricks. But then Gary came in and when you act
with a partner, that raises the bar. He pushed me to meet his energy.
So I really enjoyed the support of Andrea and Gary.

Question:
What helped you more in preparing and executing your voiceover
performance - your experience on the stage or your experience before
the cameras?

Ana Ortiz answers:
Stage acting has helped me in every aspect of my life, not just
acting. I think it gives you a confidence and helps to always keep you
on your toes. My best friend is a member of an improv comedy theatre,
and it's like she always says: 'Anything can happen at any moment.' In
theatre, you have to always be prepared. There's nobody there to save
you. You have to figure it out for yourself. It's a good skill for
life and, definitely for any other work that I've done, it's been my
saving grace.

Question:
Would you like to do more voiceover work for animation?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I want to do as much as I possibly can. I love it, love it, love it.
Voiceover is so good - you can do crazy voices and all kinds of
characters. Being Latino, it's hard to get cast for anything that
isn't specific. People expect me to be that larger than life character
they've already seen, and it's so specific that it's hard to get other
parts. In voiceover, they don't judge you on your looks or your past
roles -- I can be a 90-year-old man or a tiger or whatever. It's very
freeing. So I want to do as much voiceover as I can.

Question:
Are you a fan of the comic book or super hero genre?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I've always been a comic book fan, but I'm a girl - so I liked Archie
and Betty and Veronica, and Mad and Cracked. I liked super heroes, but
I was more for live action, like Linda Carter as Wonder Woman. Of the
Saturday morning cartoons, I liked Super Friends and Animalympics.
Otherwise, I wasn't a huge cartoon girl.

Question:
Are you a Batman fan?

Ana Ortiz answers:
I guess being in New York, you always have a certain affinity for
anyone who lives in Gotham. But I was raised as a Superman girl,
because my dad is a Superman freak. I mean, he didn't name his kid
Kal-El or anything like that, but he is obsessed with Superman and he
loves Smallville. When I got the job on Ugly Betty, and they told us
were were going to air on Thursdays at 8 p.m., I told my parents and
my own father started saying 'What am I going to do? What am I going
to do?' It's because we were going to air against Smallville. He kept
asking 'What am I going to do? I can't miss my Smallville?' I told him
- 'Dad, you're going to watch Ugly Betty.' Ultimately, we had to get
him a TIVO. But I couldn't even believe it was a quandary.

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