In the world of voice acting, there are few modern legends that can compare to Mel Blanc or June Foray. However, Jim Cummings is one of those individuals, in part due to the sheer number of credits to his name. Not only are there stories about Cummings filling in for Jeremy Irons on The Lion King, but he built a long, sustained career creating his own icons. Some of his most iconic voices include Darkwing Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Pete, and Ray from The Princess and the Frog. With The King of Kings, FandomWire had a chance to speak with him about his performance.
Below is a condensed version of the interview, edited for length and clarity. The full interview is available on YouTube here.
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The King of Kings Interview with Jim Cummings
FandomWire: You are a huge inspiration in the voice acting world for a lot of us. But let’s start with your latest feature. In King of Kings, you actually voice three different characters. Can you tell us what it’s like for you as a vocal performer to split those characters and provide the motivation behind their different voices?
Jim Cummings: I guess in those performances, well, they’re certainly varied. I have to say that my favorite part of the movie is when Jesus cures my blindness. It appeals enormously to me. I’m an old altar boy, from our mass down at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, Ohio. This is a dream to me.
I’ve said it before. It’s literally the greatest story ever told. Then, it’s being retold by Charles Dickens, one of the greatest authors ever. What’s not to love? Then you look at the cast. I mean, Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Forest Whitaker. These are A-list people all the way down the line, including my old buddy, James Arnold Taylor. It’s a true honor to be involved in something of this magnitude, depth, and beauty. It’s wonderful.
FandomWire: You’ve been in productions that have had A-list talent before. One of the things that stood out to me when I was looking at King of Kings is how deep the talent is among the voice actors. Specifically, you already mentioned James Arnold Taylor. What was it like to work on a film that has so much devotion to the craft of voice acting?
Jim Cummings: Well, I didn’t think of it in that way, but it was wonderful. It shows when people care. It shows when people love what they do, and Lord knows I love what I do. I’ve worked with many movie stars, and they bring their own special spin, special approach to it. They have such a deep appreciation for really just people who are voice actors.
I can remember, not to be name-dropping, the great Rita Moreno. She won every award there is, and she really enjoyed the freedom it gave her. It didn’t matter how she looked, it didn’t matter what she was wearing, it didn’t matter how her makeup was. No one could see it, and you had to pour everything, every aspect of the character, into the voice and your acting. Into the musicality of it. It all had to be into the microphone.
She was joking, but she says that anybody can be an actor if you can cheat and use your face. I thought, oh, yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Because you literally have to put it all into the voice, your acting chops, and it’s an interesting discipline. It’s very rewarding for me.
FandomWire: What was it like for you to go into the booth in this particular film and know that you’re bringing a story like the story of Jesus to life?
Jim Cummings: It was an honor, just plain and simple. It’s one that everybody knows. Literally everybody knows, and the challenge, I think, is to keep it interesting and moving along. To keep the beauty of Jesus alive. And they did such a beautiful job. In The King of Kings, they touched on everything.
His bravery was there. The fact that he was one man against, ultimately, the world. Even his 12 disciples had wavered at one point. You know, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings finally says it all. He was never elected. He didn’t have a country of his own. But he had all of us. You know, he’s the only king for everyone who was ever born was his subject.
FandomWire: One of the reasons that people are going to be so excited to talk to you is your incredible career, that you’ve been able to do everything from, you know, Disney to King of Kings. How does working on a movie like this compare to something in terms of just the process of filming it, like The Lion King or Winnie the Pooh, or any of your many Disney credits?
Jim Cummings: Well, the process is all very much the same. You’re in your anointed studio, and you’re doing your thing. We all recorded it separately, so we didn’t have each other to play off. It took so long to make. You know, Pierce Brosnan was in England, and so was Sir Ben Kingsley. It’s hard to get that cast all in one room. The challenge was to make sure the continuity was there. That it felt like you were acting and reacting. Because acting is part reacting. I think they did a magnificent job, and I’m just grateful to be a small part of this magnificent enterprise.
FandomWire: I was a big proponent, back when Christopher Robin came out, of you actually getting Oscar-nominated for your vocal performance for Winnie the Pooh.
Jim Cummings: Well, it would have been fine with me.
FandomWire: It’s one of those things where I cannot believe how good your performance was in that role in that particular movie. But also, it feels like there are times when vocal performances are just an underappreciated art. I guess I wanted your opinion to see. Do you actually think that if they were to add an Oscar for vocal performance, it would be something that would help your industry? Or would you think it would be something that would potentially make it harder for performers like you, who have created these characters over many years, to find your position in the industry?
Jim Cummings: No, it wouldn’t make it harder. I don’t know how it would do that. It would be fine with me. They want to do some backlogging there. Yeah, you can nominate me for anything. I’ll take it. I don’t know any of my colleagues who would say, “Well, I don’t know. I don’t want that kind of pressure.” Sure, we do. Go ahead, give it to us, it would be just fine. I’ll tell you what, Alan. You get the ball rolling, and we’ll push it. How’s that?
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FandomWire: One of your other huge roles that you’ve taken on that’s gotten a lot of traction recently is Darkwing Duck. Tell us about what it’s like to voice a character that is so zany like that, and then potentially reprising him in the future.
Jim Cummings: [in the Darkwing Duck voice] Well, I am the terror that flaps of the night, I can assure you, Launchpad. [returning to his normal voice] He’s one of my all-time favorites. You know, I like doing the classic characters like Pooh and Tigger for Disney. Pete, of course, he’s good old Pete dear. Well, he’s tied for first place as the oldest Disney character because he was in Steamboat Willie. So you know it’s an honor. But as far as bringing back Darkwing, I’m just glad that everybody is behind it and they want to see it happen. Stay tuned.
FandomWire: Well, and he’s made it. Some other characters have made appearances in recent Disney animated shows. So fingers crossed that we see him sooner rather than later. Is there any character that you have not performed from the Disney lexicon that you wish you could have or might in the future?
Jim Cummings: No, no, that would be tantamount to envy. I’m very happy with my lot in life. When I go to conventions and things like that, the fans will tell me, “Well, did you know that you had 611 characters?” I know I didn’t, or, you know, but I’m glad that other people are keeping tabs on it. If I need to catch up with something, I just go to the interwebs, and the interwebs will tell me what I need to know.
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FandomWire: Thank you for your time, Mr. Cummings. I very much appreciate you sitting down and speaking with us about The King of Kings. As audiences go to see this movie, what is the big thing you hope that they take away from your film?
JIM CUMMINGS: Well, I hope they take away that in this crazy world that we live in now, there is a place you can go in your heart and in your soul, where you can find solace, You can find salvation, and you can find love, and that’s your own personal belief in God. It’s very personal, but yet it’s also universal, and it applies to each of us. It’s the kind of thing that you can tap into, and the Lord will get you through some incredibly tough times. And these are interesting times, aren’t they? I think we could all use that vital connection. It’s literally heaven-sent.
Before you go, I want to invite everybody to check out my podcast. Toon’d In with Jim Cummings, to like and subscribe on Spotify and YouTube, etc., etc. And be careful, because, like I said, Darkwing Duck could be coming back. AND IT IS! So stay tuned.
The King of Kings is in theaters now. Angel Studios distributed.
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