Method acting is a notorious form of rehearsal that many actors get a bad reputation for, but none have mastered it like Christian Bale. His physical transformations are iconic and a testament to his dedication. From losing a surprising amount of weight for The Machinist to bulking up to play Batman, Bale’s dedication is unmatched in the film industry. Sometimes, voice actors also need to utilize method acting, and it seems that the cast of Solo Leveling has adopted it.
Taito Ban and Aleks Le, the Japanese and English voice actors for the protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, talked extensively about what they did to prepare for the role. While it was easy to connect with the protagonist’s mentality, the voice actors spoke about wanting to connect with his physicality and ended up building muscle for the role. It must not have been an easy feat, but it shows their dedication to portraying Sung Jinwoo and giving Solo Leveling fans the best experience possible.
Portraying Sung Jinwoo’s Transformation in Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling revolves around Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist who begins as the weakest hunter, but due to a series of very unfortunate events, he is now known as the most powerful and formidable hunter in the world. His transformation from an underdog to a force to be reckoned with is the core of the series, and it’s not just mental growth, but a physical one as well.
In an interview with the voice actors for Sung Jinwoo, Taito Ban and Aleks Le discuss their preparation for the role. Ban comments on Jinwoo’s muscular physique:
As the series progresses, his physique gets a lot better. And he gets more buff. So I thought the tone of voice should be matching the physique. So I would start pretty hunched back in episode one. And as the episodes went by and the series continued, I noticed my posture kept getting better and better and better.
Aleks Le, on the other hand, opens up about the mental side of Jinwoo’s progression and how he felt connected to it:
There’s a lot of things that resonate with me about his grievances with life and how he’s treated and stuff like that. And I feel like when I was younger, starting out in this industry, I also faced a lot of ridicule for being somebody younger or for being less confident. It was easy for me to connect with those emotions.
Thus, it’s also about the mental growth that comes with the physical growth that both voice actors felt in their preparation for portraying Sung Jinwoo accurately.
How Method Acting Can Also Work WRT Voice Acting
Taito Ban and Aleks Le’s decision to bulk up with Sung Jinwoo’s character is a testament that method acting and real acting aren’t limited to live-action. So much thought goes into portraying a character purely through voice, and the pressure to nail the role is still heavy on voice actors.
Voice acting is a serious career that requires a lot of mental preparation, and sometimes, they need to get to the physical side to connect with their characters, just like how Christian Bale lost weight or muscled up for his roles. We hear stories of voice actors crying during emotional scenes, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Solo Leveling voice actors took it to the next level to connect with Sung Jinwoo.
Solo Leveling is available on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
