The voice of Paddington in the new live-action / CG blend film starring everyone’s favourite hirsute Peruvian immigrant has been somewhat up and down of late. Firth and the film’s producers mutually agreed that he wasn’t finding quite the right tone for a character who was coming off younger than originally envisioned. Cue a search for a new set of vocal chords, one that has ended with Ben Whishaw stepping up to the mic.
Whishaw, currently best known as the fresh, younger version of Q from Skyfall, is the man now tasked with bringing new voice to the bear.
“I resisted a little bit, because I had a bad experience doing this kind of work in the past and I thought I was no good at it. But I was persuaded to go, slightly grudgingly,’ Whishaw tells Baz Bamigboye, admitting that he had “no relationship to Paddington whatsoever, other than that I knew he wore a duffle coat and a hat”. He was eventually convinced, however, by the idea that it’ll please his 18-month-old niece.
Now, he’ll be in a recording booth with a camera on his face to record his expressions to map onto the Paddington model. He’s joining a cast of actors who have already shot their roles, including Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman. You can find the latest trailer for the film lurking below, and we’re just going to leave this link here too. Paddington is out on November 28.