Exclusive: SungWon Cho On Lackadaisy, Aggretsuko, and Voicing Villains

 

Known as ProZD online, Cho’s voice acting performances highlight his impressive range, with roles in everything from Big City Greens, Borderlands 3, and Craig of the Creek.  Far from “just” a voice actor, he also boasts a varied online repertoire that ranges from comedic skits (frequently sporting a fake mustache, and occasionally a monocle), to review videos for various snack foods, to charitable efforts organized around gaming. But one of the most impressive parts of Cho’s career is a also bit of a full circle moment: his official casting in the upcoming Lackadaisy cartoon, based on the comic by Tracy Butler.

In this exclusive interview, we caught up with Cho for some rapid-fire questions about his journey from comic fandubs to official cast, and his approach to voice acting in general.

Marley: What kinds of characters make you think “Oh, I HAVE to voice them?”

SungWon: I never feel this way. I’ve often found I’m very pleasantly surprised even by characters I didn’t have that many expectations for going in. Every character I’ve played has had something fun or unique about them.

Marley: Who’s your favorite character that you’ve voiced?

SungWon: Hyodo from Aggretsuko and FL4K from Borderlands 3 are two of my favorites just because I got to spend the most time with both of them. They feature heavily in their respective stories, so I became very attached to and comfortable voicing them. It’s really gratifying for me to feel like I’m sort of developing with the character as I voice them more and more.

Marley: I’m personally a huge fan of characters you’ve voiced that are different than they seem at first (Hyodo from Aggretsuko, Ultra-Sam S380 from Tuca & Bertie come to mind.) What’s your approach to these “bait and switch” situations?

SungWon: Those are a lot of fun because you get to play with different areas of your range. Both of the characters you mentioned come across a certain way personality-wise when you first hear them, so it’s a joy to get to surprise the audience and show wildly different facets of the character’s personality while still staying true to the character. I think the reason people like Hyodo so much is because he’s such a surprising character in a lot of ways.

Marley: Do you ever worry about being typecast?

SungWon: Honestly, I’m just happy to work. But I do think I’ve demonstrated that I can play a wide range of characters. I think if you looked at all of the characters I’ve played, it would be difficult to try and label them as just one thing.

Marley: Tell me a bit about your journey from comic dubs of Lackadaisy to being part of the official cast! Did you always want to be Mordecai? What was the audition process like?

SungWon: Lackadaisy comic dubs were some of the earliest ways I got voice acting practice, so getting to be a part of the official cast as my favorite character no less was an absolute thrill. I posted these comic dubs many years ago, and Tracy Butler was kind enough to reblog them. When they were casting the characters for the official film, Tracy was asked who would be the best reference for Mordecai’s voice, and she told the director that I was the canon voice in her head. So I didn’t even audition, my comic dubs served as an audition in a sense. I never dreamed I would get to play this character officially, so I was very excited when they asked me.

Marley: Since you voice a lot of villains, what, in your opinion, makes an interesting “bad guy”?

SungWon: A complex personality and well-written dialogue is always the best. If it’s a character voice I haven’t really done before, that’s always a fun challenge. Really hammy villains are an absolute joy to play. Bad guys in general are usually more fun to play than the good guys.