Interview with Charlie Tahan, Robert Capron and Atticus Shaffer: Young Voices of Frankenweenie

When I was out in L.A. last month, before I attended the red carpet premiere of Frankenweenie, I was able to interview three of the young actors who voiced child characters in the movie-- Charlie Tahan (voice of Victor Frankenstein), Robert Capron (voice of Bob) and Atticus Shaffer (voice of Edgar “E” Gore). I was surprised to find out that each of these young men are just 14 years old; they were so well spoken, and you could tell by their enthusiasm just how much they loved working with Tim Burton, and being a part of Frankenweenie.

Check out some of my interview below -- and then go see the movie! Frankenweenie is now in theaters!

What was it like working with Tim Burton?

Charlie Tahan: Well, he’s surprisingly normal. I didn't expect him to be like a scary guy but, he knows how he wants each scene to be. Frankenweenie is really pretty personal to him, I think, and it's sort of about his childhood. I think that he knows exactly how he wants shot or scene to go.

Atticus Shaffer: My favorite part of him in particular was the fact that he is so creative.  He doesn't want to follow the crowd or be a part of the big machine. He wants to do his own thing.  He wants to be creative, groundbreaking. Being a part of his mindset, his world, was just phenomenal for me. 

Robert Capron: The thing I liked about Tim was that he definitely had a specific idea of how he wanted every line to be. And that's one of the things I like about a director, is when they know like exactly what they want.  I think that's really cool for someone to just know what they're doing.

What was your favorite thing about your character? 

Charlie Tahan: Victor is kind of like loosely based on Tim’s childhood, I think a little bit. … He’s like been one of my favorite directors, so I was honored to be able to sort of play him.

Atticus Shaffer: For me, the- the characters that I normally play are either my voice, they are kind of the very calm eye in the storm characters ...  And, some are smart, you know, they know how to figure out problems and whatnot.  But then this one, he’s just so over the top. And he’s kind of like a semi villain, he loves everything more big and over the top. Also, being able to do the impression of Peter Lorre for the voice is just awesome for me.

Robert Capron: The thing I like the most about Bob is that despite the fact that he’s like a really big guy, like his character, like he’s huge.  Despite the fact that he’s really big and he could very easily be a bully, he’s not. He’s actually a very nice person.  That was one of the things I liked about his character.

Do you have any pets?

Atticus Shaffer: Yes a great many, a great many … I have chickens,  two dogs, a rabbit and five cats.  After we had finished recording, a dog that we had for six years passed away ... so I became even closer to the film and I definitely knew how Victor must have felt and how a lot of people have felt. I feel like this film is another way of paying tribute to them, because it does show that you can be that bonded to an animal or a person, or a thing.  And you would go to whatever extent possible in your world to either honor them in memory, or to bring them back.

Charlie Tahan: I have a dog named Samantha.

Robert Capron: I have three pets. I have a cat, a dog, and a rabbit.

Photo credit: Louise at MomStart

Special thanks to Walt Disney Pictures for providing the opportunity to attend the red carpet premiere of Frankenweenie. All opinions are my own.