November 19, 2023, 10:46 a.m. |
Reading time: 4 minutes
Mark Forster is many things: singer, songwriter, producer, entertainer, avowed fan of 1. FC Kaiserslautern and more. Since 2016, he has been able to write “voice actor” on his resume – even if the job appears to be different than what he imagined.
The singer Mark Forster, born in 1984, can be heard for the third time as the voice of Branch in the animated film “Trolls – Strong Together”. What he likes about his role is that his character really develops. “In the first part he was a really weird little troll. He was very grumpy and withdrawn and lived in a strange bunker. The more films go by, the more open and friendly he becomes, the closer he gets to his own feelings and can express them. I really like that,” says Mark Forster in the TECHBOOK interview. We also spoke to him about streaming services, Robert De Niro and the comeback of Nsync.
Mark Forster in the TECHBOOK interview
The latest “Trolls” film (in cinemas since October 19, 2023) is all about family. The troll Branche actually has four brothers with whom he sang in the boy band Brozone as a child. After a botched performance, the group splits up. Years later, they have to pull themselves together again to save Branch’s brother Floyd from evil pop stars.
Mark Forster likes the boy band theme of the film, as does the music – especially Nsync’s new single, “Better Place”. “It really is a huge surprise. I didn’t know about it myself until I came to this scene during the dubbing. Then I just thought to myself: Wait, is that Nsync?!” In the original, Nsync member Justin Timberlake speaks the little troll.
And even if he is fundamentally loyal to the superstar as the original voice actor, he would – at least in jest – be open to other offers: “So if Robert De Niro needs a new voice actor, I think that’s very, very suitable for me.”
Working as a voice actor was different than expected
In general, however, the topic of dubbing doesn’t seem to be too high on Mark Forster’s list of priorities. Although we can probably count on the German singer’s voice in further “Trolls” films, overall the work is significantly different than he initially assumed.
“I used to think we’d all get together, maybe dress a little like the Trolls and then the film would be dubbed.” That doesn’t seem to have been the case (unfortunately). So Mark Forster didn’t have much to do with his co-voice actors such as Nico Sablik (known in Germany as the voice of Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter, among others).
“Dubbing a film is a very lonely story. You are in front of a microphone with headphones and simply speak your sentences – not even the entire film, but you really speak sentence by sentence, by sentence, by sentence.” This is the usual procedure for so-called lip synchronization. It is particularly important that what is spoken matches the lip movements of the characters in the film, which is why small deviations in the translation are sometimes accepted if the content is still roughly the same.
Mark Forster is a series fan
Even though the singer generally keeps a low profile about his private life, it is known that he is a big fan of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. When asked how he watches football games, he admits that he hardly watches linear television anymore. “Unfortunately, linear TV watching for me is limited to hotels.”
Otherwise he is there like everyone else; he has many different streaming services from which he would then choose films and series accordingly. He couldn’t recommend a single provider. He likes to browse through media libraries and has a specific series tip ready; He is currently fond of the series “Succession”.
And Mark Forster also seems to be a fan of “Rick and Morty”. When asked whether he could imagine voicing several roles in a production and experimenting with his voice, he replied with a laugh that he could absolutely imagine voicing a complete season of the popular animated series.