I was able to sit down with Djimon Hounsou when he was in Chicago promoting his latest movie HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2. He voices the character of Drago Bludvist.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is the thrilling second chapter of the epic HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy and it does not disappoint! In the movie, the inseparable duo, Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless, must protect the peace – and save dragons from the power-hungry Drago Bludvist.
Here’s my interview with Djimon Hounsou…
Stacey: Hi Djimon, thank you for taking time to speak with me today. I went to see the movie last week with my two boys. My boys loved the movie and have a few questions for you. First, what was your favorite part of creating HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2?
Djimon: My favorite part was actually doing crazy things that I would not want anybody to see me doing. I would go into the recording booth- just me, the microphone, and the director – and make all kinds of crazy sounds to develop the character. It was very liberating and theatrical.
Stacey: Was this your first voice over?
Djimon: It was not my first voice over. I had done an animated TV series called the Black Panther… but this is my first animated feature.
Stacey: My boys wanted me to ask you about Drago Bludvist’s voice. How did you get your voice so deep?
Djimon: Great question. I did a number with my vocal cords. Sometimes I had to break my vocal cords to try to find Drago’s voice… and sometimes it would take me a week to recover from one session.
Stacey: On my blog, EvolvingStacey.com, I write about living your best life… body, mind, heart, and soul. My question is, if you woke up tomorrow with no fear, what would you do first?
Djimon: I try to wake up everyday without fear. Fear is so damaging and is our default system growing up… fear about anything. One of the reasons making HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 was so liberating was because I had to overcome fear every day when I was recording. I had to create something when I didn’t quite know what it was going to become. I also had to overcome the fear of my son thinking his daddy was very scary and not a very nice person playing all these mean characters.
I wake up everyday hoping to be focused and remembering I have a choice to think what I want to think… to direct my own course. Reality only becomes where the mind creates a focus… when you have a strong understanding of that, then you try to always have a positive outlook on things. You have to be a dreamer… and not be limited by anything.
Stacey: Do you have a daily practice that helps you stay focused on the positive?
Djimon: On any given day, you will be challenged by so many outside events and circumstances. I read inspiring things everyday to make sure I stay focused.
Stacey: How do you think kids can overcome fear?
Djimon: As a parent, you inspire them and most importantly, you remind them that anything is possible… that nothing is impossible. As long as they understand that, they’ll go a long way.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 was directed by Dean DeBlois, produced by Bonnie Arnold, and the screenplay was created by Dean DeBlois. In addition to Djimon Hounsou, the cast includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Kit Harington, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig.
To learn more about HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, go to https://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com.