Biography

[on how he voiced Raúl with an American accent when he is in reality British] The American accent I didn't have too much trouble with; I had done it before for other things I worked on, and I watch a lot of American TV anyway. Sounding like I was pre-testosterone, that was just a case of me being pre-T when I did the voice work. I knew that was something I was about to start when I got the part and knew I would have to hold off if I wanted it to sound authentic. I think it was really important to me and the team as well that that authenticity was there. I was prepared to make that choice; there was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity. I'm pleased with how it turned out and excited to see where my new voice takes me now that I've been on T for a couple of years.

[after being asked on how does it feel to voice Raúl, the first trans character in a stop motion animated film] It's really cool. I'm so grateful that we have this kind of representation now, that kids can grow up seeing queer and trans characters on TV. There is a kind of pressure in knowing that I'm representing something that's bigger than me; that motivates me to do a good job, but it is also a little bit scary. I hope that people like what I've done with it because it's for the community as much as it is for me.

[on what was it like working with Henry Selick and doing the voice recording sessions for the role of Raúl] I recorded everything at the studio in London and had Henry [Selick] on Zoom reading all the parts. That was really cool - he was really fun to work with. I was a little bit nervous going into it because I had grown up watching his movies, so I was like, I have to be cool, I have to be normal. But it was a lot easier to relax and have fun in the studio than I thought it would be at first, everyone was so nice and put me at ease. They made me feel like my voice was appreciated and that they were happy with the work I was doing. It really helped my confidence a lot, those recording sessions. Having someone like that validate you and your work, it's kind of a dream.

[on how he inherited the voice over role of Raúl for the film Wendell & Wild]Like everyone else, I saw that they were looking for a trans Latino in the casting call on Twitter and thought I should give it a shot. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much but thought the project sounded really cool. I was just hoping they would vibe with me.

[on his reaction towards first seeing Raúl's design for the film Wendell & Wild] It was really cool, and a little bit spooky because there's a bit of a resemblance - I look pretty different now but at the time we had pretty much the same hair. I was like, 'Are you sure you did this before you knew who I was?'