Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom follows the adventures of Momonga, a gamer who has been playing his favorite MMORPG game for a dozen years. But when the game begins to shut down its servers, Momonga logs in for the last time. After a freak accident, he soon finds himself transported into its world, cursed to play it indefinitely. Throughout his adventures, Momonga’s avatar ascends to the title of Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown, gaining a large following of loyal companions.
The film follows Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown as he rallies the Sorcerer Kingdom and its undead army to join the fight alongside the Sacred Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy in hopes of defeating the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth and his army of villainous demi-humans.
Bubbleblabber sat down with the voice behind Ains Ooal Gown, Christopher Guerrero, and Sarah Wiedenheft, who portrays Overlord newcomer Neia Baraja. The pair discuss the lore behind the popular anime, what their Overlord characters meant to them, and why lip flaps can sometimes get in the way of a good monologue.
Matthew Swigonski: Can you each describe your characters and point to a key trait that makes them unique? What makes them compelling in your eyes?
Christopher Guerrero: I voice Ains Ooal Gown, in the movie Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom and my key identifying trait for Ains is falling upwards. No matter what he does, it always works out in some way, somehow. And to his relief… or not relief, he just keeps getting deeper in the hole.
Sarah Wiedenheft: I voice Neia Baraja. I would say her drive and always wanting to do the most just thing. Like, no matter what, she seems to always push as hard as she can, for whatever she deems is right. And that can sometimes get you into trouble. But no matter what, she’s so passionate. And that’s what is incredible about her.
Matthew Swigonski: You have one character who is as established as you can get, while the other is a new entry into Overlord. From each of your perspectives, what is the greatest challenge in your respective role?
Christopher Guerrero: I’ve had four seasons, a spin-off, and I do the audiobook. I’ve been with this character for a while, so it’s easy for me to kind of go into it. But I’d say the biggest challenge for me is really a technical one. The voice is way deeper in my chest, but when I do that, sometimes it kind of constricts my mouth while doing it. So I have to warm up so I’m not a mush-mouth, or my words come out unclean. So I always have to practice my diction beforehand, because who wants to follow an Overlord who keeps speaking gibberish? It’s like “What did he say again? He’s got no lips, how is he messing up?”
Sarah Wiedenheft: I quite literally have that problem all the time, but it doesn’t matter what I do. My mouth is like, “Oh, you wanted to speak English today. Is it your job? Well, that’s just too bad!” [laughs]
Christopher Guerrero: [As] Overlord, you sometimes just get these big chunks of dialogue and sometimes it can be very technical or politically driven. It’s like, “Oh boy, let me read through that.”
Sarah Wiedenheft: And saying new names. Trying to pronounce things correctly, yeah. Things you’re not used to, that tends to be very challenging for me.
Christopher Guerrero: Exactly, and it’s a fantasy. So it’s like all these names that aren’t pre-established already. So it’s like a new species, and you’re like, “How’d they say that again!?”
Matthew Swigonski: I mean, if I was in your shoes, I’d just be doing a lot of “Hey, you.” or “What’s up, bud?” So is that the biggest challenge of being a dub actor?
Christopher Guerrero: Especially when you’re coming into a role for the first time. It’s just establishing the voice, the personality, you know? Kind of laying the groundwork there before you probably record a few lines. Just get into the mindset, or find the character voice. Doing Ains, of course, I have the two voices. The inner voice and the outer voice. I think we did a little back and forth, initially, on how we wanted these voices to sound distinct and different. So that’s always a process in the beginning.
So maybe it just depends on what you’re doing. Could be 10-15 minutes. And also preparing for a certain role. Sometimes you go into the studio one day and it’s like, “Okay, this episode… it’s gonna be very emotionally raw.” So just kind of getting yourself into that headspace, dealing with a tragedy or something like that. Just kind of like getting into that zone, so you’re authentically portraying that moment.
Matthew Swigonski: The premise of Overlord is essentially every kid’s fantasy. For anyone not familiar with the series, what makes Overlord stick out? What’s your elevator pitch to entice them to check it out?
Christopher Guerrero: I know this can be a certain red flag for people when you say Isekai, but it’s not your typical Isekai. It is not your young happy-go-lucky protagonist who’s trapped in the game where they are leveled up and everything already. But from the perspective of an adult man, because usually you don’t have a main character in their 30s, it’s kind of hard to tell when you’re all bones.
We’re coming from the perspective of someone that is non-human. Well, they’re non-human, but they are obviously human from the world but they’re slowly losing their humanity. So it’s a dark Isekai. He’s got a harem, but he’s all bones so he can’t do anything about that. Which is always a nice little comedic moment whenever that pops up in the series.
Sarah Wiedenheft: Yes, it’s also that he can’t feel too.
Christopher Guerrero: He can have pings of emotion, but because of him being a lich, his emotions are suppressed. So if he feels happy, that quickly gets kiboshed. You can feel these moments of intensity but they quickly are overwritten.
Sarah Wiedenheft: I’m learning more about the character myself. I just got a glimpse of him.
Christopher Guerrero: So yes, it’s a dark power fantasy in a medieval world with dragons and magic. But of course, the Overlord is the Overlord, so he will squash anything in his way.
Matthew Swigonski: If you found yourself trapped in the world of Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom, what would be the first thing you’d do?
Christopher Guerrero: I’d find civilization and hope that… because I’m assuming I’m jumping into this world as like a human with no powers. I’m gonna go to Ains Nation and be like, “Can I join up with y’all? I’m gonna be safe here.” All I gotta say is like, “Praise be to Ains.”
Sarah Wiedenheft: [laughs] I think that’s the smart choice. I would just like to hide under a rock or something.
Christopher Guerrero: But if I did have powers, I’d probably check out the Adventurers Guild.
Sarah Wiedenheft: Ah, that’s fun.
Matthew Swigonski: I was gonna say, there’s the smart choice and then there’s always the fun choice. I mean, you gotta try to find a happy median there.
Christopher Guerrero: Maybe I’d get into potion manufacturing.
Matthew Swigonski: Okay, there you go.
Christopher Guerrero: Yeah. Let me see what that’s all about.
Matthew Swigonski: So were either of you familiar with the novel before the series?
Christopher Guerrero: I was. Actually, it was funny because I had just finished recording the light novel for the Holy Kingdom arc before recording the movie. So it’s one of those rare instances where I know the story, but now I see everything with visuals. So, that was cool to be like, “Oh, how does this play out?” I had it in my imagination but now I can see what the directors and animators had in their minds.
Sarah Wiedenheft: I hadn’t read it, unfortunately.
Matthew Swigonski: How do you each approach voicing a dub? Are you torn between honoring the original performance, or are you more worried about bringing something new to the table?
Christopher Guerrero: I want to try to emulate what the original actor was doing. But, you know, have my own personality for the role as long as I’m honoring the character. I don’t think it has to be a one-to-one comparison. As long as you’re being true to the character, in the story. I don’t try to emulate the actor’s tone of voice. Maybe just somewhere around that range or what’s comfortable for me.
Sarah Wiedenheft: Yes, exactly. Same for me. There are some moments where a director might actually want you to sound very much like them, but in most cases, they have cast you because you already sound like you’re in that range. So I don’t know if you get too wrapped up in trying to sound like somebody. I feel like you’re losing what you need to grasp from the character. It’s more important to figure out the intentions of your characters in the moment, rather than trying to sound like someone else.
Matthew Swigonski: Could you describe or do a short walkthrough of the recording process for Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom and how that compares to other projects that you’ve worked on?
Christopher Guerrero: I got lucky because, with Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom, I don’t have lip flaps. His barely ever move. Maybe it opens in surprise. So all I have to do is come in, we preview what we’re gonna record, maybe do two, three little chunks of lines. And all I have to do is just fit where the original Japanese ended up. I just have to make sure I’m out by the time the Japanese is out. So I don’t have to do anything super technical with it. It is just like “Okay, Chris. Just say the lines and make sure you’re out by the time they’re out.” I’m like, “Sounds good to me.”
Sarah Wiedenheft: [laughs] Yeah. You’re so lucky. My girl has a flapping parade.
Christopher Guerrero: That’s amazing. [laughs] Oh man. I lucked out on this one.
Matthew Swigonski: What was the most fun experience while working on Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom? The most memorable experience you have.
Sarah Wiedenheft: I feel like there’s a lot I can’t say because I don’t want to spoil anything. Being able to voice a Paladin for the first time. It was truly an honor because I’ve always wanted to be able to be a strong-willed character.
Christopher Guerrero: For me, some of my favorite moments are the lighter moments where they’re at his Tomb of Nazarick. And it’s just the rare glimpses of them being goofy together. And people think Ains is saying one thing when he’s just being very plain about what he says. Like, “Ah, I’m finding meaning in this, okay?”
And they’re like “He wants me to go eliminate these people.” And then he’s like, “I didn’t mean that at all.” Then he just plays off. “Yes, of course, that’s what I was thinking. Ah of course you can extrapolate that from my mere words.” So those moments of comedy and everybody just being such an Ains fanboy.
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom hits theaters on November 8.
