Shock Till You Drop: Tell us about your character, Edgar
Atticus Shaffer: Edgar in Frankenweenie is kind of like the Igor character. He has a hunchback and Peter Lorre accent. He is friends with Victor. He is the strange kid in class. He really wants to be friends with Victor because Victor is a scientist. He wants to work with him on a science fair project. He pursues Victor and through the movie finds out what Victor has done. He becomes more and more attached to Victor as the film progresses.
Shock: What did you do to prepare yourself for the role? Did you watch the original short?
Shaffer: I didnt know that there was an original Frankenweenie. When I first read for the part, they said that they wanted it in a normal voice. Then, during the callback, they said they wanted it in a Peter Lorre accent. So, my mom and I rented Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, and just sat there and watched Peter Lorre. When we went in for the callback, they played the entire original short for us while we were waiting. Then, I was able to see the whole thing. I got to see the original Edgar and all of that.
Shock: What was you experience working with Tim Burton?
Shaffer: It was so much fun. It was amazing to see how he works. One of my favorite things about Tim is that he knows exactly what he wants. Hes not like some directors that have an idea but dont know exactly what they want. He knows precisely how he wants things and that helped me as an actor.
Shock: What was the production process like for you?
Shaffer: For the recording aspect, it was a lengthy time period, but I think thats normal for something of this magnitude. I did about four recording sessions. Some were linked together and others were more spaced out. I would come in and record something and then I would go back and re-record certain lines because of changes that Tim made. Then, we would go on to different stuff and gradually work towards new stuff.
Shock: What was your favorite part of the shoot?
Shaffer: I loved everything about it. It was so different and so ingenious to do stop motion and in black and white. It pays tribute to a lot of the older classic films. Its definitely different for me. Its one of the first times that Ive gotten to do an accent in a film. It let me branch out a little.
Shock: Whats up next for you?
Shaffer: Im still working on my show, The Middle. That will be coming up in August. Im also working on the newest season of Fishhooks. That should be starting relatively soon. Im really a fan of animation. Thats one of my favorite things to do. Thats why I got in the business. Hopefully I can find more animation projects to do.
