Zach Callison, who voices the loveable Steven on Steven Universe, is a triple threat.
Actor, musician, and soon to be series creator.
(Callison moderating the Steven Universe panel at SDCC.
Photo courtesy ofDeedee Magno Hall.)
What inspired you to wear that today?
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This is my style now.
My designers father was the designer for Elvis.
They do a lot of Rock and Roll stuff out of Memphis and he hooked me up with this.
Its hard for him to maintain that.
I think thats one of his major struggles as the show goes on.
I try not to do that as much.
The writers are really good at their jobs so its hard for me to theorize.
Theyre there to support but they reach a point where theres only so much they can tell him.
I hope he finds some contentedness and peace at some point.
How do you approach that to keep it interesting?
A lot of examples of expository dialogue in any medium is really hard to make legitimate and not explanatory.
The writers do a really good job at keeping it natural.
I talk to myself a lot, he has liberty to do that as well.
The show is calledSteven Universeand it is litereally from the perspective of Steven.
Theres no episode of the entire show were not seeing the show through Stevens eyes.
I think that gear of having him speak to himself and inform of the audience whats going on.
Its also a kids show and it helps in that way.
Whats the most challenging thing about voicing Steven in season four?
By season four my voice had finished changing.
I really found a way to be stable in that.
Plus, my character is much easier by comparison now.
He lives in my head, Ive spent so much time with the character its second nature.
Its harder to do new characters because you havent been able to give them the time they deserve.
Id say its more the physical limitations than the emotional or mental capabilities anymore.
(Photo courtesy of Zach CallisonsInstagram.)
How has growing up with Steven changed you?
I talk about the arc of my life vs. Stevens life.
Weve both sort of grown up alongside each other.
Finding who he is, growing up, a lot of additional responsibility placed on his shoulders.
I think its been a very interesting dynamic.
Rebecca said early on they wanted a real kid to play Steven and thats the benefit of doing that.
Im getting the real kid experience of Steven.
They really care about the message they are putting out and have a passion for the work they do.
Just that experience alone of working with the people onSteven Universehas been very formative for me.
What is your favorite aspect of Steven?
I love that he has a sense of humor even in the worst situations.
Also that he always gives people a chance.
A great example is in Bismuth and throws something at her and yells, Look out!
but theyre fighting and shes actively trying to get him.
Its very insightful to who Steven is.
Violence is always the last resort.
What was your biggest shocking moment in the series?
The whole Lars thing was definitely a tough one.
I knew about it coming up a few weeks in advance.
Then on screen… wow, thats a little rough.
It was in a good way, it was very dramatic.
The scene was a challenge and a good way to act.
I call that actor candy.
The writers give us a lot of that on this show, which is very fortunate.
What was it like to kind of Jesus Lars back to life?
Jesus as a verb!
It was really cool.
The relationship between Steven and Lars has always been rocky.
Steven is always the one wanting to be his friend and Lars has not always been there.
Theres been times when Lars was insecure in who he is.
Its an example of Steven talking to someone and bridge that gap.
It works sometimes like with some of the newer Gems like Lapis and Peridot he spoke to their soul.
With Lars hes tried to distance himself in a lot of ways.
It was a very rough movement but I think their relationship will be stronger for it.
Ive never resurrected someone from the dead.
Theres a lot of life left to live, well see.
I didnt grow for a very long time.
It wasnt bullying, per se, but like I have to be cool and youre not cool.
I dont wanna be around you.
I sort of understand (the Lars/Steven) dynamic because of that.
Im not naming any names.
So youre quite a musician.
Piano, dabbling in alt rock.
Do you play any Steven Universe music?
I havent learned any of the songs from the show.
I love doing covers.
I took them all down because of me being very young.
Im playing less covers than I should.
I want to take the time to learn more but its been all about writing for me lately.
Writing songs, getting in the studio with my producers, making them happen.
Dropping the single this fall ideally.
From there start gigging and do what I love.
Will you be doing it under your name?
Yeah, Ill be playing as Zach Callison.
Ill be hiring a band for my live shows and doing it the rock way.
Have you talked to Rebecca, or Aivi & Surasshu about playing around with music and experimenting together?
Yeah, Ive sent a couple of my tracks to Rebecca for notes.
I appreciate her musical mind so much and shes so good at what she does.
Youve mentioned youre working on the Zach Callison show?
Yes, thank you for asking.
Thats in the works right now, we were doing some shooting earlier in the week actually.
Its a sketch comedy show about making a sketch comedy show.
We have our digital short sketches and our live stage sketches and also these intros.
Theres sort of a character development aspect where Im playing a charectetized version of myself.
Without giving away too much before it comes out, Im teasing it on my social media.
Were currently finishing production, getting out edits out, and start pitching it.
It was initially going to be on my YouTube and now weve had some interest.
Ideally well get a couple extra seasons to make it a proper production.
Thats a big dynamic for Steven as the show goes on.
He just wanted to meet his mom at first.
He still doesnt know definitive answers about a lot of things.
Thats going to be a struggle for Steven for awhile.
What will it take for him to forgive her?
Atthis point, because I dont know the whole story, I cant say.
I dont think Steven knows if he can at this point.
Thats a future thing Ill have to find out eventually.
If you need a great actor, youve come to the right guy!
And the Peter Pizzapapalis thing, thats a more recent one.
Not a plan from the beginning.
Now they just sprinkle that in when hes being goofy.
Its a lot of fun.
Lets discuss the depth of Cookie Cat.
Its kind of predicted the whole show.
Yeah, Ive read some fan commentary on that.
I didnt even think, once I found about, Guess what, theyre aliens!
Cause that was one of the first episodes we recorded.
I never actually asked her (Rebecca) if that was intentional or not.
How does it feel that Cookie Cat has really blown up?
Its awesome to have people be so gung ho about the show from episode one was really cool.
From them to me and Grace (Connie), I always said Rebecca nailed the casting.
Were very close to our characters, all of us, in real life.
I dont know how she did it.
The realatonship between Deedee and I, shes very much my second mom.
Michaela feels like a big sister realationshp for sure.
Weve been able to record together and become a family.
Theyre friends for life.
What can we look forward to in season five?
Its a bit of a murder mystery which is cool.
Theres a lot of potential for crazy story arcs which we may or may not pursue.
Were totally going to pursue them.
Ive said too much!
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