This is the FCB Podcast Network. This is The Outlaws Extra. Welcome to the special edition of The Outlaws. This is Darth Yoda Kington Tomorrow. I don't forget too Like us on Facebook at Facebook dot com, slash the Outlaws Radio, follow us on Twitter and Instagram is the Outlaws Radio. And it is that time again in the city of Cleveland. This Fan Expo Cleveland where they have this big convention where you get to meet some of your favorite celebrities and actors and actresses, voice actors, voice actresses, cartoonists, you know, you name it, and we've been covering it for several years and we've had that honor to do so. And thank you to everybody at Fanexpot for always being hospitable to us. And as always, we have some great interviews for you, and we are going to do like we always do on Outlaws Extras. We're going to take a break now and then when we come back, we'll get to the interviews in its entirety. So stay tuned. You're listening to The Outlaws Extra. These days, it seems like everybody's talking, but no one is actually listening to the things they're saying. Critical thinking, isn't dead, but it's definitely low on oxygen. Join me Kira Davis on Just Listen to Yourself every week as we reason through issues big and small, critique our own ideas, and learn to draw our talking points all the way out to their logical conclusions. Subscribe to Just Listen to Yourself with Kira Davis and FCB Radio podcast on Apple, on Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fuck up, sir, pray, Yeah, welcome back. We're gonna jump right into our interviews from Fan Expo Cleveland. All right, we are still here at Fan Expo Cleveland, and we have the voice of an iconic figure, the voice of Dora the Explorer, Kathleen Hurless. Welcome. How you doing Hi, I'm doing well. Thank you for speaking with me, absolutely, thank you for spending time with us. So first, when you first started to be a part of this project, be a part of Door to Sport, did you have any idea that it would become as massive as it did. No, not at all. I was actually cast when I was seven years old to work on the pilot, and we didn't know if it was going to get picked up. And then once it did, I got a chance to continue working with the show, and I voice stra for the first four seasons. So what was that like being a part of that experience, especially something that has grown to be as iconic as it. You know, I don't think I realized that when I was younger, how big of a show Dora was and how important she was. Like I knew she broke a lot of barriers within the Latino community, within children's programming, you know, with her being a Latina heroine, But I don't think I really fully understood, you know, I was still a kid, and as an adult now, especially doing the cons and meeting fans who grew up with the show, I can see it now with a different perspective and really understand and see how impactful the show was, how important it was, and how big it was. And she still is. She's like international, she's global, She's all over social media, like she's like a global phenomenon. It's incredible, absolutely, And that actually goes right into my next question about the importance of representation. Obviously, like you said, it broke barriers. Talk a little bit about now being able to see, like you said, you were a kid at first, but now being able to talk about how important Dora the Explorer was for representation. I mean, you know, there wasn't a lot of representation for Latinos, especially in children's programming. And I've heard it multiple times where people come up to me and say, you know, Dora was the only person on TV that looked like me. And to have that connection with an animated character too is really cool. But it also shows how important representation was needed at the time. And I think, you know, society in the world has gotten better with diversity and being more inclusive, but I still think there's a lot more work to do so and I don't know if the viewers know this, but Dora is back in a new series. It's the same Dora, same friends, She's going on different adventures, but her being reintroduced now to a new generation I think is really important because it also signifies that importance of representation that it's needed today. And I think we still need to have those conversations. There's still work to be done, absolutely, So let's talk a little bit about some of the things that you've done since Door at the Explorer. Talk a little bit about some of the other projects that you've worked on all that good stuff. So when I was a kid, I did go to school, so I did have to manage both work in school. But I was fortunate enough to do a lot of voiceover work with commercials. I was in New York, so that's where commercials happen a lot. I was on Sesame Street a few episodes. That was really fun. It was really hard to get into, but it was really cool to kind of see the behind the scenes of you know, the amazing puppeteers and be a part of that. I also, after Dora was recast, I was graduating from high school. I went to college for communications. I still took acting classes and tried to, you know, be an actor. I wanted to do on camera at the time, and I wasn't really landing, you know, those big roles that I was looking for, and I think after a while, I kind of lost a little bit of passion for acting and I moved into corporate. I found a job with a company for interior design. I worked on a hotel, and then I worked for a private firm, and then I was still auditioning, especially through COVID. You know, I lost my job at one point, and I still had that outlet where I could audition, you know. So I took that and then I got the opportunity to audition for the new series for Dora's Mom and that was weird because I was like, wow, how much time has passed, And I was like, wow, it would be really cool to be a part of it. But I also understood that there could be a possibility where I wasn't. And that's fine because I was so it's been so long. But when I found out I got the part, it was like all those memories like started flooding back, and I was so excited, so emotional because I'm an adult now and to kind of have Dora back in my life and to have all of the opportunities that come with it too. I had to really think, also, is this something that I want to do, like, because as an adult, you start a family, I'm married now, you know, There's a lot of different elements to think about. And I decided that if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it one hundred percent because that's how I like to do things. So I quit my corporate job and I decided to pursue a career in voice acting, and I am so excited and I can't wait to see where the next adventure takes me. Awesome, awesome, congratulations on all of your success as well. So as we as we wind down here, one thing that I always asks people is to give advice for people who may want to follow in the footsteps, and I think in this particular interview it's doubly important as a person of color. So talk a little bit about what give your advice for people who may want to follow the same path. Yeah. I mean, you know, if you talk to or listen to a lot of different actors, we all have different stories in different ways that we've kind of found our place in the industry. It's not easy. So I would also say, like, never give up if this is something you really want to do, like really try and pursue and persevere, because the industry will, you know, well try to you know, keep you from fighting for what you want. But I would also say, you know, especially if you were trying to pursue voice acting, it's still acting at the end of the day. So I would always say it's important to be connected to an acting school or a local theater if that's something that you can do just to kind of you know, pick up those skills of an actor. And then you know, there's so many resources online too where you can connect and take online classes for different types of voice acting or acting. And through those channels, I really do believe that you'll be able to make connections and kind of understand how to connect to an agent or make a demo and do all of these things. It's a lot of different steps, but you know, there's there are a lot of resources out there and once you get there, yeah, it'll it'll be a lot of fun. It's a lot of work, but social media two is a really a great tool. There's so many podcasts now that actors are doing that are giving a lot of advice on the industry. So yeah, I would say do a lot of research. Google will will give you answers if you ask the right questions, you know, and it's it's really awesome to be living in a time like that because there's so much available to us. Absolutely, let everybody know if you're on social media, how they can follow you, keep up with everything you got going on on a good stuff. You can follow me on Instagram. It's my name Kathleen Harless. I'm on TikTok, on YouTube as the Kathleen Harless because Kathleen Harless was taken, and yeah, follow me to hear more of anything upcoming that I might be doing. But also as I learn, I would love to share kind of my journey within the industry and I'll try to help other who are looking to pursue acting as well. Absolutely, thank you so much for spending time. Was We really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Bye. All Right, we are here at Fan Expo Cleveland with someone who's been in a host of projects that you all are aware of that you all know and love, but particularly Boy Meets World and my name is earl Ethan Souper. Welcome. How you doing, sir, I'm good. How are you? I'm good, I'm good man. So let's talk a little bit about your journey, Like what when did you know that you wanted to be an actor? This was you know, something that you want to do? Well? When I was a little kid, I mean I was raised in Los Angeles and there were some a couple actors in my school and the first kind of hint was that they got to spend a lot of time out of school and that was super appealing to me, Like not going to school was the first thing that was made acting interesting. Everybody could understand that. So as you as you continued on and got into your career, you were able to be a part of a lot of important and iconic projects. But let's let's first talk a little bit about Boy Meets World. What was it like? What was the experience like being on Boy Meets World? Boy Meets World was a lot of fun. My character was written to be in one episode and I wound up doing twenty five, I think, and you know, I think in the very first episode he was he was written as a kind of conflicted bully, which I liked. It was it was there was more dimensionality to him than than just like you know, a show about junior high where there's a bully, okay, but then this bully is like feels bad about it and wants to write poetry and stuff, which was interesting. So it was a lot of fun. Absolutely, And uh, talk a little bit about of course my name is Earl that you know everybody knows and loves that. What was that like being on My Name is Earl? That was a lot of fun. Working on that was really more like goofing off all day with very very brief interludes of work mixed into a day of just being silly and having fun. So, out of all of the roles that you've had, like, what do you think is your your favorite role, the role that you enjoyed the most. It's a television show called Chance on Hulu that nobody watched. We did two seasons, me and Hugh Lory, and and it's my favorite job I ever had. I think it's so awesome. So if your listeners want to see something interesting that they definitely didn't watch a TV show called Chance on Hulu, make sure y'all check that out. Chance on Hulu. And finally, for people who are listening and maybe interested in following that same career path, what advice would you give him? Show up on time and know your lines As far as like getting into it, I don't know because when I did it, the internet didn't exist, so like it's all changed, and I'm just kind of like I wouldn't know how to start today, you know, But if you want to do it, the best work ethic you can have is showing up on time and knowing your lines. All right, let everybody know how to follow you on social media? Whatever you're working on right now, if they want to keep up with your new projects and all that good stuff. I have a TV show that'll be on Amazon in October that I'm not allowed to talk about, so I didn't just say that. And you can follow me on Instagram at Ethan Sipple. All right, thank you so much, Surh for spending time with us. Really appreciate it, my pleasure. Thank you for having me. All Right, we are here at Fan Expo Cleve and we are with the creator of an amazing show of The Fairly OddParents. Butch Hartman, welcome. How are you doing so? I am good. It's good to be here in Cleveland. I am kind of a Browns fan, but more of a more of a Liance fan. But I'll take the Browns while I'm here. All right. Well, you know what, it's Midwest love, so that's all that matters. So talk a little bit about your journey, how you started, what made you interested in going into the space. You know, I grew up in the seventies where there was no Internet. I think people know that, but there was TV and I just loved watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Saturday morning cartoons and comic books are really what got me going as a kid, and I would use those as like everybody does. I just love to escape into those worlds. But then when it came to wanting to do it for a living, I really became interested in Disney cartoons because we really couldn't watch those very much as a kid unless they came out of the theater, and we didn't go to the theater that much of my house, so I would just watch stuff on TV. But Disney was sort of this unattainable goal. But then I found out that Disney had a college in California called cal Arts that taught animation. So I worked on my portfolio. I lived. I'm from Michigan originally, and so I thought, man, how's a kid from Michigan again to California. So I decided to make my portfolio good enough to get into the school. And I got into the school, and then I started taking classes at the school, met people in the industry, and I ended up just kind of getting connection after connection. But it's all hard work. It doesn't just fall out of the sky. You've got to really work hard. I do learn how to adapt my style, had to learn how to draw other people stuff even better than my own, because that's how you make a living. You get a job on this show, you learn how to draw this show. You got to draw on that show, you learn how to draw that show. So it's a real game of learning different styles. Absolutely, So talk a little bit about how you created the Fairly Parents, something that many of our listeners have fond memories of from their child. Talk a little bit about that. Oh, yeah, you got it. Yeah, I created Fairly on Parents really because I needed a job. I was working on Johnny Bravo at the time, and you know that's why, Hey Baby Johnny Bravo and Johnny Bravo was ending and I really didn't have a job. And I had a new baby at home and was like, you know, babies like food and everything. So I'd learned how to buy, learn how to you know, make a living, but I really was out of a job I wanted. I was at a point in my career I'd been working in the industry for about twelve years. I'm like, you know, I really need to make a show of my own so I can always be employed on the show. And so a friend of mine was at Nickelodeon. He was a producer. He said, why don't you create a show for me? Meet me on Friday. Do you have anything? And I said, I sure do. I got the greatest idea. I hung up the phone on Tuesday ad nothing. So I sat down on Tuesday and just sat there working on this thing. I drew. Timmy Turner was the first drawing that I drew because I'm I was a little boy, so I know how little boys think. I thought, if I could do a show about this little boy, that'd be cool. What can the little boy do? You? Could you have science abilities? But Dexter's Lab had already come out I wanted I didn't want to repeat that. So I thought magic could be a good way to do it. So I thought magic would be fun for this kid. I need to give him a magic friend. I thought of Wanda first, like a Cinderella thing, a fairy godmother. I've never seen a fairy godfather before. So I drew Wanda, and then I drew her husband, Cosmo, and I had this little boy. I named him Timmy Turner after my brother Tim. And then about literally about fifteen minutes, I had the show idea, and so it really came out of needing a job. Wow. Wow, So did you have any idea that it would take off the way that it did. I sort of really always knew it would be a success if I was given the ability to make it the way I wanted. I knew it would be a success, but I really didn't know for sure, of course, but I was like, I hope, I hope I get a chance to really explore this show as much as I want, create as many characters as I want, and get the time to do it as much as I want. So fortunately, Nickelodeon let me do that, and I was able to have as many seasons as I had and create as many characters as I wanted. So it was really really fun and I'm really glad to do that. Awesome, awesome, And so talk a little bit about some of the suf that you've worked on since the success of Fairly Yeah. Well, I created a show called Danny Phantom after that, and a show called Tough Puppy and a show called Bunsen Is a Beast for Nickelodeon. Danny Pantom just celebrated its twentieth anniversary, which I'm so excited about. A lot of Danny Fanno fans out there. And then I just created a brand new show that teaches kids the Bible called The Garden, and it's a Christian show. He just kids all about Jesus and about scripture, but it's really funny. So it's like fairly OddParents with scripture in it. And it has a little lion named Lenny and a little lamb named Lucy. They live and work in a miraculous garden where anything can grow, and you can check it out on a gardencartoon dot com. We have our own garden cartoon app as well, so check that out. Well, that's fantastic. I don't know if you can tell, but I have a cross in my ear rings here, so that's so that's that's definitely something that appeals to me as well. Absolutely. So as we wrap here, you know, for people who may be interested in following similar career path, what advice would you give to them, I would just say, really really keep practicing and don't give up. You're gonna have a lot of time alone when you're not getting any applause. Don't be doing this for the applause. Do it because you'd love it. But then you got to get smart about your business. End of things like you're making a product, which is you. You're the product. You have talent, you can sell it, but how do you sell it wisely? And you need to know how to get an agent and a manager. But you need to know the connections, like what studios need work, what studios need if they need this thing drawn, learn how to do that. If they need this thing drawng learn how to draw that. No one's going to knock on your door at first. You need to do all the knocking. So be ready to work and get out there and hustle and learn how to make yourself a viable product that can be sold. All right, let everybody know how to get in contact with you on social media, keep up with what you got going on all that good stuff. Yeah, you can find me on TikTok on Instagram, go to Butch Haartman dot net and you can follow me there and also ask Butchhartman dot com and get my email and email me there too. All right, thank you so much for spending this time with us. Appreciated. Thanks for the opportunity and as I say on my YouTube channel, gives you power use it wisely. Yes, sir, once again, thank you so much, to all of our guests. Uh from fan x quote we're spending some time with us coming on the show. We absolutely appreciate it and thank you to you of course for tuning in. As always, we will see you next time. Peace. This has been a presentation of the FCB podcast Network, where Real Talk lifts visitors online at fcbpodcasts dot com.
