I had the chance to sit down and talk to Amanda Troop who voices Maggie Sawyer in the animated ‘The Death Of Superman’ film and was apart of the voice cast for the ‘Batman Unlimited’ Films.
INTERVIEWER: How did you first begin acting?
AMANDA TROOP: I grew up an Army Brat, and when my dad retired from the Army, our family moved to Florida. We didn’t know anyone, and my mom saw an opportunity for us to volunteer at the local community theater, The Naples Players. I started building and painting sets there on a regular basis, and before long my mom enrolled me in some summer acting classes. Initially, I didn’t think acting was for me, but during the final performance of the rock musical course I lost my stage fright and was totally hooked. I checked out all the books on acting I could find at the local library, and later got to play the role of Betty in “The Crucible,” which was my first role ever in a play. I still love to perform on stage whenever I get the opportunity.
INTERVIEWER: How did you land the role of Maggie Sawyer in ‘The Death of Superman’.
AMANDA TROOP: I had previously worked with the director, Wes Gleason, on a couple of the Batman Unlimited films, playing Gladys Windsmere. He thought of me for the role, and of course I was thrilled to get to play Maggie Sawyer! Wes is an excellent director and a friend, and I always love working with him. I think his talented voice direction shines in the performances in the final film.
INTERVIEWER: What inspiration did you use for the role of Maggie Sawyer?
AMANDA TROOP: I read up on her online, and also read comic books, including “Metropolis S.C.U.” (Special Crimes Unit) in which Sawyer is heavily featured. From there I took into account the circumstances of the script and created the characterization from there.
INTERVIEWER: You’ve voiced a character named Gladys Windsmere in two past Batman animated films, what can you tell our audience about that character and those movies in general?
AMANDA TROOP: Those films are a lot of fun because so many characters get to interact. For example, in Monster Mayhem, we get Joker, Scarecrow, Clayface, Silver Banshee, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Batman and more. It’s great to see the heroes join forces, but there’s something really entertaining about the villains coming together in a concerted effort to try to pull off some big caper. Gladys Windsmere is part of the upper crust society in Gotham City and an old friend of the Wayne family. She’s a bit of a gossip and a bit of a flirt. I took some inspiration for her from Maggie Smith’s character in Downton Abbey.
INTERVIEWER: Are there any other DC Comics characters that you would like to voice or act as in the future?
AMANDA TROOP: I’ve gotten to audition for Harley Quinn a number of times and I would love to one day land that role. I love the challenge of playing someone who is darkly flawed and unpredictable, and Harley embodies those qualities. On camera, I’d love to get to play Zatanna—a stage performing, magic wielding, superhero?? Sign me up!
INTERVIEWER: Are there any future and upcoming projects that you would like to promote?
AMANDA TROOP: I’m proud to be part of an incredible group of creative women, Ripley Improv. We wanted to move our art form from stage to screen, and now we’re producing our first feature film. It’s directed by one of the members of our group, the cast is all women, and the crew is majority female. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our kind of storytelling to the big screen. You can follow our journey by checking out RipleyImprov.com or @RipleyImprov on Twitter.
