The man behind Hulu's Hit-Monkey spoke with The Direct about the show’s upcoming Season 2, the new chaotic setting of New York City, and how his primate assassin differs from his other Marvel role as Devil Dinosaur.
The series follows a snow monkey who, after losing his tribe to an evil group of humans, takes it upon himself to take up arms and gun down every last person responsible.
To add to the wackiness of the whole situation, he is also straddled by the additional presence of Bryce, a ghost whose spirit can’t move on to the afterlife and who was the target of the hit that resulted in the death of Hit-Monkey’s tribe.
While the first season took place in Japan, Season 2 shakes things up by bringing the action to New York City.
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Fred Tatasciore on Hit-Monkey's Chaotic Shift to New York City
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Hit-Monkey star Fred Tatasciore spoke about Season 2 of his upcoming R-rated animated adventure and how the change to a chaotic New York City is perfect for the show.
The actor teased how the show's shift to New York City helps the series "[become] very much like the books:"
"There's so much more that can go wrong... So much more corruption and chaos... New York is great because there are a lot of vertical places, and there are a lot of places for a monkey to really get involved. It becomes very much like the books. And now that we have the supernatural element in it, there are ghosts and the devil. Are you kidding me? You know, and the end of the world? New York is the perfect place for it."
"New York is the perfect chaos," he added, with "just every kind of good and bad element:"
"There are more things that can happen; you can hide a little bit easier sometimes. And there's just every kind of good and bad element there, all in this one little place. It lends itself, New York is the perfect chaos. Also, for Monkey's loneliness—or not loneliness, but for sort of his trying to find himself in this very big city."
Another major franchise that also follows monkeys is Planet of the Apes.
On how much those movies influenced his performance for the Hulu series, Tatasciore said all of those films informed his time on Hit-Monkey, mostly in terms of "want[ing] to keep it within the realm of reality:"
"I would say it influences you in that you really want to keep it within the realm of reality, even though it's completely insane, as a monkey, a Hit-Monkey with a ghost. But there is a gravity to it. And these primates all have very strong feelings. When you look at the 'Planet of the Apes.' I got a chance to work on that. And yes, there are different sound sets, but you do want to keep it as close to the monkey sounds as possible. And the key there is just to convey as much emotion or pathos as possible."
In the Hulu series, Tatasciore voices the titular monkey. However, the character doesn't speak English. Instead, he communicates like any monkey would.
So, what does it look like for the actor to learn his lines while prepping for this role?
"It's more like a musical job, really," explained the actor, noting that he first zones in on what the emotions of Monkey are:
"It's a regular acting job, except then I start to fill in the blanks. I kind of know what the Monkey needs to say and what its emotions are... I get to work with these wonderful writers, directors, and producers and do it on the fly with them...You start to see where you can plug in the sounds. It's more like a musical job, really. And we'll do four or five different passes of that."
Despite a stellar cast performing alongside Fred Tatasciore, the actor "[doesn't] get to work with the ensemble," though he is a huge "fan of Jason [Sudeikis]:"
"Unfortunately, I don't get to work with the ensemble. I am such a fan of each person on the show… It would be fun to do because it would be fun to do reactions off of. Especially the stuff with Bryce, and I'm such a fan of Jason [Sudeikis]. He's great. I didn't realize how funny it was going to get until I saw the episodes. Because I'm always playing the straight, sad character. There's a lot of pathos."
"We're kind of trying to redeem ourselves," Tatasciore explained about this new season, which has been "a fun challenge:"
"And then this new season, we're trying to redeem ourselves, which is just doubly challenging because we're just going to keep fighting. It's a fun challenge. The big biggest challenge I mentioned, though, is trying to be the accurate sounds of the snow monkey with the new dialog. That's the challenge here, as opposed to, let's say, an alien, where I'm making up the sounds, whatever you want."
Tatasciore also voices T-Rex in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, who communicates via various sounds and grunts. So, what distinguishes the two characters and their performances from one another?
"I would say the main thing is their differences in characters," the actor responded, adding how "both want peace and both are very attached to their partners:"
"My job, often my wheelhouse, is to bring emotions and language to the creature's sounds. That's one of my things. I would say the main thing is their differences in characters. Like, what they are not only as creatures but also what their wants and desires are. Interestingly enough, both want peace, and both are very attached to their partners."
Tatasciore described how he sees Devil Dinosaur as "a really devoted T-Rex dog:"
"Devil Dinosaur will do anything for Moon Girl. He is like a dog to her, a really devoted T-Rex dog... I also have a lot of leverage in sound with Devil Dinosaur because it's more sort of my own creation of a T-Rex—He's even more than a T-Rex. He's this other kind of dimensional character. And so I have freedom in terms of what I can do in that sound set. He's fierce. He has [this] sadness, but he doesn't like where he came from."
Another big difference comes from how Devil Dinosaur "came from a very harsh place" while "Hit-Monkey actually had a wonderful home at one time:"
"Devil Dinosaur came from a very harsh place and found a home with Moon Girl. Whereas our Hit-Monkey actually had a wonderful home at one time and had a life. And all of them were killed. So, the tone is darker. Devil Dinosaur, even despite his name, is not interested in revenge… It's more kid-friendly. It's more about protecting and being a superhero. I don't think Monkey sees himself as a superhero."
With Monkey, he "has sadness" and "does not like to kill" despite it being his life now and being able to do it so well:
"Monkey started with revenge and has this incredible supernatural connection to this ghost, Bryce. And I think Monkey has sadness. Monkey does not like to kill, but does it so well and would like to leave life. [He] doesn't necessarily want to leave Bryce. But, if he and Bryce could retire from that, he would be very happy. I think he doesn't like the life anymore."
Tatasciore also pointed to how "the tones of the shows are very different:"
"And also notice the tones of the shows are very different. 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' is very friendly, it's a lot more kid friendly. 'Hit-Monkey' is pretty hardcore. We don't pull any punches. There's a lot of death and mayhem, which you would not see in 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'... They would absolutely get along, and I think Hit-Monkey would really like Devil Dinosaur's kindness. I know it's a strange sentence."
The actor speculated that the two shows "most definitely" are in different universes, with Hit-Monkey's version of New York City being "very scary" and "very frightening:"
"Yeah. Other than that, we're both in Marvel. But yeah, most definitely… [We are both in] New York… Although this New York is very different. It's a lot scarier… I think what [Hit-Monkey] is addressing is very scary [and] very frightening... We're dealing with the devil. We're dealing with some very unsavory characters in 'Hit-Monkey,' and it's fun. The characters in 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' are great because each one has its own song. Each character has their own genre of music. So it's kind of a different thing."
Hit-Monkey Season 2 streams on Hulu on Monday, July 15.
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