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One upside to voicing an animated comedy? You don’t have to keep a straight face while you’re working. Not that this has ever been an issue for the consistently hilarious Craig Robinson who has one of the gravest, unflappable deadpans in the business.
Turns out, Robinson, best known from The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine, was inspired at an early age by Canadian Leslie Nielsen.
“One of my favourites growing up was Leslie Nielsen,” he says of The Naked Gun star. “He has this ability to say the most ridiculous things while ridiculous things are happening around him. It always made me laugh.”
Fans will just have to imagine Robinson isn’t cracking up during his latest role as the underground ogre cook named Cookie in Shrek Forever After. The 3D sequel opens May 21.
Picking up where the last film left off, it finds Shrek (Mike Myers) a domesticated family man longing for the days when he was a wild and crazy ogre. He gets his wish — sort of — when he’s tricked by Rumpelstiltskin and transported into an alternate universe in which ogres are outlawed and Shrek never met Fiona. Yes, Shrek, it’s a wonderful life.
“This is the first movie of mine my nieces and nephews can see legally, which is exciting,” Robinson says.
Meanwhile, he also recently wrapped the latest season of The Office, which at this point has more movie stars — Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms — than most films. “People are definitely doing double-duty,” he says. “But everybody appreciates where they are.”