Moises Arias Interview From the Set of ENDER'S GAME

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Moises_Arias_2011Disney Channel alumni Moises Arias talked to CineMovie from the set of ENDER'S GAME in New Orleans to promote his latest film THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY.

After graduating from "Hannah Montana" and "Wizards of Waverly Place" on the Disney Channel, the soon-to-be eighteen year-old has had steady work on the big screen with voice over roles in Despicable Me, Astro Boy and THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY.  CineMovie spoke to the young star via telephone from the set of the live action sci-fi thriller Ender's Game which he is currently shooting in New Orleans alongside big-time A-listers Harrison Ford, Hugo's Asa Butterfield, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley.

Currently, Moises Arias can be heard as the voice of Spiller, in the Japanese animated import THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY with Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and his former "Wizards of Waverly Place" co-stars David Henrie and Bridgit Mendler also lending their voices to the anime film.

Moises talked to us about his career, his experience voicing a character with only grunts and moans, and his upcoming projects in our Q&A with the child actor.  

Secret World of Arrietty film still

Q: How was the experience working on the voice over for THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY?

Moises: It was great. It was very different. It's a movie made in Japan so we had to dub it.  It was a different experience matching my voice to an animation instead of the other way around.  I had a great time. The character doesn't say much but he grunts and screams.  He only says a couple of lines.  We really worked to make the character sound believable. It was a different experience and I learned a lot.

Q:  Was the grunting harder than delivering lines?
Moises:  I've done a couple of voice-overs and grunting was different than a regular voice over. Grunting is not as easy as it sounds. You have to pay attention to what's going on and how you do it.  It was very odd. It was very funny.

Q:  Did you wear out your vocals after all that grunting?

Moises: Definitely.  I'm not used to screaming that much.  

Q: It was a "Wizards of Waverly" reunion of sorts on The Secret of Arrietty?

Moises:  Right. Right. I got to work with David Henrie. I've done a lot of things with him. I did Wizards, DadNapped, and now this. He's a great guy. It was great to work with him again. The movie I heard turned out great.  I haven't seen it yet. I've been traveling.

Q: Are you a fan of anime or the previous films Ponyo.

Moises:  Actually I haven't really seen a lot of anime. Ponyo - I got to see a little bit of that.

Q:  What are your favorite films or genres?

Moises:  That's very hard. I enjoy comedy. I enjoy drama. I enjoy suspense... sci-fi... everything.

Q:  Are you a fan of Will Arnett and Amy Poehler?

Moises:  Yeah, of course. They are absolutely hilarious, phenomenal actors. I enjoyed them in many films. I didn't get to meet them during the sessions but just to be named with them in the film - it's great.

Q:  How's life been post "Hannah Montana?"

Since "Hannah Montana" ended 2 years ago - of course I miss everybody. We were family for five years. I grew up with them since I was 10-years-old. I get to see a couple of them a lot. Jason (Earles) is doing a show with my brother "Kickin' It." Everybody is doing a lot of work. I get to see them sporadically. Overall I have a big family.

Q: Last I spoke with you, you said you planned to write your own scripts with your brother. How's that coming along?

Moises: Right now we're doing a little thing. We're trying... I think we're both busy doing our own thing.  I'm in New Orleans and he's back in LA.  But we are still trying to do that. It's something we're definitely set on doing in the future but we're going to be a little bit better at it before we release anything.

Q:  You're on a set as we speak.  What are you working on?

Moises:  I'm in New Orleans getting ready to shoot Ender's Game right now. I can't really talk about much of Ender's Game but that's what I'm up to right now.

Q:  What do you have coming up after Ender's Game?

Moises:  Up next I've got more sessions of Despicable Me 2.


THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is in movie theatres February 17. Moises will then be seen next year in the futuristic alien movie Ender's Game directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and based on the 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card.

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