Although Julie first stepped into a recording studio as a singer at the age of 12, she says voiceover work was a challenge unlike anything she’s faced in show business. “It was like learning a whole new craft,” says Julie. “You’re flying by the seat of your pants. You don’t see anything. It’s just vocal and they ask you for endless changes on a single line. They say,’Could you make it more friendly? Could you say it more lovingly? Could you say it angrily?’ and then they pick which take they need when they discover what it is they need. You just put yourself in the director’s hands and hope you’ve given them something that they can use.”
Since actors in animation often find themselves performing their parts alone in the studio without their co-stars, Julie felt lucky that she actually got to work face to face with John Cleese, who played her husband King Harold. Julie talks fondly of the legendary comic actor, who she had never met until the day they recorded together. “We had a great day. I liked him immediately. He’s funny and quick and we talked nonstop.”
But two summer movies isn’t all that Julie has on her plate. She’s also contributed commentary and interviews to the upcoming 40th anniversary DVD edition of Mary Poppins and oversees a publishing imprint for children called the Julie Andrews Collection through which she issues her own work (due out this Tuesday is her latest young adult novel, “Dragon”), all the while sharing time with her husband of 34 years, director Blake Edwards. Julie says it’s no big secret or trick to having a happy marriage and a thriving career. You just have to take it one day at a time.
