Season One of Solo Leveling has been a massive hit. From A-1 Pictures, the series based on the web novel by Chugong, has taken audiences by storm with its kinetic action and immersive storytelling. Due to the nature of the series, which primarily revolves around the protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, there’s a lot of pressure on the voice actor who takes on this formidable role. We spoke to Aleks Le, Jinwoo’s English voice, and Caitlin Glass, the English ADR Director. We talked to the two about developing Jinwoo’s voice and the best way to collaborate on a project.
But Why Tho: Were you a fan of Solo Leveling before taking on the project?
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Aleks Le: Caitlin was the bigger fan. She knew about it way before I did. I know she is a consumer of all sorts of media. For me I was introduced to Solo Leveling from a friend of mine. I had heard a lot of hype around the series and was super excited to check it out myself. After I read it the anime trailer was showing up and I was thinking ‘I hope they don’t mess this up.’ And sure enough, they were incredible in every step of the way when executing it. It’s been a crazy ride to see how it translates with the anime.
Caitlin Glass: I was familiar with it. I’d read it and what Aleks said [laughs.]
But Why Tho: Did you see a part of yourself in the character? What was the audition process like for the role?
Aleks Le: I saw a lot of myself in certain stages of his transformation. His character arc really resonated with me. In every moment he had, I could think of one moment in my life where I felt like that. The fun thing about Jinwoo is that when his character develops, not only does he change his mentality, but sonically, his voice also changes. This was something I was really excited to show off with the years of building up my range vocally as well.
As for the character there are a lot of imperfect things about him I latched onto. His selfishness. In a good way, there’s this pathetic timidness to him. Like when someone bumps into you in public and you apologize. Because you walk away and you think, ‘What a jerk,’ but ‘I will be the better person and not say anything.’ I feel like there’s a lot of that mentality hidden within him until we get to see him in Episode 2 where he gets to act out as he’s the sacrifice. I do see a lot of myself in him, for the better or worse. It’s one of my favorite characters I’ve gotten to play so far.
Caitlin Glass: I really hope that all of the audience sees themselves in Jinwoo as well. It’s his show. We focus on him a lot more than any of the other characters. I think there’s something all of us can relate to within him.
But Why Tho: You mention how, as the character, you get to develop two voices almost for him as he changes. What’s your process like when developing a voice for a character? How does that expand when you’re facing two different challenges?
Aleks Le: The funny thing is that the character usually progresses is he has a higher pitched voice and then drops. It’s like going through puberty. But as an actor who’s already gone through puberty, we’ve got to work backward sometimes. So, for the first couple of episodes, we focus on trying to keep his voice not just light but the essence of a softness to the character and timidness.
Caitlin and I worked meticulously to listen to Taito Ban’s performance and write down certain shifts or perceptions we have of how he’s portraying the character in those moments and use that to inspire us and our take on how we approach the character. Caitlin knows a lot more about the process because she was the one reigning me in. I was just there going, what if I did this and this and this? Caitlin was kind of the manager there trying to sort everything out.
Caitlin Glass: I’m hyper-aware of what it is I want the audience to feel at any moment. So while an actor might have a lot of ideas, like how Aleks was saying, “I could do this or I could do that,” ultimately, it’s about whatever he’s throwing at the wall vocally that’s going to stick. What’s hitting the note in me is that I need to feel something or understand about the character based on what he’s doing.
What I really appreciated about the character Jinwoo is that as a protagonist, he’s not your typical anime protagonist. He’s not 15 or 16. He’s in his 20s. That means we didn’t have to start with some kind of shaky, pubescent voice. It’s like, no, you can have an adult voice. It’s about his confidence, his circumstances, and how his circumstances shape the way he presents himself and how he speaks. So, as he gains confidence, you hear it in his voice as well, not just in the way he looks and carries himself. I didn’t have to reign Aleks in too much but I think he could get more comfortable too soon. So I’d be like, “No, not yet.” It sounds like you know what you’re talking about. We’d pick and choose places to make sure we were hitting the right notes.
Aleks Le: Thank god, too, because every year I feel my teenage voice slipping from me, so I’m like, yes, an adult character, thank you.
But Why Tho: It seems like some readers and viewers might not know what an ADR director does and how vital they are to the production. Could you talk about your unique role in the production?
Caitlin Glass: Here at Crunchyroll, I’m really blessed to have the opportunity to cast my shows as well. Other studios have casting directors as well but here all the directors are the casting directors. So that’s the first exciting task that I have is finding the actors for the roles. Then I work very closely with our adaptive scriptwriter, for this project, her name is Jessica Sluys, and she’s doing a wonderful job. We’ve worked together on multiple projects previously, so we have a good working relationship.
We draw from the source material, but ultimately, our job is to tell the anime’s story. So, the source material is great because it will let us know where we’re headed and what important events will happen in a story. But the way it’s laid out in anime form can be very different, and that’s the case with Solo Leveling. So you’re like the caretaker of this beautiful piece of art that many, many people’s blood, sweat, and tears have already gone into. I consider it an honor and no small task to take care of that thing. I really want our English-speaking audience to have the same experience with it as a Japanese person.
When I first watch it I’m making a mental note and maybe a paper note [laughs] about all of the emotional beats and how I feel at any given moment. I’m making sure that when we put it into English, I feel the same when all of those moments happen. Because that is the experience I want the audience to have. I want them to escape into it. Not to forget so much that they’re watching a cartoon but forget that it was ever in a different language. It should feel like this was made for English, just for you, sitting at home. I think the best way to do that is to draw from the love that’s already been poured into it. You just have to absorb it and put it back out there.
For more technical purposes, I’m looking at how an actor’s performance matches the animation. I work closely with the engineer and make it fit just right. When it doesn’t, that’s when the audience is reminded that it wasn’t in English to begin with. We need that precision. I’ll see it all the way through its mixed stage, making sure there’s a good balance of all of the sound effects and the post-production things we put onto the voices to make them sound like they’re in the environments the characters are in. A good balance with the music so you feel the effect of all pieces of the project and not just the actors performing in it. So yeah, you just do that week after week.
But Why Tho: Is there an approach you two have in working together that you think creates the best relationship between an ADR director and voice actor for this project?
Aleks Le: I can’t speak to any other voice actor and ADR director combination, but this is Caitlin and I’s first time working together, and it’s truly been a blessing. I’ve never felt so much creative freedom when working on an anime project before. To get to spend so much time with her to figure this character out and get down to all the details has been something I’m super grateful for.
Dubs are amazing, but they are also restricted by schedule. They need to be out at a certain time, so there are limited resources. With this project being able to communicate with Caitlin, who also shares such a huge passion for the source material and franchise — I felt like anytime I had an idea, she would listen to me, or at least hear me out. Any time I wanted to try something she’d give me the opportunity to and see for myself if it was terrible or not [laughs.]
This isn’t an insult or anything, but surprisingly, it’s been a huge creative endeavor. But also, what a combo. I never thought this would work so well. It’s not a negative thing. It’s just because we’ve never worked together before. I didn’t expect it to be so quick right off the bat that we’d be on the same page.
Caitlin Glass: Yeah, we seemed to just get in the car together, and off we go headed in the same direction. I think we both work the same way as actors. And then me, as ADR director, I take in everything and use emotional beats. Aleks is doing the same thing. In the booth he isn’t just listening to Taito Ban. But he’s taking in these little subtleties in the animation as well as the note of the music that hits at that time and taking note of how he feels.
It’s the ability to portray the character and see things from the perspective of the audience. I already do that in the director’s chair, and he’s doing that as well as the actor.
Knowing that, if he ever wants to try something, I will let him try it. We have a shared respect. So I can tell him I’m not going to let him even try it because this is “blank” that I need to accomplish by the end of the episode or by three episodes from now. I love collaborating so much, I don’t want to be the boss. I want to make something together that we can all be proud of. And I feel like I already do that with dubs. But this is the first time we’ve spent so much time with one character right off the bat.
Solo Leveling Season 1 is on Crunchyroll with new episodes each Saturday.
