In ‘Ratchet & Clank,’ voice actor gets to (kind of) be himself

LOS ANGELES — James Arnold Taylor, the actor who voices Ratchet in both the popular “Ratchet & Clank” video games and now the first big-screen feature film based on them (opening Friday), discovered his talent at an early age.

“It sounds crazy, but I was 4 years old when I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I saw Mel Blanc and people like that doing cartoons, and I went, ‘Yeah! I want to do that too!’

“I was kind of old school, even as a kid. I was doing Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Cagney,” he said, slipping into Cagney’s iconic rapid-fire delivery as he spewed, “You dirty rat!”

Laughing, Taylor admitted, “I was a bit of a nerd.”

Over some 15 years, he’s done the voice of Ratchet in 17 games. “The thing that’s great is that Ratchet is my own voice,” he said. “Most of the other aspects of my career I’m doing other voices.

“For example, looking at this [slim] frame, people would never guess that I’m the voice of Fred Flintstone,” said the actor, again slipping into character and giving out his best “Yabba, dabba do!”

Considering the eternal popularity of the Flintstones, was it a huge challenge to accept that role? “You bet. There were two Freds before me — Alan Reed and Henry Corden — and then I came in and filled their shoes. Yes, it’s a huge responsibility to maintain that sense of continuity with Fred’s voice.”

Taylor then went into something of a pleasant rant, as he showcased his ability to skillfully slide from one famous voice to another, doing his best Wile E. Coyote, Obi-Wan Kenobi (from the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” projects) and Huckleberry Hound.

Since he’s using his own voice to play Ratchet, one would think that would be a breeze, as compared to conjuring up those others’ famous voices.

“You know, that’s not true. In a funny way, if I was going to do Gilbert Gottfried as Ratchet [immediately slipping into the comedian’s famously bombastic voice] it wouldn’t work as well, but in some ways would be easier for me. James as Ratchet is fun, but I find it weirdly difficult at times, because I’m not playing someone else, if that makes any sense to you.”

In the movie, Ratchet is a dreamer who teams up with a robot and a crew of Galactic Rangers to save the galaxy. “He’s a bit of an orphan, and I personally never knew my own father, so I could pull from that,” Taylor said. “Also, he’s a bit of an everyman. He wants to do the right thing, and that’s me too. I want to please everybody and have a good time. So I can relate to him in that way too.”

Asked if he’s ever met some of the actors he’s done voiceover work for, Taylor admitted (in those actors’ voices) that he had connected with John Ratzenberger and Johnny Depp over the years.

Ratzenberger, best known for his long run as Cliff on “Cheers,” was a particular favorite. “He loved me doing him,” said the actor. “And his wife really loved it. She said, ‘I want a copy of that!’ ”

Asked who was the hardest voice to match, Taylor didn’t hesitate. “That would be Ron Howard, because his voice is very similar to mine. That was tricky. Plus, if you think about it, his voice is also very similar to Albert Brooks,” added Taylor, amazingly mimicking both actor’s speaking styles, almost simultaneously.