Squidbillies

[SwimMod_Luuv]

Post your questions and comments for Mary Kraft here!

Mary Kraft is an actor, writer, producer, and comedian, best known by Adult Swim fans as Krystal on Squidbillies.  She also played Valerie on Frisky Dingo, and various parts for ATHF/AUPS1, and appeared in Fark TV, House of Payne, as well as the films Stomp! Shout! Scream! and Monster Beach Party, and has written, produced, and starred in a number of short films as well.

[SwimMod_Luuv]

Krystal is such a hilarious character, was that something you keyed into from the script?  Were you crazy in love with getting this part or did it gestate more over time?

The writers don't seem to much know what to do with the werminfolk on the show, even though they're really strong characters, I mean Early's a handful and Krystal and Lil either one usually have the upper hand on him most of the time.  But are you ever tempted to try to coax more out of them for Krystal? 

Valerie on Frisky Dingo seems a much more understated character superficially, but still a great character, much less obvious in many ways than Krystal.  which character was more difficult for you to play?  They both seem to be a kind of yin/yang of subtlety and blatancy.  Each possesses both, but in a vastly different balance.

[4-HBabe]

What characters did you voice on ATHF/ATUP? Do you enjoy stepping in to an existing show for a guest spot, or do you prefer to build the character up from the first episode as a regular?

[Doom_Metal_Alchemist]

FIrst, I'd just like to say that you gave Krystal the perfect redneck woman voice.

What is it that Krystal's always drinking out of her sip cup?

[lupinfan83]

How does a person decide to be a voice actor/actress? I mean it seems like an awesome career, but my high school counselor didn't have a pamplet for that job!

[Explosivo_420]

Was there any kind of method before you began recording? Spend anytime laying out at a dump with a Big Gulp?

[MaryKraft]

the smell of brownies farting.  because it smells just like brownies! 

seriously---  uhhh,  coppertone suntan lotion.  for real.   fave.

[MaryKraft]

wait, i just replied to a question that i think was a quote from a show. but i do realllly love coppertone. what the hell am i doing?!

[MaryKraft]

i hadn't even seen her picture when i auditioned the voice. but i loved just the description of Krystal. and to me i thought she'd sound like she had to push air out of her over mounds of fatty esophagus. sorta what she sounds like. script is great, but they do let me do some takes with "what krystal would say."
was very happy to get the part. yes. right away.
would love to have krystal in more episodes, they tell me the same thing. and she 'headlined' the season finale for one of the seasons, which was very cool. and fun. but can't really talk them into writing more for you....

[MaryKraft]

hey there!
i did a number of really random characters for ATHF, female characters they didn't know what to do with...! i also did the live-action short tv cut-aways in the first season, i think it was, with Don Kennedy. Whenever they were watching tv, and they showed what they were watching on tv, it was always live-action, and always a really bad show/movie starring the same 2 people. me and don kennedy. they were gonna continue more of that, which i thought was really funny, but it took too much time to pre-production/shoot/edit.
i think the names of the things were "Grampire: Assisted Living Dracula", "Vegetable Man," and....was there another one? i think they included the footage in the dvd extras.

[MaryKraft]

p.s. i'll take a good, funny role any way it comes to me. but always a little more interesting to build it up.

[MaryKraft]

thank you very much!
whatever she could reach on the fountain machine before collapsing back down in a dimpled, grissly heap. (usually, first 3 sodas she could reach, mixed together).

[MaryKraft]

you can take classes for voice acting alone, but most voice actors do some other type of acting or performing, too. you can study acting at colleges/universities, or take classes from a theater near you, and work at it there, but it isn't all easy and glamorous. a friend of mine actually wrote a post about getting into the v.o. business. He is a very successful v.o. guy, very talented, but doesn't work for an adult swim show. here's his post: http://smithharrison.net/GIVO/GETTING_INTO_VOICE_OVERS_by_Smith_H
arrison.pdf

if you decide to go into it, good luck! if you love it, you'll most likely do well.

[MaryKraft]

i did plenty of that as a kid. so i was amply prepared.
i grew up in the deep south, so i've stood behind a thousand Krystal's in the checkout lines at Piggly Wiggly and Walmart. No method. just kinda picture her, then talk and grunt at the same time. If i'm having trouble placing the voice right away, usually if i say "you stupid chugnut" it comes right back. ....

[SwimMod_Luuv]

Oh yeah, you were the nurse in that.

Hey, Don Kennedy seems really cool, is he fun to do stuff with?

[poisonbella]

Hi Mary, welcome! So tell me, how is it like to be working on squidbillies? Is the studio in Atlanta? How often do they make episodes? It seems like a great place to work and you have the perfect voice for Crystal! where did the inspiration come from? Is the late anna nicole smith a sort of inspiration? (do you think that the cleveland show sort of stole the same idea of a crystal with the character on the show? (im sorry i cant think of her name and wiki does not list it)

[duzitickle]

Hi Ms K.
Thanks for taking time to chat with us.
=^___^=

Ever had a line so funny you couldn't do it without laughing your butt off?
Squidbillies is so full of those lines to me, I don't see how y'all can get through one episode.

Do you get awesome squidbillies swag?
And finally, do you still watch cartoons?
(gotta fav?)

Thanks for bringing Krystal to life, I'm glad they picked you to voice her.

[azukidreams]

dear mary,that was my mom;s name.

who posed for the pic of krystal in the volume four dvd?

was it real or photoshopped?

thank you

[neverkeepchangin11]

Did you enjoy working on Frisky Dingo? I loved that show! Were you sad to find out the third season would not come to be?

[LDK_SPARDA]

Dear Mary Kraft,

Do you, along with other voice actors get nervous to hear your voice as the character you portray to the tens of millions to hear on tv? Like a sense of feeling like an example, "Did I do well? Did I do excellent?" Like you feel excitement going all over you?

From a fan of the Squidbillies and of your excellent voice acting,
LDK_SPARDA

[MaryKraft]

Don Kennedy is awesome. And quite a sport for doing all the stuff they ask him to do .
He was also in a voting video that a number of Atlanta actors did for dave willlis before the last election. And recently was in "terror phone 3" with my husband and I and Dana Snyder for the ATHF DVD extras. Funny guy.

[MaryKraft]

Much of the recording is done here, but Dana does his stuff via isdn line, directed over the phone. I think. Cuz he's in california. I think. Anna Nicole almost never comes into my mind, I am happy to say. It's just a giant mess of a person struggling to breathe and talk at the same time. And I love it. I've seen and heard a lot of people like her in my life.... No idea about the Cleveland how character. Never seen her??

[MaryKraft]

There've been a few lines that have taken many takes to get out. Sme of them never made it to the show, bc --well, they were too gross and graphic. But very funny. I remember calling someone a dick tip, wasn't written, just thought Krystal would call somebody a dick tip. So dumb! Didn't make it to the show, I don't think.
I get DVDs and tshirts. And every year they send some weird squidbillies gift. Framed photos, things like that.
I do still watch cartoons. When I can. Got a 3 yr old, so very busy. Squids, Archer, wish i had more time to follow more shows though.

[MaryKraft]

That I believe was just an artist rendering of a more realistic Krystal.
[as] gave us a framed print of that. Hung it in my bedrooom of all places. Couldn't even think about sex til it was removed.
Mary is a great name!

[MaryKraft]

I actually only did the pilot of frisky dingo.