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A life of voice acting is, for many, a life of relative anonymity. Unlike on-camera talent, they don't tend to be as recognised or as famous, and can be separated from their characters in the eyes of the public - who likely doesn't even know the voice actor to begin with - much more easily. That's voice acting for many, but not for Tara Strong. One of the faces of the voice acting industry, Strong has been in everything from Batman to My Little Pony to The Powerpuff Girls. She's in Final Fantasy, Jak and Daxter, Rugrats... and far too many more to list. She has over 100 appearances in feature films, animated television, and video games individually, so if you've ever seen a cartoon or played a game, chances are you've heard Strong's work. With so many iconic characters to her name, it's no wonder she has such a high profile.
"There's certainly a lot more anonymity than there is with on-camera people for sure," Strong says. "I see it the most when I go to a Comic-Con. I'm like J. Lo at Comic-Con. It's fun, I don't hate it. In my real life, once in a while, I get recognised, but it'll be like, at Gamestop. I have two kids, they're 17 and 19, so we've been to Gamestop a lot. In those places, you're known, but in the real world once in a while. One time we're at Target and my younger son was just in line and someone had a Fairly OddParents shirt. And he goes 'You know, she's Timmy Turner, right?'."
Despite such a wide-reaching list of credits, Turner is one of the roles most intrinsically associated with Strong. Twilight Sparkle, her My Little Pony character is another. The cult show, much maligned on the internet, has always found a defender in Strong, and it's clear how much the role meant to her. When I ask why she's so willing to go to bat for the show, she tells me she understands how much it appeals to people on the autism spectrum, and that makes it personal.
"My sister is older than me physically, [but] has always been the younger one because she falls somewhere on the Asperger's scale," she says. "Her whole life, she was bullied, I used to watch kids relentlessly [bully her]. There would be physical violence, and she would come home crying. So I really had a first-hand experience of what it looks like when a bullied child comes home, and also to have someone with mental differences. Not even a disability, just someone who thinks differently can be more easily teased. And I think because of that, and also by nature, I'm someone that just loves, loves, loves making people happy. I'm just like that and not putting that on. That's really who I am. I think we're actually put on this planet to make people feel good. And if you've done something that makes someone feel good, or you encourage someone you made them feel that they matter, or they're talented, or they're beautiful, you have points for the good that day.
"It was hard for me to watch her get bullied by nature as someone who's very anti-bully. So as soon as the bullying started for liking the show - I didn't know what a Brony was until I went on the internet - there's just no reason to bully people for liking a show and for getting excited about a show. Particularly a show that only teaches empathy, kindness, and that it's okay to make mistakes. For whatever reason, I've never seen a show explode like that. It did. So why beat up on it? I've talked to kids with guns in their mouths that wanted to kill themselves, I've talked to kids that were bullied, and I'm there for them in a very real way. I feel really badly that they get bullied for liking something that I'm on. I don't understand bullying."
You can see why people are drawn to Strong's uplifting nature. She frequently breaks into character voices throughout the video, and joins me on the video feed with curlers in her hair while she dusts on makeup for a work call she has later in the day. Fittingly for the voice of Bubbles, she comes across as a very bubbly person, but it's clear that she connects to her characters on more than just a surface level. That's why the role of Harley Quinn means so much to her.
"Harley was created as a sidekick for the Joker... and she exploded, and I'm so grateful because she got to grow," Strong says. "When Harley started, she was an abused woman. As we've watched her, she's become her own power. In my life, I went through similar things and grew right along with her. Sometimes there would be lines in a session that I would be like, 'Wow, that's exactly how the fuck I feel right now'. How she deals with misogyny and picks up her fucking weapons and starts taking charge, there would be days in the studio where I would like cry, or if she was crying I would be strong. I feel very, very connected to Harley. And I think Margot Robbie is a brilliant choice. She's absolutely gorgeous. I like Kaley [Cuoco, voice of Harley in The Harley Quinn Show]. I always feel like I should be animated Harley. But I'm very grateful to have played her. She's very, very important to me."
This Quinnaisance has come through video games, live action, and animation, and while Cuoco was drafted in ahead of Strong for the Harley Quinn cartoon, Strong is a vital part of Harley's history. With so much experience in television and video games, moving across wouldn't have been an issue, and to hear Strong tell it, there's not much of a difference between the mediums.
"The big differences are even when it's not Covid, we work alone," she says. "That's because there's tonnes and tonnes of cues that they have to get for each video game, lots of death sounds and different reaction noises. They utilise the time more wisely if they do people separate, as opposed to like Teen Titans or Fairly OddParents. When you're together, there's a real energy and you can bounce off each other - so much of acting is listening. We don't really get to do that when we do independent."
As has already been established, Strong is always eager to engage with her fans outside of her work, and part of that comes via her podcast, The Ship-It Show, which she hosts with her Teen Titans co-star Greg Cipes. Where shipping, fanfiction, and headcanon can be controversial in some creative circles, Strong's podcast seeks to celebrate it.
"I think we see in the real world that enough people are for it that it should be celebrated," Strong says. "You have people living their lives as Harley and Joker. I don't even know where to start with cosplayers that come to cons in relationships that dress as these characters for fun, or as their lifestyle or whatever, and nobody in mainstream media talks about it. That is a fucking huge world that should be celebrated. It's full of creativity. And all forms of love should be celebrated. The first Ship-It we did was a gay girl. We're celebrating that world because your mind goes there - to say that your mind doesn't imagine a certain character in a relationship is silly. People do. If you don't like it, that's okay. But we're celebrating the people who do."
For Strong's birthday this year, she's organising a fundraiser 'with proceeds going to UNHCR to support their work to help refugees and forcibly displaced people in countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen'. You can donate to that fundraiser here.