Josh Robert Thompson, a name that may not be ‘household’, but a man whose work is everywhere. Thompson voiced and puppeteered 'Geoff Peterson', the mechanical robot-skeleton who reinvented the Late night talk show format on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (when the show was actually something special). He used his uncanny impressions (his Morgan Freeman impression even impressed Morgan Freeman, look it up on YouTube), break-neck comedic timing and unparalleled rapport with Ferguson to create unforgettable characters and comedic moments. While watching the show, I would often tune in specifically to watch the opening monologue, tweet-mail time and banter between the two of them, and it was always the highlight of the show.
When Ferguson has decided the show had run its course, Thompson went through an extremely tough personal journey in order to redefine his career. Granted, he had been extremely successful as a result of the show, but that success was literally anonymous. Thompson says in this episode of Vocal Qs, he expected the Late Late Show to be a ‘springboard’, but ironically, no one knew it was him behind the skeleton.
Thompson represents the struggle that many performers and actors go through; the struggle to be recognized, the struggle to maintain success, the struggle to provide for yourself and your family, all while trying to remain creative and forge forward with your art. There was a dark time post-Ferguson (and Thompson will admit it) where coping with that balance was extremely difficult. Thompson says in the podcast he’s in a much better place now, but there was a time when social media posts and livestreams showed his frustration. This episode of Vocal Qs is rife with real advice to anyone looking to break into Voice acting and performance in general.
Yet Josh keeps creating. He has voiced several fun projects; in Family Guy he makes regular appearances, even voicing both Trump and Trudeau. He had a project on Quibi before that service shut down, and he is reinventing some of his older characters to create new internet content and reach a new audience. Josh often talks about the love/hate relationship he has with the internet. How we all need it these days, and yet how ‘likes and views’ are killing what is truly important - creating.
Check out a fantastic episode of Vocal Qs (our penultimate of Season 1) as Josh and I talk about George Lucas, SCTV, Trump vs Trudeau and his encyclopedic knowledge of the Muppets!