Kaitlyn Dias lights up talking about Riley in Inside Out

By Marriska Fernandes on November 3, 2015 | Leave a Comment

If you’ve seen Disney Pixar’s Inside Out, you’ve peeked inside 11-year-old Riley’s head. Voicing Riley is Kaitlyn Dias, 16, whose first audition in the preliminary stages of the movie led to her being hired as Riley.

We chatted with Kaitlyn about her first major gig, what she liked best about it and which emotion she would love to add to the list of emotions in Riley’s head.

Let’s start with talking about how you landed your first big role.
When I first auditioned it was the scratch voice – the voice on the storyboard to present the idea of the movie. They liked me so much for that that they kept me for the full feature, which almost never happens.

This was your first big voice over role, right? Was it intimidating?
It was a little bit at first but I then just jumped right in as I was like, “Hey, they just want a normal kid voice. So I’ll just be a normal kid.”

Tell me about the recording sessions. What was the process like?
They would call me down for one-day recording sessions once a month. There’ll be couple of lines on a page and it would be me, [director] Pete Docter and [producer] Jonas Rivera in the booth. I would go through the lines and sometimes they would make a few simple changes. What I thought was really cool is that they let my mom come into the waiting area right outside, which she was really excited about because she never got to do that. Disney is awesome; very family oriented, of course.

Working as a voice actor, most of the time you’re recording by yourself. Is that more fun or challenging?
A little bit of both. I had to visualize the other people’s lines in my head and imagine how they would respond and respond to that. It was a bit of a challenge but that challenge made it fun.

Did you get to meet Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and the rest of the cast?
I did, but it was actually at the premiere. Definitely an interesting first meet.

What would your core personality islands be?
I think one of them would have to be puzzle island. I love puzzles, like plain old jigsaw puzzles.

Which was your favorite emotion?
I’m going to go with anger. He’s pretty hilarious. His facial expressions are all over the place. Plus, you can roast marshmallows on him.

If you could add one more emotion to the list, what would it be?
That’s a tough question. Very creative, I’ll give you that! I think I’ll go with surprise. There’s a lot of surprising things in this world. Sometimes good and sometimes not so good.

What was your takeaway from this film?
That it’s okay to be sad. It’s human. That’s the takeaway from the film. From working on it, I would have to say don’t be afraid to be a little wild, but not so wild that you’re uncontrollable.

What can you tell us about the short Riley’s First Date?
Basically, a boy comes over to Riley’s house for a play date. But dad sees it like a bit of a threat. So he gets a little bit protective in that no-one-is-good-enough-for-my-girl kind of thing. But then he finds out that he and Riley’s friend have more in common than he thought.

What’s your favorite Disney Pixar movie?
I would have to say Brave. Merida is really cool. She’s not afraid to go after what she wants.

Which actor or actress you’d really like to work with?
My crush – Benedict Cumberbatch. He seems like such a nice person to work with.

What’s next for you?
I don’t have anything I’m currently working on at the moment, but I’m always looking for new roles.

Thank you for chatting with us!
Thank you!

Inside Out is available today on DVD and Blu-ray. Other DVDs releasing today include Vacation, She’s Funny That Way,  Inside Out, Toy Story That Time Forgot, The Young and Prodigious T.V. Spivet, Dark Places and  The Final Girls.

~Marriska Fernandes

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