Crispin Freeman Talks About Being The Voice Of Electro

Crispin Freeman steps away from his luminary status in the world of anime and video game voiceovers to assume the animated role of Electro, a featured member of the rogues gallery of recurring villains in “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”

An all-new animated television series, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” premieres Saturday, March 8 with back-to-back episodes airing at 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Kids' WB! on The CW. Electro is the spotlight villain in the 10:30 a.m. episode entitled “Interactions.”

To say the least, Freeman loves his job – and he’s particularly enjoying his latest run within “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”

“It’s a lark to do animated voices for super hero shows because you basically get to be a Greek god,” Freeman said. “You’re running around with your name on your chest. It’s fun, it’s inspiring, it’s enabling. It’s just a trip to be the voice of cartoons that I used to watch.”

In "Interactions," Peter Parker and Spider-Man both try to make connections. Nerdy Pete attempts to tutor the popular Liz Allan, while Spidey reaches out to stop a new menace: Electro. Alanna Ubach ("Legally Blonde," "Waiting") provides the voice of Liz Allan. Actor/musician Josh Keaton is Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Troy Adomitis directed the script by Kevin Hopps.

Freeman has spent some time delving into the psyche of his character in order to establish a better foundation from which to work.

“What’s different about the voice of Electro is that I try to incorporate the psychological effect of his electrical powers on his sanity,” Freeman said. “It never occurred to me before how that would have an effect on his character – to be dealing with that curse and blessing. And when you think about it, that’s also Peter Parker’s core issue.”

And are there any other tricks to creating the voice of Electro?

“Well, when in doubt, I stick my finger in a socket,” Freeman said with a laugh.

“The Spectacular Spider-Man” picks up the original web-slinger's mythology at the beginning of his hero's journey as a not-so-typical 16-year-old. Peter Parker must conceal his secret identity and confront the multi-leveled pressures of teenage life at home and school, while combating more menacing super villains than ever before. Based on Marvel Entertainment's popular super hero, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is produced by Culver Entertainment, a Sony Pictures Television Company.

The premiere episode of “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is entitled "Survival of the Fittest" (10:00 a.m. ET/PT). In the episode, summer is over for Peter Parker and school's ready to start -- both literally (it's his junior year of high school), and in the real world of crime-fighting -- as Spider-Man faces his first real challenge (The Enforcers) and his first real super-villain (Vulture). Victor Cook directed the script, which was written by Greg Weisman.