The first voice viewers become familiar with in Netflix's Sweet Tooth is James Brolin's, the narrator of the series. The narrator provides insight into Birdie's mysterious backstory and the deer-human hybrid Gus' ambitious road trip after his father's death. In the emotional high stakes of the second season, the narrator continues his job fitting the pieces of the fantasy-apocalyptic puzzle together from behind the scenes.
Brolin recently sat down with CBR to discuss his process doing voice work for the second season of the Netflix series. The actor, who has only recently sprung out into voice work in Sweet Tooth and the 2022 animated film Lightyear, broke down how he found the narrator's voice and worked with showrunner Jim Mickle to perfect the final cut. Brolin also entertained the idea of possibly appearing on-screen if a future season were to come about, in an instance that may reveal the narrator's true identity after all this time.
CBR: Since narrating the first season of Sweet Tooth, you've actually lent your voice to the animated film Lightyear. Did having that experience affect how you approached your role as the narrator in Season 2?
James Brolin: That's interesting. No, I don't think I did too much different between Season 1 and Season 2. Except, on Season 1, I kept thinking, "Yeah, I don't sound quite like I thought I did," and attempting to modify that. Then finally, I just threw in the towel and said, "I'm going to imagine in this dark recording studio that there's a bunch of people along the wall, and I have to make them believe what I'm saying." That was my actor's thought. With Jim Mickle, he's on the horn from New Zealand in my earphones telling me, "Try it again this way, try it again that way." We'd leave the mic open, and I'd say, "Let me just do random readings [or] crazy readings." Then later, they have the option to pick one.
CBR: Sometimes, in stories with narrators, we learn at some point that we might have met this character on-screen before, or maybe we'll meet them in the future. Have you ever considered that possibility for the narrator of Sweet Tooth?
If I was ever invited for any reason, I would head over there for this, Jim Mickle, the people I've met, and Robert and Susan Downey. I love New Zealand. I've been there three times now, and it's fantastic. It's an amazing country out of the '50s. You get near the big city, and there is traffic on a freeway, but only near the big city. It is cowboy country, wine country, Little Switzerland, and you can go skiing. It's got it all, as far as I'm concerned, without the crowds [and] without a need for outside. It's also one of the cleanest, safest places in the world.
What kind of character do you think you would portray if you got the call, and they said, "Come up here, please. We want you on-screen."?
Well, I would hope I would come in. I mean, listen, they've done 16 hours so far. If they were to continue shooting, I hope I'd come in and save the day with an answer that everybody missed. I believe humans can resolve anything. The world is changing. The sun is getting hotter. A lot of things are crazy happening, but there is a way out. I would love to play the guy that says, "Did you guys ever think of this?" And they go, "Duh! It's right there in front of us." I think that would be my only answer.
The show needs to answer some questions, and maybe you might be the one to do that.
Well, it's up to them. I just work there.
To see the journeys the narrator continues to voice, stream Sweet Tooth Season 2 on Netflix on April 27.