Planet Family Guy

Swiss Family Guy Froud

By Andy (Thursday, September 07, 2006)

(Interview of Brian Froud with Andy from Planet Family Guy.)

This summer Canadian actor/comedian/voice talent Brian Froud premiered his new one-man show Swiss Family Guy Robinson at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show received rave reviews (Eye Weekly said "[a] faithful original script that's even punchier than your typical Family Guy episode"), and was a hit with Family Guy fans who were lucky enough to see Brian in action. I haven't had the privelege to see it -- although I've seen some clips -- but I have had the priveledge of interviewing him. Here's what he had to say...

Andy: Firstly, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with us. Can you start by telling us a little about yourself.
Brian Froud: My pleasure. Thanks for supporting the show. I was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I moved to Toronto in 2000 and began working as an actor in a touring version of Charlotte's Web, and again in a show called Mad Science. Since then I've worked for Second City, and appeared in a few commercials and TV shows. Now I'm all about Swiss Family Guy Robinson.

How did you get into doing impressions, and what voice did you first perfect?
I would say that I was just born a mimic and copied everything that I liked. The first voice I perfected was probably that chalk outline guy from Great Space Coaster. I used to perform Monty Python skits on the playground as well.

Why Swiss Family Guy Robinson? What was your inspiration for the show?
I also perform a show called the Wizard Of Coz. It's a synopsis of the film with celebrity impressions. My producers, The Shehori Brothers saw it, and heard me do a few Family Guy voices as well. Ideas for a one man show began to take shape. As for the story of Swiss Family Robinson, we were just looking for something with the word "Family" in the title. It seemed like a good choice, considering it's loose story structure.

Do you consider yourself a big Family Guy fan? When did you start watching it?
Oh, I'm a huge fan. I first saw it while I was touring the U.S. with Mad Science. We were bored in our hotel, as was the case quite often, and we saw this funny looking talking baby with an abnormal head. We were in hysterics. His "Do you want a soda?" line killed me.

Which is your favourite voice to do, and which is your worst?
I love playing Stewie. It's fun to play them all really. Cleveland is the most difficult to maintain for such a frantic hour.

Who is this show [Swiss Family Guy Robinson] for?
We hope fans of Family Guy will enjoy it. It's pretty much tailor made for them. We've had good responses from fans so far.

Do the guys from Family Guy know about your show?
So far as we know, not yet. We're a little intimidated by the idea of simply picking up the phone and asking to speak to a TV exec at FOX. So instead, we've tried contacting a couple of people who work directly on Family Guy. We're not sure if our e-mails have hit their mark though. Maybe we shouldn't have put the word "Cialis" on our subject headings. Hindsight is always 20-20. Bottom line, if the folks at Family Guy have any issue with what we're doing, we'll stop in a heartbeat. Ideally, we'd just love to find a way to chat with them, because we'd hate for them to think that we're trying to do this behind their back. So if anyone out there knows somebody at the show, please send this interview their way!

When and where can people see you in action next?
I'll be performing in Ottawa, Ontario on Sept 15th and Guelph, Ontario on Sept 21st. I'll also be at Diesel Playhouse in Toronto Sept 26th - Oct 1st and Oct 3rd - 8th.

Do you have plans to take the show out of Canada?
We plan to tour the show in the U.S. We know there's a lot of Family Guy fans out there who might enjoy our show too. We will actually be in Rochester, New York on Sept 22nd - 24th. The details can be found on my website.

Finally, can you tell us a surprising fact about yourself?
I once thought that I had accidentally purchased a left handed belt. I got very angry until my friend simply flipped it around.

Thanks for your time. All the team at Planet Family Guy wish you the best of luck with your coming shows.
Thank you! I hope you all get to see it one day.

For the latest show dates check out Brian's website which also features clips from some of his work. If you're interested in some of Brian's non-Family Guy stuff take a look at his faux British sitcom Ahoy, Magistrate! that was developed with the Shehori Brothers, and Minotauk Falls, an animated sitcom from Brian and the Shehori Brothers set on the Canadian/US border.

(c) Planet Family Guy 2006.