November 19, 2023, 9:46 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Mark Forster is many things: singer, songwriter, producer, entertainer, a devoted fan of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and more. Since 2016, he can also add “voice actor” to his resume–even if the job turned out to be different than he expected.
The singer, born in 1984, is heard for the third time in the animated film “Trolls Band Together” as the voice of Branch. What he likes about his role is that his character truly evolves. “In the first part, he was quite a weird little troll. He was very grumpy and introverted, living in a strange bunker. As more films pass, he becomes more open and friendly, gets closer to his own feelings, and can express them. I find that very appealing,” Mark Forster said in a TECHBOOK interview. We also talked with him about streaming services, Robert De Niro, and the comeback of Nsync.
Mark Forster in TECHBOOK Interview
In the latest “Trolls” film (in theaters since October 19, 2023), everything revolves around family. The troll Branch actually has four brothers with whom he sang in the boy band Brozone as a child. After a botched performance, the group breaks up. Years later, they must reunite to save Branch’s brother Floyd from evil pop stars.
Mark Forster likes the boy band theme of the film, as well as the music–especially the new single from Nsync, “Better Place.” “It’s really a huge surprise. I didn’t know about it myself until I came to the voice recording for this scene. I just thought: Wait, is that Nsync?!” In the original, Nsync member Justin Timberlake voices the little troll.
And even though he generally remains loyal to the superstar as the original voice actor, he would–at least jokingly–be open to other offers: “So if Robert De Niro needs a new voice actor, I find that very fitting for me.”
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Voice Acting Work Different Than Expected
Overall, the topic of voice acting doesn’t seem to be high on Mark Forster’s priority list. While we can likely expect his voice in future “Trolls” films, the work is quite different than he initially thought.
“I used to think we’d all gather, maybe dress a bit like the trolls, and then the film would be dubbed.” That apparently wasn’t the case. Mark Forster didn’t have much interaction with his co-voice actors, such as Nico Sablik (known in Germany as the voice of Daniel Radcliffe or Harry Potter).
“Dubbing a film is a very solitary experience. You’re in front of a microphone with headphones, just recording your lines–not even the entire film, but really line by line, by line, by line.” This is the usual approach for lip synchronization. It’s particularly important that the spoken words match the lip movements of the characters in the film, which is why sometimes minor deviations in translation are accepted if the content roughly aligns.
Mark Forster Is a Series Fan
Even though the singer generally keeps his private life under wraps, it’s known that he’s a big fan of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. When asked how he watches soccer games, he admits that he hardly watches linear TV anymore. “Unfortunately, my linear TV watching is limited to hotels.”
Otherwise, he’s like everyone else; he has many different streaming services where he chooses films and series. He can’t recommend a single provider. Instead, he enjoys browsing media libraries and has a specific series recommendation; currently, he’s taken with the series “Succession.”
Mark Forster also seems to be a fan of “Rick and Morty.” When asked if he could imagine voicing multiple roles in a production and experimenting with his voice, he laughs and says he could absolutely see himself dubbing an entire season of the popular animated series.