Jesse (M_P): Mr Kaye, I would first like to thank you for taking the time to allow me to conduct this interview with you. I, along with the other fans of your work, greatly appreciate it. Could you give us some background information about yourself? Where you grew up, how you got into the business, etc...?

David Kaye provided me with his bio for this answer. You can find his bio by clicking here

Jesse (M_P): What was your first voice over job? Was it what you expected?

David Kaye: My first voice over gig, funny enough was for a distant cousin. He was in Life Insurance, or something. I was in Broadcast college and it was a dream to do commercials, etc so he paid me 50 bucks to do his commercial. When I heard it on the air, I almost drove off the road. It was the coolest thing. I still have the photocopy of it somewhere. Turns out, said cousin is alleged to have bilked quite a few bucks from unsuspecting folk and is currently under investigation. First carTOON... was GI Joe . I got the part of General Hawk. THAT was totally cool !! After that, it was my goal to remain in this business forever.

Jesse (M_P): When you went into the audition for Beast Wars, did you have any prior knowledge of Transformers, either as a cartoon or toyline?

David Kaye: Not really. DID watch it a few times though. Didn't pay too much attention. When I auditioned, I had a picture of a few characters in my head. Sometimes when I audition, I just let loose with whatever comes out. There are times when that seems to work well.

Jesse (M_P): When you auditioned for Beast Wars, did you only do Megatron, or did you audition for other characters as well?

David Kaye: I auditioned for Optimus Prime as well. I actually had a call back for both characters, Megatron and Optimus.

Jesse (M_P): During your role as Megatron in the Beast Wars cartoon, did you adlib the "Yessss" line that is a trademark of that character, or was it written into the scripts?

David Kaye: Yessss. It was my little contribution to the character. It ended up being the deciding factor I think.

Jesse (M_P): Was the transition from the Beast Wars cartoon to the Beast Machines cartoon an easy one? The reason I ask is because while Beast Wars had alot of serious plotlines, it also had alot of comedy in it. Beast Machines on the other hand was more serious, and your character seemed to lose the comedic edge that it once had. David Kaye: We did address the fact that BeastMachines was a little darker. DID enjoy Bob and Larry's writing for Beastwars though. Loved the humor aspect. I did find the transition a little difficult at first 'cause I was sooo used to adding in little bits of "stuff" now and again. Couldn't really do that with BeastMachines.

Jesse (M_P): How does it feel to reprise your role as Megatron yet again in Transformers Armada?

David Kaye: It feels ok. I DO prefer doing a cartoon before it's drawn though.

Jesse (M_P): Is it hard to dub a cartoon like Armada? Do you prefer having the freedom of doing the voice work first and then having the cartoon animated to the voice recordings?

David Kaye: Dubbing is fairly simple when you get the hang of it, but to be perfectly honest, it is a bit tedious sometimes and you don't get the energy of a full cast in the studio. It's just you and a mic and the folks behind the glass.

Jesse (M_P): Personally, which series do you like the best, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, or Armada?

David Kaye: Personally I like Beast Wars. It was tons of fun to kick off with something that radical.

Jesse (M_P): On another note, you are going to be a guest at BotCon 2003 this year, are you looking forward to it?

David Kaye: Yes, I'll be in Chicago in July. Can't wait to see Chicago and see some folks I haven't seen in a while.

Jesse (M_P): Lastly, what other projects are you working on?

David Kaye: been in Los Angeles working on a few video games. Ratchet and Clank (I'm Clank - The Robot) we just finished recording Ratchet and Clank 2. There's going to be an added bonus on the 2nd one. They filmed a bit of the behind the scenes work in the studio. Also I'm the main bad guy on the new Pitfall Harry game and did some work for Lucas Arts for a game called Tesla. I'm also the voice of Major Powers in a short series called - you guessed it - Major Powers. Also caring for over a hundred and 20 television and radio clients around the world as the voice of the station, plus promos for TBS superstation and commercials for various clients throughout North America. In Anime I'm working on Inuyasha as "seshomaru" (sp?) working on Battle of the Planets, Master Keaton and more. Also finishing up Xmen:Evoluton as professor X. Season 3. In front of the camera, just finished an episode of "The Twilight Zone" directed by one of my favorites, Bob Balaban and in the new Xmen movie X:2 you might see my cameo is a television interviewer. Don't blink.

Jesse (M_P): I would once again like to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I have really enjoyed the work you have done on the various Transformer shows, and hope that we will once again see you reprise your role as Megatron somewhere down the line.

David Kaye: Thanks Jesse.