Page 34 - Star Wars Insider #182

FORCES OF DESTINY

PRINCESS LEIA

SHELB Y Y OUNG
Shelby Young has been acting for as long as she can remember. Now the
self-confessed “Disney nerd” is living the dream as the voice actor behind Princess
Leia on Disney Channel’s Star Wars: Forces of Destiny animated series.

W ORDS: D ARREN SCO TT

Star Wars Insider: How did you family into it. He’s a member of

first get into acting? the 501st and dresses up in his

Shelby Young: My mom put own sandtrooper outfit for charity
me into pageants when I was very events. My earliest memories of
young. Some of the judges were Star Wars come through him, but I
modeling and commercial agents, didn’t actually sit down and watch
and even though my mom didn’t all the movies until I was doing
think I was old enough to pursue Dead Rising 3. It’s funny, because
acting, she let me start doing someone on set there used to call
commercials after a year of me me Princess Leia. He found out
begging! Even then I would always I hadn’t actually watched all the
complain that I didn’t have enough FOREVER YOUNG movies, and I said: “OK, if I watch

dialogue. I was a little ham! Having made her TV at least one film, would you please
debut in an episode of just call me Shelby again?” So, I sat
Going to California in
What was your fi rst voice-over? 2001, Florida-born Shelby down to watch Star Wars: A New
After moving to New York as a kid, I Young is now best known Hope and then binge-watched all
started doing a lot of voice work for for her recurring roles in of the movies.
Everybody Hates Chris
the General Mills brand, including
(2005-2008), Days of
animated Trix yogurt and Lucky Our Lives (2009-2011), The prequels too?
Charms cereal commercials. In and American Horror Oh yeah! Padmé is one of my
Story (2011). TV work
my adolescent mind, I incorrectly favorite characters, so I’m a big
has also included guest
viewed V/O as a side job, rather appearances in Ghost prequels fan because of her. I’ve
than a regular acting job, and once Whisperer (2006) and seen pretty much everything Star
I moved out to California I took a Criminal Minds (2012). Wars-related, now. Once I saw
Young has voiced
long break from voice-over, which A New Hope, I was hooked!
characters in multiple
was the dumbest thing I could have video games including
done. When I ended up working Dead Rising 3, Battlefi eld What’s your favorite element
1, and Wolfenstein II: The
on the video game Dead Rising 3, of Star Wars?
New Colossus, and has
which involved motion-capture as provided additional voices The fact that there’s this big galaxy

well, I thought: What have I been for animated movies filled with so many exciting and
such as Smurfs: The Lost
doing these past years? I love this! sometimes terrible things! And
Village (2017), and The
Boss Baby (2017) She has it’s told in such a realistic way—

What is your fi rst memory also appeared in fi lms The weirdly, for a film full of aliens and
of Star Wars? Social Network (2010), The whatnot—that when you watch it,
Midnight Game (2013),
My stepbrother is a huge Star it makes you feel like you’re a part
and Nightlight (2015).
Wars fan, and he got my whole of that universe.

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