CBM sits down with Pete Ploszek (Leonardo)

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ComicBookMovie Sits Down With TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Star Pete Ploszek

Two years ago, I spoke with three of the stars from newly rebooted live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and last week, to promote yesterday's 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, & DVD release of the film's sequel - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows - I was given an exclusive chance to catch up with one of them, Pete Ploszek, who provides the voice and mo-cap performance for the leader of the Heroes in a Half-Shell, Leonardo.

We were able to touch on a variety of different subjects as we recapped his return to Leonardo and the bigger-and-better second adventure. He also shares his thoughts on where he'd like to see his character go from here, a key fight from 2007's animated TMNT, his upcoming turn as a villain on MTV's Teen Wolf, and the possibility of a third Turtles film to close out the trilogy. Check out our conversation below:

Rohan (CBM): So, to get started, what was it like stepping back into this role? Did it come easier to you versus the first time? Or did new challenges present themselves?

Pete Ploszek: Yeah, I think it was a combination of both. Obviously, the familiarity with the technology and all the mo-cap work along with our dynamic as a cast to get to come back a second time with the same people, same cast, same filmmaker. That’s just awesome. And you can really hit the ground running and build on what you did the first go-round, so that really helped us tell the story. But then of course there are new set pieces, new sequences – we were telling a bigger story this time around, so obviously you gotta step-up and deliver that, so yeah, it was a fun time with a little extra something too.

Rohan (CBM): I remember when we spoke the first time that you mentioned how you and the other guys went through a few weeks of specialized weapons training? This time around, did you have to do a refresher course or did a lot of it just come back to you?


Pete: This time around, we did a little bit, a little refresher course, but beyond that, the stunt team knew what we could do and what they could do. And so again, them just letting us open and close fights with certain beats and then letting those guys do all the hard work and make us look good.

Rohan (CBM): On the first film, Johnny Knoxville provided the voice for Leonardo, but this time around, you were able to do both mo-cap and the voiceover work. Did it affect your performance in any way, or well, did you approach it any differently than before or did it all feel pretty natural considering you are providing the voice when reading lines during your mo-cap performance.

Pete: Yeah, exactly, that’s why nothing really changed this go-round. As a foursome, we all kinda lean on each other to tell the story, to help each other out, call each other out if something wasn’t working, and we can make something better, cleaner, more fun and so it’s really a collaborative effort in that sense. Getting to do the voice made it all that much sweeter.

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READ FULL INTERVIEW AT LINK ABOVE

[Commenter 42]

Hey, remember that time they made an E.T. Game for Atari?

That was soooooo cooool. They sold a bunch, but it was soooo terrible, everyone returned them, and then word got out, and it almost bankrupted the company.

So anyway then they had all these plastic copies of a thing nobody wanted.

Funny how history repeats itself.

I wonder where they'll burry the 4K discs? Hope they at least recycle...
Plastic is pretty damned toxic.

[Vegita-San]

the voices are so generic sounding.


they wouldn't even stand apart from each other if they didn't stereotype the performances.


This isn't even a ninja turtles movie. it's next mutation on a billion dollar budget.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

the voices are so generic sounding.


they wouldn't even stand apart from each other if they didn't stereotype the performances.


This isn't even a ninja turtles movie. it's next mutation on a billion dollar budget.

Definitely some 2k3 in there with the garish nightmare color palette.
They took the worst parts of everything, and microwaved them together.

F*cking franken-turtles.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Can the PD films be topped in terms of general awfulness? Even Next Mutation has some redeeming qualities. I think the silver lining here is that it's pretty much impossible for the franchise to sink any lower, right?

[Technogeek29]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

Can the PD films be topped in terms of general awfulness? Even Next Mutation has some redeeming qualities. I think the silver lining here is that it's pretty much impossible for the franchise to sink any lower, right?

I think we've learned that lesson more than once.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

Can the PD films be topped in terms of general awfulness?

Well, that Christmas...thing... exists.

PD films, I just feel bad for them that they didn't receive better treatment, esp with the first.

That musical Christmas special however...I feel embarrassed for them. At least Pete is a suitably decent Leo and doesn't randomly sound Jamaican for some damn reason.


PD Turtles need a Christmas special too, and then we can have a special vs special battle.

[Sabacooza]

And finally hear that hip hop Christmas album. God help us.

[IndigoErth]

Yes! Wow, didn't even think of that. lol We're doomed. They'll skip a third film and just do the much cheaper album instead.

[thundermaster612]

The whole hip hop Christmas album thing was apparently a reference to 'We wish you a Turtles Christmas'

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I'm pretty sure we already knew that.