The red hat, blue coat and impeccable manners have made Paddington – a fictional talking bear living with a British family – a favorite among ’90s kids.
Xian Lim with Paddington Bear
In 2014, the life and adventures of Paddington was adapted into film. And Filipinos who watched it in local theaters were amazed to hear a familiar voice, that of Xian Lim’s.
Well, he’s done it again. The Filipino actor was handpicked by the producers of “Paddington 2” to voice the eponymous character for its local release in the country on Jan. 31 (Ben Whishaw voices Paddington in the international release.)
At a press conference, Xian expressed enthusiasm over the matter, saying it’s a great way to start the year.
“Imagine ito po ’yung sumalubong sa akin. I feel so blessed, I feel so honored,” he said.
Xian, a self-confessed Paddington fan, relates to the character. Being an only child, he said there have been times he “felt lost” like the bear.
“Paddington felt lost because he’s a bear in the middle of the city and I sometimes feel that way,” he said. “Growing up as an only child, hindi ako masyadong na-expose sa maraming tao, most of time, lola at nanay lang ang kasama ko.”
“I relate to that side of Paddington kasi like him, medyo na-a-amaze ako when there’s big crowd because that’s something out of my comfort zone,” Xian added.
The actor also knows how it is to make mistakes but not to give up.
“I’m in a point of my life where in I’m willing to take anything. Magkamali man at least I learn from it.”
Voicing Paddington has opened possibilities for Xian. He said he is not averse to do more dubbing projects.
“Ibang mundo kasi siya talaga (dubbing). Especially when we did Paddington, ang saya lang kasi parang nandu’n ka talaga (sa eksena) but you are actually behind the camera,” he explained.
“Sanay ako na kinukuhanan (ng camera) but dito, parang you are part of the post-production eh. What’s exciting is, you can give a different life to the character. Just the process of making it and lending your voice gives me a different excitement.”
How does dubbing improve you as an actor, we asked Xian. He said it added to his confidence.
“’Yung day one namin, it took us more than 10 hours (to finish). Paulit-ulit naming ginagawa (’yung dubbing). Habang paulit-ulit, naririnig ko ’yung sarili ko so nadya-judge ko din ang sarili ko,” he shared. “Kumbaga nalalaman ko kung ano ang dapat kong baguhin like sa intonations, du’n sa process about how I should speak. Boses lang kasi ang umaarte eh that’s why I have so much respect for voice actors talaga.”
Look back
Xian was auditioned for the role by having his voice tapes sent to Studio Canal in London.
Upon getting the part, he admitted having mixed emotions. For his preparations, he did intensive research on the character.
“Medyo kinabahan ako na may halong takot. Like iniisip ko na ‘Am I gonna pull it off.’ I love dubbing ever since kahit sa mga films ko. Na-e-enjoy ko talaga siya pero iba kasi kasi talaga ang sa animation,” he said. “So what I did, nag-research talaga ako. Kasi back in the States, pinapalabas na din siya so kahit papaano may knowledge na ako na makulit siya na bear and he gets into different troubles.”
Xian clarified he did not simply ape Ben’s reading of the character. Rather, he made it his own, focusing on the delivery.
“I make my own interpretation. Of course, we can’t really go up against sa script but in terms of delivery pwede siyang baguhin. Kasi I find it weird kung gagayahin ko lang, I think para siyang magiging robot,” he disclosed. “So I used my normal speaking voice lang kasi it wouldn’t make sense dahil hindi naman ako British.”
He worked on the dubbing in the Philippines. Xian was with a dubbing supervisor in the studio.
Passionate as he is, Xian admitted there was a time he even dreamt of Paddington.
Xian with Marketing Director of Captive Cinema Maver Mayuga
“Long hours kasi talaga nu’ng ginawa namin siya. Pag-uwi ko, natulog ako then napanaginipan ko na siya. Minsan may araw na nadadala ko na talaga (’yung character),” he said, laughing before giving a quick sample of his Paddington voice.
First choice
“Paddington 2” is distributed by Captive Cinema in the Philippines.
Maver Mayuga, Marketing Director of Captive Cinema, said Xian was their first choice for the role and he proved to be perfect for it.
“When they told us that we can get a local talent, we tried thinking of names to submit,” she said. “We cannot just choose any actor just because his popular or anything. And actually the first choice was really Xian.”
Why so, we asked.
To begin with, Maver said Xian grew up in the States so he speaks English very well.
“Speaking English is a natural thing for him. It’s not the looks but it is more of the speaking voice and Xian Lim fit perfectly for it,” she shared.
She also revealed that the foreigner producers was surprised to know that Xian is a local talent upon hearing how good he is in dubbing.
“Nu’ng sinubmit namin siya, nagtatanong sila na ‘May local voice talent dito?’ Hindi nila napansin because that’s how good Xian is. I think this is just really meant for him.”
Should “Paddington” have a third installment, Maver is confident Xian will be chosen by the producers yet again.