FilmIt will happen to you: you start an account on TikTok and before you know it you have a voice role in an animated film. It happened to Elias Verwilt (21) and Bert De Kock (26), both very popular on the social medium. They can soon be heard in the Flemish version of ‘Tom & Jerry’, a print that will play in Belgian theaters from 9 June. “I was shocked by an accident,” it sounds. “I didn’t think in a hundred years that they would discover me through TikTok. I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough.”
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Elias Verwilt has almost 500,000 followers on TikTok, Bert has more than 200,000. Although these are achievements with which they can cautiously call themselves BV in the making, they both fell out of the blue when they were suddenly contacted by film studio Warner Bros.. There they were still looking for two voice actors for their latest film, ‘Tom & Jerry’. . A children’s film in which animation is combined with live action images. Remarkable, because neither of them have acting experience. So they hadn’t exactly applied for the job. However, their dozens of fun videos on the popular app were enough to convince the studio. They will be heard in the film alongside BVs such as Govert Deploige, Nicolas Caeyers, Ben Segers, Michaël Pas, Sander Gillis, Juan Gerlo and Maureen Vanherberghen.
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“I was really shocked when I got that email,” Elias says when we call him. “I honestly never expected that they would ask me for that, I’m not an actor after all. But I really liked it, of course. My TikTok videos show that I have a rather loud, distinctive voice,” he thinks. “Maybe that’s why they thought of me?” Bert didn’t know what hit him either. “I don’t like to record on strange numbers, you know that”, he laughs. “I never expected Warner Bros. would be on my answering machine. I called back right away, couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough! I sometimes imitate characters on my TikTok, many people recognize someone else’s voice in mine. Apparently I remind many people of the Ketnet monkey Olly or Timon from ‘The Lion King’. Maybe it had something to do with that?”
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(Read more below the video)
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Not simple
“It’s more difficult than you think, leaving a voice like that,” says Bert, who works behind the scenes at Ketnet. “There’s a lot to watch out for. You get to see your character from the movie, along with a timer that tells you exactly how much time you have. Sometimes that’s only three seconds, and then you have to take into account that you inhale on the first second. I also thought that I wouldn’t really have to act, but you have to be there waving your arms a bit and bring that text expressively, otherwise it won’t come across well. I play a cat, Lightning, who isn’t a big fan of Jerry. And I can tell you, recording that roll wasn’t cat piss. (laughs) As a film buff, who was in the cinema almost every week before the lockdown, it’s fantastic that I can now see my own name roll by during the credits!”
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“I really enjoyed it, it was the first time I did something like this,” says Elias. “I actually thought it went really well, so I didn’t have to practice a lot for it, or anything. I voice several secondary characters that appear in the film, so mostly it was about short pieces of text. Now and then you have to redo something, but in general I didn’t find it very difficult. They can certainly ask me again for such a film”, it sounds enthusiastic. “I’m a big fan of Disney movies, so I’d really love that. Or such a nice series for Nickelodeon. My mother used to be annoyed by those overly cheerful, dubbed voices. But I would still like to be one.” Bert shares that dream: “I was a real Disney kid, so if I could say even one sentence in such a movie, I’d be very happy. When I think of ‘Finding Nemo’, I always immediately think of Sien Eggers playing the part of Dory. How cool would that be? Mind you, I’m already super happy with ‘Tom & Jerry’, because those are also really iconic cartoons.”
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(Read more below the video)
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Open doors
So they weren’t actors and you won’t find them in the books, but Elias and Bert still made it to the big screen. And all thanks to TikTok. “Without TikTok, I would never have gotten the question,” Bert thinks. “So yes, it does open doors. I had zero experience, although I think this is something I could grow into. Be careful, don’t introduce yourself too much at my inbox, hey”, he laughs. “But sometimes applications are coming in.” Elias also notices that, who was previously drummed up as the presenter of the Golden K’s. “Crazy, huh? I can also be heard in another film soon, but I can’t say anything about that for the time being,” it sounds mysterious. “But it is indeed the case: thanks to TikTok I get opportunities that I would never have had otherwise.”
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Although Elias and Bert were not looking for a casting, there are many TikTokkers who do use the medium specifically for that. Film studios and music labels are attaching more and more value to TikTok stars. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has had a breakthrough thanks to the app, just think of Olivia Rodrigo, the person responsible for the song ‘Driver’s License’, which has been stuck in your head for months. “TikTok does indeed bring hits, it’s good for the music industry,” says Bert. “That’s why I think the app could still be relevant in five or ten years.”
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Don’t force anything
For Elias and Bert, however, TikTok will never become more than a hobby. “You can’t get involved with ‘I have to make a certain number of films a week’, you can’t force that,” says Elias. “My most spontaneous ideas are often the best. I often imitate things that parents do, but magnified. I think it should also be fun. I’m still in high school, but I’m not planning a career on TikTok. I still have my real life, after all. I started it because I was bored and because it was fun. Before the pandemic, I had never done anything with TikTok. Two weeks after the start of my account I noticed that I had a lot of viewers. People started to recognize me on the street, which was strange.”
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(Read more under video)
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Bert also sees the app purely as a hobby. “I initially downloaded them for work, and also just out of interest. Since then, the range has suddenly gone up a lot, because of the pandemic. A lot of kids – my main audience, I think – were sitting at home and didn’t have much to do except watch movies on TikTok. It started with a funny video in which I wore my mother’s earrings. That was well viewed and since then I only got more followers. So I started with videos in which I also wore her dresses – unfortunately we have the same size in them – or in which I paint myself like all kinds of animals. It’s actually a big catch-up from my childhood. (laughs) I don’t plan much more with that, I already have a good job. But they can always call me for another role in a film!”
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‘Tom & Jerry’ hits theaters on June 9.
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