By Nestor Cuartero
JUST A THOUGHT: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
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CHALLENGED BY VOICE ACTING: The hardest part, Xian Lim says, in voicing for a character in a film is conserving your voice.
For several days, the romantic drama actor refrained from talking too much, even to his girlfriend Kim Chiu.
Xian has been tapped anew to voice act in the second instalment to Paddington, the story of Britain’s most loved literary bear. He said that there are scenes in the film that required raising his voice, shouting, laughing out loud. To pull these off, his voice, he said, had to be full and solid.
The actor said he had to goof around, stretching his voice, as he played the marmalade-loving, plucky, duffel-coated bear.
Xian’s voice will be heard onlyduring the Philippine release of the film, however, and not anywhere else in the world.
In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, Paddington is voiced by known actor Ben Whishaw.
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XIAN APPROVED AT FIRST PREVIEW: Xian was chosen to voice act for Paddington for the first time in 2015. He immediately gained approval from Paddington producers in the UK. The Philippines is the only market where a local actor has been allowed to voice for Paddington.
In the film’s second installment, Paddington, now settled with the Brown family, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy’s 100th birthday.
Directed by Paul King, Paddington 2 stars Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Xian Lim(voice of Paddington for Philippine release) will be in theaters on January 31. The film is released in the Philippines by Captive Cinema, founded by Paul Poste in 2012. Captive is known for releasing entertaining and critically-acclaimed titles like Dallas Buyers Clun, It Follows, Paddington 1, The Little Prince.