In any respectable audiobook project, finding the names of Andy Weir ("The Martian," "Project Hail Mary") and Benjamin Percy ("The Ninth Metal," "Wolverine") attached would elicit intense fan interest, but add the superstar vocal talents of Anthony Mackie ("Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Doomsday"), Ariana DeBose ("West Side Story"), and John Leguizamo ("Ice Age"), and it catapults this sonic odyssey into the stratosphere.
Such is the case with "Exoplanet," Audible Original’s new 7-episode science fiction audio drama executive produced by Weir and penned by Percy. Its planet-hopping space disaster narrative sees the crew of the starship Wild Blue Yonder hit a quantum anomaly, forcing their ship to crash-land onto a deadly exoplanet. All is not as it seems, though, as each crew member arrives in a different era on the same world.
We hooked up with Mackie, DeBose, and Lequizamo to learn more about this renaissance of audio dramas and what attracted them to board Weir's sci-fi thriller.
Mackie voices Chief Engineer Jeff Shaw. His attraction to the imaginative genre began at an early age thanks to some cool family friends while growing up in the Big Easy.
"My brother went to college at Morehouse," he tells SPACE. "I was like 8, and he was 18. He’d always bring friends home, because New Orleans is a party city, so they'd come over and get drunk. But one of his friends gave me a book by Walter Mosley and one by Octavia Butler, and I got hooked into sci-fi and the future."
"From 'Back to the Future' to 'Aliens,' the future was such an idea of what was going to be out there. Now we’re living it," reveals Mackie. "It’s very important to me as a human being to have that construct as a part of my career. The only thing more arrogant than wanting to be president is standing up and saying, 'Yeah, I can go to space.' That sounds crazy to me."
Leguizamo's New York City childhood was influenced by absorbing classic radio dramas of the past, which primed him for this special Audible project.
“It was Anthony and Ariana being in it that really pumped me up, and of course Andy Weir," he recalls regarding his portrayal of Science Officer Logan Bowers. "Then when I got the theme, that it was something relevant today and makes you think about computers and technology taking over and making us obsolete. It just hit me in that right zeitgeist, at that right little point."
"As a poor kid, there was no YouTube or cell phones, and we didn’t have computers," reminisces Leguizamo. "I used to go to the Broadcast Museum on 53rd Street and listen to old radio plays like The Shadow and these incredible detective radio plays. It's a different art form. With no visuals, your voice has to create the world. I thought that was an incredible challenge."
DeBose portrays the Wild Blue Yonder's confident First Officer Becca Bang, who’s stranded in a temporal mystery that might engulf her at any moment.
"I've yet to do anything like this, which is always exciting," she adds. "I was a little afraid of it, which told me I should do it. These gents are so talented. It's great company. It’s coming from brilliant minds who build worlds so impeccably. And it's about real stuff we’re dealing with today. I liked the idea that we could tell this story and make people listen and create a space for them to imagine themselves in it and see how they problem-solve to make the world a bit better."
Recording your character's lines is far more difficult than just stepping up to the microphone to read a script, and our ace "Exoplanet" trio delivered in every session.
"I just go in and throw myself at something," DeBose recalls. "I don’t really have a method. But I can tell you this: it is a full-body workout. I use everything at my disposal, whether it’s a chair or a pillow or running in place. I just do what the character does and end up sweating. And after three days, I have to go sit in silence. It's great. I love the idea of bringing back the radio play. The art of listening is such a thing. I don’t think people listen enough. Even for myself."
Likewise, Leguizamo embraced his booth sessions with exuberance and authenticity.
"You have to cancel the rest of your day, especially if you've got to talk, because your vocal chords are fried," he admits. "And if they're not fried you're not doing your job. You really have to do the physicality. If you run you have to run like a maniac and be out of breath. If I'm getting hit I start punching myself. Then there’s a sexiness to doing these things. Your voice has to have a little mystery, a little naughtiness. It’s an interesting intersection where you pull it back a little and invite the audience in.”
For Mackie, who’s used to athleticism needed to play MCU superheroes like The Falcon and Captain America, recording dialogue offered a different type of opportunity.
“I look for reasons not to talk to people, so I love doing these," he jokes. "Once I’m out of the studio, I’m not talking to anybody for two days. At a certain point for me, I find mentally I get tired of hearing myself talk. I just have to come home at cut off. I’ve said enough words for the next month.”
"Exoplanet" is available now exclusively from Audible.
