Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the hottest animated show on television, Ninja Turtles action figures are flooding toy store shelves and there's even a live action movie on the way.
No, you haven't travelled back in time to 1987 – Nickelodeon has rebooted the beloved cartoon for a new audience, and Supanova guest Greg Cipes has played a big part in its success.
In many ways, Cipes’ entire life has been a journey towards voicing a mutated turtle. An actor, musician, former professional surfer and lifelong fan of Michelangelo, he credits the cartoon character with triggering his interests in sports and the arts.
His dedication has been rewarded. After appearing in Fast And Furious, The Onion Movie, John Tucker Must Die, Deadwood, True Blood, Gilmore Girls and House, and lending his voice to Teen Titans, Ben 10: Alien Force, Ultimate Spider-Man and Astro Boy, it’s his role as Michelangelo — alongside Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael) and Rob Paulsen (Donatello) — that’s earning him the most praise.
On his way to Australia for the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth legs of Supanova, the extremely chilled actor took time out to talk vegan recipes, Michael Bay and the power of cartoons.
Hey Greg, this is Rohan, how are you?
Hey, Rohan! I'm enjoying life, thank you. How are you?
I'm good, thanks, man. First off, obviously, congratulations on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The show seems to be off to a great start, and you must be happy with the response it's getting so far.
I have so much fun being Mikey. The show's truly a reflection of what we're all experiencing over there, which is a lot of fun, a lot of hard work and a lot of raw talent. Ciro Neili, the executive producer of the show, is just a genius, and Sean Astin and Jason Biggs and Rob Paulsen, my co-stars, are great. Mae Whitman, who plays April, Hoon Lee, Kevin Michael Richardson... it's just the calibre of talent all around, and Nickelodeon executives who have cared so much for the series and the brand. You know, the show is number one in most markets around the world for a good reason. It's good to see something that has so much love put in it really rise to the top.
Michelangelo is such an iconic cartoon character. Were you intimidated to step into that role?
I have to tell you, Rohan, I'm not intimidated by anything. But to play Mikey is the greatest responsibility and gift that I've ever received. It's only because Mikey has had so much to do with who I was, and who I am, from the time I was a kid, watching the Turtles growing up. They taught me how to meditate, they got me into martial arts, surfing, skateboarding. Even my love of animals came from watching the Turtles! To see, like, a half-human-being, half-turtle makes you look at animals differently, like, 'whoa, maybe they're more like us than we thought'.
I'm a vegan, and I live non-violently. I don't like war and I don't like guns. I know that because of cartoons, the world's going to shift. It's going to become a more peaceful place, because of kids getting cartoons like Teen Titans, Ben 10, Ultimate Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that I'm a part of. All these shows are just created in such a great, positive light and energy, and it makes for happy, conscious, aware kids that will create a different world for us all to live in.
Cartoons shape the future! They shape the now, in fact. Cartoons are the most powerful form of media on the planet, because they're shaping kids. You become what you watch. I don't know any adult that memorises lines from any TV show they're watching, but I'd say a lot of kids know a lot of the lines from every cartoon they watch. They memorise the lines. Kids come up to me and they're like, 'remember when you said this, to that character?' And I'm like, 'whoa! No, I don't! But you do!'
So it's safe to say that when you were a kid, you were memorising Michelangelo's lines?
Certain lines, of course! Of course! More than memorising lines, it was about becoming a ninja, and knowing what that meant. It means being respectful to everything. Master Splinter teaches that to the Turtles, and when he teaches the Turtles, he teaches the kids watching. The whole world right now is being taught by Master Splinter, who I see as a guru. He's a high grandmaster guru of spreading love and positive energy. Splinter's the coolest dude in the world, because he surrounds himself with love. And he loves the Turtles! That's the best part!
Do you ever think about... people love to blame violent cartoons for things. The Turtles are ninjas, and can be kind of violent, I guess. But it sounds like you think it has a positive influence?
Yes, because we're teaching kids how to use their vehicle, their body, and to learn self-defence, because it's okay to be able to defend yourself against people that are trying to hurt you. Really, what happens is... you don't want to ever have to use it, so it makes you a more peaceful person. You know that, wow, life is precious, and I can be very dangerous if I want to, but these cartoons show kids how to harness themselves, and how to handle relationships with their friends and their parents. They teach them to care for animals and trees and mother earth. All these things are programmed through these cartoons.
And yeah, some of these cartoons I'm a part of are very violent, but at the same time, they're always in the light of positive lessons. That's what's happening here. Our world, our real reality, is going through a crazy stage right now where there's so much violence everywhere. There are a lot of people being hurt, there are starving kids all around the world, and I feel like cartoons have the ability to change that. I feel like the cartoons I'm a part of are inspiring that change, because they're teaching such great lessons to kids. We become our lessons.
Mikey is known for his love of pizza. As a vegan, what are your pizza options? Or is it off the table?
No, in LA, there are multiple pizza options. Vegan, organic pizzas that are so good; restaurants like Cafe Gratitude, restaurants like Planet Raw, we have a lot of options in LA. And once you learn what a raw pizza is, you can make it yourself at home! It's really easy. It's way quicker than a cooked pizza, and it tastes better, and it makes you healthy. My favourite ingredient is actually Mikey's favourite ingredient; we have the same favourite ingredient, which is algae. I eat blue green algae called spirulina. Mikey's favourite thing to put on everything, if he has it, is algae.
Did that come from you directly, or was that a bizarre coincidence?
Well, we're taking the opportunity to teach kids that eating green things is not a bad thing to do. It's actually good for you. It's natural for a turtle to eat algae, and it's actually natural for us to eat this algae, because it's so, so good for you. The nutrients and vitamins and minerals in blue green algae, it's called spirulina, and this spirulina contains all the vitamins and minerals that are not in the food that kids and most people are eating. Cereal that says it has vitamins in it? It doesn't have vitamins.
The soil that food is grown in – apples, bananas, grapes, avocados, everything – there's no minerals in the soil anymore, so you have to find it somewhere. Blue green algae have the minerals. So it's cool, and maybe kids will try it, because Mikey loves algae. I don't know!
Something else Mikey has always been known for is his catchphrase, 'Cowabunga'. In the new show, it's been replaced with 'Booyakasha'. How did that happen?
Nickelodeon gave me the opportunity to come up with my own catchphrase for Mikey, and it became the new catchphrase for the whole series. They didn't have one, so they said, 'go ahead, give it a shot' during a recording session, and I did it. They loved it and ran with it.
Did that come out of the clear blue sky, or were you pacing around at home for weeks trying to think of the right catchphrase?
It's a word that me and Ciro Neili would use with each other before the series was fully realised. He got the gig at Nickelodeon, and we would use this word as a brotherly greeting or salute or whatever. It was just natural for me to try it in a session, because Ciro is the executive producer and creator of the show, and he's a dear friend of mine, and it works! Really, the whole series... I watched it from birth. I saw the designs of the new concepts.
I've also developed a really cool relationship with Kevin Eastman, the original creator of the series. He was just in my living room yesterday, having tea, kicking back and listening to music. And that's so cool, because that's the dude who created a show that really affected me and made me who I am today!
Have you seen what Kevin's doing with the Turtles comics at the moment; the reboot that he's doing?
Yeah, I know Nickelodeon is wisely making him part of everything. Ciro and him are close friends, and we want Kevin to be as involved in the show as he can. He's involved in the new Michael Bay movie as well, so that tells me that it's going to be really good.
Do you know much about the Michael Bay film? Have they told you much, or is it on a need-to-know basis?
I know fans request what they want and they get it. Michael Bay is listening.
There was a lot of talk about the Turtles being aliens, rather than mutated earth turtles, in the movie. Do you think that matters; that it would be an important distinction?
Oh, it would matter! But I heard it's not that anymore. That was just an early idea, and I think it's wonderful for people to come up with ideas and fresh takes. But the Turtles are always going to be cool. They're always going to make kids happy in any form that you do it.
Greg Cipes will appear at the following Supanova expos:
Apr 12-14 — Melbourne ShowgroundsApr 19-21 — Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre
Jun 21-23 — Sydney Showground, Olympic Park
Jun 28-30 — Claremont Showgrounds (Perth)
