For more than 30-years, Bill Farmer has been the voice behind the legendary Disney characters, Goofy & Pluto. Now, Bill is swapping the microphone for a camera and meeting dogs in real life.
Isn’t [voice acting] the greatest gig in the world?
“Yeah, it really is. I love doing it. I’ve been very fortunate to have such a great series of characters that I’ve been able to do and to stay busy all these years. I mean, luckily, I don’t look the same that I did 33 years ago, but I sound the same. So you can do it for a long time.”
Now, you’re going in front of the camera to meet the dogs in real life.
“Absolutely. It’s a little change. Most actors, get into animation, like Tom Hanks or whoever. No one goes the other way. Now it’s an animation actor going in front of the camera.”
What’s the premise of the show?
“I’ve been voicing Disney dogs for 30 years. Now, I’m stepping out from behind the microphone to find out about real working dogs and the amazing jobs that dogs do to help mankind. There’s just so many things that dogs can and do on a regular basis, I had no idea about it. It’s totally been an amazing experience to put the show together.”
What kind of dogs do you have?
“I have a black lab pit bull mix named, Boo, who’s the sweetest thing. We call her Boo cause she’s scared of everything. She’s scared of balloons, bubbles, and things like that. And then a little Westie mix named, Roxy. She’s got kind of more of the street attitude. She had been living on the street for about nine months when we got her. So she’s kind of a tough little thing.”
It’s A Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer is streaming now on Disney+.