We were fortunate enough to secure an interview with a man so well-versed in all sorts of media, you’d be hard-pressed to remember him by only one character name. The Man of 999 Faces, Wally Wingert, was kind enough to lend us his time and cunning wit to answer some questions about his expansive career, as well as a few tidbits about Rocksteady Studios‘ upcoming smash hit, Batman: Arkham City, where he gives voice to the nefarious Riddler.

The Gaming Vault: Hi Wally, thanks for joining us. How are you today?

Wally Wingert: I’m relaxing with a couple of popsicles after a crazy, busy day. Ahhhh… I like cherry, grape and banana best.

TGV: This morning I received my first email advertising Christmas 2011. Is the holiday season gearing up just a bit too soon in your part of the world as well?

Wally: I’m the type of guy who thinks it’s Christmas every day of the year. But that’s the silly little child-like world I choose to live in I guess. So, I just figure there’s one day a year (usually it falls on December 25th) where the rest of the world catches up to me.

TGV: Yours is a career so long, large and diverse that we could never even hope to touch on everything, but when and where did your obvious passion for performing begin?

Wally: I’m relatively sure my passion for performing was formed in the womb, along with my fingers and toes. I’ve loved it so long, that I’m sure it’s been with me from the embryonic stage. I really can’t recall a time in my life where I ever considered being anything else. Except a minister, and that in itself is a performance of sorts I guess.

TGV: You never shied away from sharing that passion, performing in school plays and talent shows, but did you always intend to pursue it professionally?

Wally: I was so happy the day I found out that the kid who was on the Munsters actually got PAID to do that! At the young age of 7 I always figured people were on TV shows because it was fun!

TGV: Talking of those school plays and talents shows, do any memories stand out? What were the highs and the lows of standing up in front of friends and family?

Wally: It’s fun to watch the faces of the people you hang out with at school see you in character. Like Andy Kaufman or Elvis, whom I performed at talent shows in High School. You get to be a completely different person that they may not know, but in character you have the ability to know a lot about them, simply because that character is tapping into Wally’s memories and experiences. Classmates who wanted to hang out with Andy or Elvis may have had no interest in hanging out with Wally. It’s weird in a way. And if I knew my folks were in the audience, I would always try just a little harder.

TGV: At the age of 16, when most of us have no idea what to do with our lives, you became a radio DJ. Did you take it straight away or did you struggle to find your feet?

Wally: I was playing radio in my room as a kid all the time. I had a little record player, and a dim light, and a pretty good record collection. I would sit there and do radio shows to no one in particular. I would pick up the Top 40 chart every week at the record store and chart the progress of certain songs. My dad brought home a reel to reel tape recorder that he had won in a sales contest. Then my life changed! So when I got the chance to be on the radio for real, it all felt so natural.

TGV: A few years later you followed the dream by moving to Los Angeles. What was it that finally prompted the decision to move and just how big a step was it personally?

Wally: It was an enormous step, but a necessary one. I needed to move to fertile ground where my natural talents and abilities could flourish. My grandma always told me “bloom where you’re planted.” But I explained that the ground I was planted in was poisonous to my type of growth. South Dakota just doesn’t have a professional arts community. And now I think she understands why I did it. My parents always understood that I’d be moving here someday and I don’t believe they ever thought otherwise.

TGV: What were your first few years in LA like – did everything go to plan?

Wally: The best thing I did was to make a step-by-step plan on how to do things once I got here. I can still see the piece of paper I had everything written out on! First, get some sort of menial job to pay rent. Then get into radio and join AFTRA. Then through AFTRA join SAG. Work a radio job at night so I would have my days to audition for roles. Then when I got enough roles, quit radio. It all worked perfectly to plan, because that’s exactly how it went down. But I quickly lost interest in on-camera acting and found voice acting more to my liking.

TGV: Your on screen break came as the voice and puppeteer of Kelbo in an episode of Murphy Brown, a role which gained you membership to the Screen Actors Guild. Starting out, did you ever suspect that essentially a Muppet would have such a big influence on your career?

Wally: Not starting out, but certainly looking back. I can see where all of the influences I had as a kid finally paid off throughout the years in this biz. My puppeteering experience paid off in “Murphy Brown.” My Muppet voice impressions paid off in my very first job in “Family Guy.” My radio training helped prepare me for “The Tonight Show,” etc. etc. I’ve professionally impersonated all of my favorite performers for financial gain at some point down the road…Andy Kaufman, Elvis, Adam West, Starsky, Fonzie, etc. Looking back at my past and all of the varied influences I had, it all makes sense now. It was God showing me what skills I’d need in my arsenal at some point in my life and career.

TGV: Where do you think Kelbo is now—has his smart mouth landed him in trouble?

Wally: Strangely enough, I did an internet search for Kelbo just the other day. I would love to buy that puppet if he’s ever for sale. He has a permanent place in Planet Wallywood if he ever wants to make the move.

TGV: While browsing through your résumé, the entry that made me smile the most, having seen the same show in Florida, was Beetlejuice in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue show at Universal Studios Hollywood. Are you a fan of the film?

Wally: I was never a huge fan of the film, but I enjoy it. I can see where the Beetlejuice character would catch on with fans, but he didn’t particularly reach me. I auditioned for the job because I had just been laid off from a radio station due to mid-90′s downsizing, and many people were telling me how much I resembled Michael Keaton.

So I studied the film, worked on facial expressions and the physicality of the character, wrote some funny bits (many of them were stolen from the old “Famous Monsters” magazines) and went to the audition. It was a great four year job, and one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. And the girls I met…WOOOOO!

TGV: You are sometimes known as the Man of 999 Faces, as a tribute to the Man of 1000 Faces, Lon Chaney, Sr. Did working on the Beetlejuice show provide you with the opportunity to experiment and develop your own skills in make-up?

Wally: I had come into the job with a lot of make-up skills already. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I think I got the job. I had been making myself up as creatures out of my mom’s make-up kit since I was 11 or 12, so when I got to go into Universal Studios’ make-up rooms, it was like a kid in a candy store! I got to play around and they encouraged it! I would often be asked for make-up tips from some of the other performers…how to blend edges, how to highlight, mixing colors. It was great! You play with make-up, put on a costume, dance around and insult people, AND GET PAID TO DO IT!

TGV: During your four years on the show, just how many times did you perform each week and what stands out the most about those years when you look back on them?

Wally: I was working an average of three to four days a week, five shows a day. You wouldn’t want to do much more than that because the show was very physically demanding. You needed a few days’ worth of downtime in between to let sore muscles heal. The thing I liked most about it was the quality of people I met. Many great performers came out of that generation of the Beetlejuice show! Wayne Brady was a Wolfman, Daran Norris and Dee Bradley Baker (two great voice over guys) were also Beetlejuices. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is a great animation director. The director of that show really had an eye for talent!

TGV: Not for the first time, reports have recently appeared suggesting that a sequel to the film could be on its way. Good news, bad news or just plain ugly news?

Wally: I’ve been hearing rumours of a sequel for years. I don’t know which is less likely to happen, a Beetlejuice sequel or “Invader Zim” coming back.

TGV: Now we come to your voice career. It seems practically everything you have worked on is either a mainstream, cult or nostalgic favourite – luck or a clever agent?

Wally: I feel blessed to have such a wide variety of projects in my career. Weird culty stuff. Big institutional stuff. Stuff that I’m a personal fan of. It’s been great so far!

TGV: When did you first realise that perhaps this voice acting stuff was going to work out?

Wally: In 1997 when the bookings started coming fast and furious. I had lucked into a great agent who believed in me and was promoting me to all the producers and casting directors. I realized that doing three or four sessions a day was much better than sitting in a trailer on a set every day on a film shoot for one scale payment.

TGV: Of everything you have worked on, it appears my fellow writers would never forgive me if we didn’t discuss the previously mentioned Invader Zim. Are you surprised by its popularity?

Wally: Not at all. I knew when I met Jhonen Vasquez that something wonderful and new was going on. When I saw the first episode I totally got it. It’s just too bad that it wasn’t allowed to continue on a network that wasn’t as concerned with getting the 5 year old market. It was a great show for the “tween” market.

TGV: You voiced Tallest Red, while Kevin McDonald voiced Tallest Purple. How closely did you work together and did ruling an intergalactic empire go to your heads?

Wally: I loved working with Kevin, but because of his zany schedule with the “Kids in the Hall,” we didn’t always get to record together. But when we did he would make me laugh until I puked. Ask me about the napkin story sometime. It’s something I have to explain in person.

TGV: Are there any more plans for Invader Zim – perhaps a good video game?

Wally: It would be a great videogame! I know that Jhonen is a BIG videogame fan and would probably love to do a Zim game. But I don’t think he’s a big fan of the Nickelodeon hierarchy and therefore it likely won’t ever happen. But I hope I’m wrong.

TGV: Next we come to Batman. Even a cursory glance at your career will see the character has played a large role in your life, but where did it all begin?

Wally: When I was 5, Adam West was a god to me! In fact, Adam’s Batman was the first character that ever made me want to dress up and be a character. It made me conscious of the fact that I could dress up, pretend to be someone else and have a great time exploring another person’s persona, characteristics and personality.

TGV: In more recent years you have actually met Adam West. Was this one of those rare times where it wasn’t a bad idea to meet your hero?

Wally: I’ve been really blessed in the ability to be able to meet most of my personal heroes. I never met Andy Kaufman, although we corresponded via mail. I’ve met “Weird Al” Yankovic, Henry Winkler, Roy Orbison, William Shatner, Jonathan Frid, Michael Crawford, Leonard Nimoy, and though I never met Elvis, we had eye contact at a concert in 1977. That’s a funny store. Remind me to tell it to you someday in person. You have to see it acted out to really grasp its significance. But I’ve known Adam on a personal level for over 30 years. His encouragement to follow my dream meant a lot to me and to this day he takes full credit for my success. He’s the greatest, and totally worthy of all the adulation.

TGV: Many now know you as The Riddler in Batman: Arkham Asylum. As a fan, what did it mean to you to become a part of the Batman Universe, especially in something as hugely popular and successful Arkham Asylum has been?

Wally: Getting that role was an amazing gift on so many different levels. I knew Frank Gorshin [note: the original Riddler from the live action TV series] and I can’t help but think that he’s up there in the Great Beyond laughing. In fact, occasionally, Voice Director Collette Sunderman let me put a little “Frank” into my Riddler laugh, just as an homage. And Paul and Misty Dini are friends of mine, so it’s great to be sharing the bill with those greats.

TGV: How did you come to get the part to begin with?

Wally: I auditioned it at home in my home studio and e-mailed it in. I remember them wanting a “game show announcer” quality in the Riddler, so as he led Batman through the maze of traps the Riddler’s voice would cut through the atmosphere.

TGV: Were you at all influenced by previous portrayals of The Riddler when finding his voice – was there even a pressure to sound like those that came before you?

Wally: I know they wanted something totally different. So I combined two voices for The Riddler…one was my old director at the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse (who had a wonderfully, droll sense of sarcastic humour and he would chew every word that came out of his mouth) and the other was Michael Dunn, who played Dr. Loveless on the old “Wild Wild West” TV show. He had a wonderful way of making horrible things sound so wonderfully fun and enjoyable. It was the contrast of the cheerful lilt in his voice against the awful things he was saying that made it so creepy. He was a genius.

TGV: Recently of course you have been working on the sequel, Batman: Arkham City. Did the success of the original increase the burden of expectation or did having proved yourselves with the first game give you all a bit more breathing space?

Wally: I think The Riddler was more or less an afterthought for the first game, which is why you never saw him. But I think the fans enjoyed his perplexing riddles so much that they demanded an on-screen appearance in the sequel. It’s fun to see people’s faces when they realize I voiced The Riddler, because they say, “I hated you!” but in a good “love-to-hate” kind of way. Actually, I think the fans are looking forward to the new game to see if the snotty Riddler gets his comeuppance and gets pummelled by Batman.

TGV: City is said to be much larger than Asylum in just about everyway, but just how much bigger is the game in general and The Riddler’s role in events?

Wally: Bigger. Better. Batman-ier. That’s all I can say.

TGV: How long were you in the studio for Arkham City compared to when you recorded Arkham Asylum?

Wally: Asylum only took a few sessions, but there were about 6 sessions for City. But I was doing several other incidental characters other than the Riddler as well. Voice Director Collette Sunderman told me I was the very last guy to record for the game. I guess because my schedule is so zany we had a hard time finding a time that worked for us both, so I barely got in just under the wire! Whew!

TGV: When you are recording for a video game, does your approach to the material and the character differ at all from when you are recording for an animation?

Wally: It has to differ because an animation script has a singular narrative. But a videogame can have a multitude of outcomes. So you have to record reactions for every possible scenario in the game. It’s a much broader spectrum than an animated show and the hours of recording are much longer and more intense. Things can happen to a character in a videogame that would never happen in an animated show. They can die, be dismembered, turn cowardly, anything. The choices and variety are almost endless.

TGV: If you could voice any other character in the Batman universe, who would it be?

Wally: Joe Chill. Without him, there would be no Batman!

TGV: You have voiced several Marvel characters as well. We cannot do them justice here but it does mean we can ask that all important question – Marvel or DC?

Wally: I vote yes!

TGV: We are nearly out of time but before we go, what might we find you doing when you are not busy lending your voice to various TV shows and video games?

Wally: In line at a collector show trying to obtain autographs from some of my childhood heroes, or trying to negotiate a good price for some collectible I’ve been looking for. Don’t forget, I’m a super fan too!

TGV: Are there any questions you’ve always wished someone would ask? Or alternatively, are there any questions you wish people would stop asking? Be gentle with me.

Wally: No, all questions are welcome. I have nothing to hide. Well, except for that time I stole that cake from an old lady. But it was DEEEEE-licious!

TGV: Mental Note: Hide cakes from Wally Wingert. And finally, what are the chances of an Arkham 3 seeing the light of day?

Wally: I like to think logically. And it would be logical to assume that not only will we see Arkham 3, but most likely Arkham 300! This baby has legs!

TGV: Wally, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it.

Wally: You bet! Happy to do it! Now off I go to organize my comics from Alvin to Zorro!