How to Get Cast on ‘Creature Commandos’

Much like the Suicide Squad, the Creature Commandos are an unsavory group of characters chosen to carry out black ops missions—characters who just so happen to be supernatural creatures and monsters. Though, in the comics, the task force was first assembled during World War II, Gunn’s version will likely feature an updated timeline as government official Amanda Waller—played by Viola Davis and previously seen in “The Suicide Squad” (2021), “Peacemaker” (2022), and “Black Adam” (2022)—brings the team together to tackle the missions deemed too dangerous for human prisoners.

Season 1 features some of Hollywood’s most talented voices, including:

• Anya Chalotra as Circe
• Russ Bain as Craic Brother
• Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
• Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot and Weasel
• Benjamin Byron Davis as Rupert Thorne
• Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.
• Maria Bakalova as Ilana Rostovic
• Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus
• Indira Varma as Bride of Frankenstein
• David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein
• Zoë Chao as Nina Mazursky
• Steve Agee as John Economos

Liz Carroll, senior casting administrator at Warner Bros. Animation, served as the primary casting administrator on “Creature Commandos.” She has cast countless DC Comics animated series during her decades-long career in the field, including “Batman Beyond,” “Harley Quinn,” “Teen Titans Go!” and “DC Super Hero Girls,” and other famous cartoons, such as “Animaniacs,” “The Tom and Jerry Show,” “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” “The Looney Tunes Show,” and “Mad.”

In developing “Creature Commandos” as an animated series, Gunn insisted on adhering to a promise for consistency within the DCU. So, if “Creature Commandos” or its characters ever transition to live-action, the actors who were hired to voice these parts will also be the ones to embody them physically. As Gunn noted during a panel at 2024’s New York Comic Con, that’s precisely why he sought out Harbour to play Eric Frankenstein: “I love the character of Frankenstein. It’s just sort of in my wheelhouse that if you have a large person who sort of has the inner workings of a tantrum-y 4-year-old, you’re going to want to get David Harbour.”

Gunn also noted that he wants viewers to dive into this first chapter without ever feeling like they need to be experts on the existing DCU. “We don’t want anybody coming to ‘Creature Commandos’ and going: Oh, you have to watch ‘The Suicide Squad’ to understand what happened to ‘Creature Commandos.’ Oh, you have to watch ‘Peacemaker,’ ” he said. “We want people to be able to come into this totally blind and they’re totally excited by it. So there’s nothing that isn’t explained in the show itself.”

The series hasn’t yet been renewed for Season 2, meaning “Creature Commandos” isn’t casting at the moment. However, with Season 1’s seven episodes set to launch on Dec. 5, 2024, and conclude on Jan. 9, 2025, news of its fate could come at any time. As you await updates, check out our roundup of voice acting casting calls right now and bookmark our main voice casting page for the latest voiceover opportunities.

And be sure to check out our guides on how to navigate and make the most of your voice acting career:

• How to Become a Voice Actor
• Voice Acting Tips for Beginners
• How to Get Into Voice Acting
• Requirements to Be a Voice Actor
• How Much Do Voice Actors Make?
• The Verdict on Voiceover: Is Voice Acting a Good Career?
• Colleges for Voice Actors: Do You Need a Degree?
• How to Find Voice Acting Jobs—And Get the Role
• Essential Voiceover Equipment: Tools All Voice Actors Need
• Voiceover Usage Rights: Everything Voice Actors Need to Know

Prepare like you’ve already landed the role. For Sean Gunn, getting to know his character and making distinct choices are all critical parts of the preparation process. “If I were to sum it up succinctly, I try to get to a place where I’m thinking in character, where I know what the character is thinking about when he’s not speaking. That helps me motivate the lines I do have,” he told us. “I try to learn it backward and forward so I have very good spatial sense of what’s going on with the scene. I try to rehearse the hell out of it. I think every actor knows this somewhere in their mind, but they seldom do it: Really prepare for the role as though you’ve already gotten it. You don’t want to go in and be like, ‘I can be flexible,’ and work yourself into whatever they want. You have to really commit to your choices and know this is how I want to play this role, and do it.”

Focus on personal growth—but don’t let age stop you. For younger actors, Grillo recommends not putting too much weight on your end goal. “I would worry less about the result, OK? Less about being right, and more about being curious and constantly working toward anything that can help your craft. And by that, I mean go to museums; sit and stare at a painting; watch people in your everyday life; read, read, read,” Grillo told us. “It’s not about getting an audition; in your early stages, it’s about becoming a full human being, being able then to recall things that you’ve experienced. If you live in New York, if you live in a metropolitan area, we have so much opportunity to go and to be around things that stimulate our imaginations; and acting at its core is about imagination. So keep yourself alive with your imagination. It feeds your craft.”

And as someone who didn’t hit it big until later in life, Grillo advises older actors not to count themselves out just yet. Grillo shared that his friend, talent agent Kevin Huvane, once said to him, “ ‘Stop thinking about how old you are. There are no rules. Don’t think of it like that. You can be successful at any stage in your life.’ It stuck with me: Just keep going.”

Embrace the moment by going with your gut. Though Bakalova prepares extensively when the time comes, she ultimately allows her instincts to guide her actions. “My training has always been as a theater actress: in high school, then university, it’s always been theater. And that helped me, because on the stage, you don’t have a second take,” she told us. “You have to catch the moment; you have to go with the flow and be interested in your instincts, because the more I think about it, the more I realize that somehow our inner voices know better than our brains what is right. We should listen to ourselves.

“Honestly, I’m doing my homework all the time,” Bakalova added. “I’m preparing as much as possible because I am a workaholic. But, in the moment, something weird is happening with my brain, and I’m like: Forget about all your preparation. You need that for confidence. The moment during the casting, the audition, just go with your instincts, because they are the right things, I believe. Because somehow you know what you have to do; somehow you know what is authentic to you. That’s my advice—and enjoy it. You have a limited amount of time to experience this journey. It might be just an audition; it might be the preparation of the audition. You are living the life of this character. You are living it—even for a short period of time, you are living it. So, it’s good. Isn’t it? And it’s fun.”

What’s meant to be will be. Tudyk understands rejection results in disappointment, but actors need not fret as it’s all part of your journey to success. “I think that’s one of the things you find early on as an actor: It’s meant to be,” he told us.“When you don’t get a job, you console yourself with ‘meant to be.’ But it’s meant to be who gets the role. So try to hold onto that. Everybody has their own timing in this business. Don’t create enemies where there shouldn’t be, or where there aren’t enemies. We’re all in this together, and if you compare yourself to other people, you’re going to just drive yourself crazy. That is the best advice and the hardest advice to hold onto. Don’t put that energy into blaming others for why something didn’t happen. Work on yourself; be the best you can be.”