Annie Murphy explains personal connection to Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Schitt’s Creek actor Annie Murphy has opened up about her personal connection to her latest film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.
The animated action-comedy sees Murphy star as Chelsea Van Der Zee, a popular mermaid teen who attends Oceanside High with Ruby (voiced by Lana Condor), who by contrast is a shy, awkward 16-year-old who is desperate to fit in.
However, it's not all smooth sailing as Ruby discovers she is descended from fierce Kraken Queens who protect the sea and lands from their nemesis, mermaids.
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In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Murphy revealed that she instantly related to this story, as it reminded her of her own teenage experience.
She explained: "I read the script and saw so much of my own awkwardly growing up experience in it that I knew right away so many other people would see themselves in this story too.
"That's really special to not feel alone in that really uncomfortable time, and inevitable time, in your life where you're not necessarily comfortable in your own skin, you don't quite know who you are, you're feeling a bit alone."
Murphy added: "To see a movie where a kid finally, after all of that struggle, grows into herself and learns to appreciate and accept all the things that she didn't love so much, and understand that those things actually make her the strong, wonderful person that she is, is a good message all round."
Murphy also discussed the challenges she found with voice-acting compared to her live-action roles such as her recent appearance in Black Mirror.
She explained: "[It was] using my voice properly. I actually just signed up for voice lessons, not for singing – that ship has so sailed, but because I did four four-hour sessions to make the movie and after the first four-hour session, my voice was absolutely gone.
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"So just learning how to be able to be loud and over-the-top without frying everything in here is a lesson I'm still learning and I hope to get better at that because I loved doing voice-acting.
"I think most people when they hear their voices back are like, 'Is that what I sound like?' and I'm still there. You hear it so differently in your head."
She added: "With this movie, it's so beautifully done and the talent is so stacked and so wonderful, and the animation is so creative and imaginative and fun, that I was able to forget about that side of things watching myself and just watch this movie because it is so beautifully done."
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is released in cinemas on June 30.
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