Andrea Romano (voice director)

Andrea Romano (born December 3, 1955) is an American casting director, voice director, and voice actress whose work includes Batman: The Animated Series, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Freakazoid, Pinky and the Brain, Teen Titans, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks, Static Shock, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series), SpongeBob SquarePants and multiple Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics direct-to-video films including: Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight. Her voice acting, as of 2010, consists of minor roles in television series, direct-to-video films, and video games.

Andrea Romano
Romano at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	December 3, 1955 Long Island, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Casting director, voice director, voice actress
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Rogério Nogueira

Early life

She was born in 1955.[1] Romano grew up in Long Island, New York.[2] Her parents are of Italian descent. She pursued undergraduate education at State University of New York at Fredonia, graduating in 1977,[3] before attending Rutgers University. She dropped out before finishing.[2] At this time, she began auditioning for plays in Manhattan. While keeping a steady job during the day, Romano would perform in plays at night, often auditioning on her lunch break.[2]

Early career

In 1979, Romano moved to San Diego, where it was difficult for her to find theater work.[2] After working in a couple of plays, she was offered a temporary position at Abrams-Rubaloff, a talent agency in Los Angeles. Within months, due to the temporary position lasting longer than expected, Romano was franchised as an agent.[2]

After leaving Abrams-Rubaloff, Romano joined Special Artists, a smaller agency, and began their voice-over department. While at Special Artists, she would also direct the potential client auditions. It was during her time at Special Artists that Romano began attending some of her clients' recording sessions at Hanna–Barbera. After a short time at Special Artists, she was asked to audition at Hanna–Barbera for the position of casting director.[2]

Hanna-Barbera

Romano joined Hanna-Barbera in 1984.[4] While at Hanna-Barbera, a position which she served for more than five years, Romano worked on such programs as The Smurfs, The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Pound Puppies, and the 1985 reboot of The Jetsons, among others. On all of which, she worked alongside director Gordon Hunt. She also worked on Jetsons: The Movie, though she had her name removed from the credits when an executive decision resulted in Janet Waldo's already-recorded work being discarded in favor of Tiffany. Near the end of recording for Jetsons: The Movie, Romano witnessed George O'Hanlon, who voiced George Jetson, die as the result of a stroke, in the recording studio. His wife was at his side.[2]

Romano was approached by Disney, which was developing DuckTales at the time, to audition for the position of voice director of the series. Disney was auditioning five directors that would each direct one episode, after which, they would choose a director to direct the remaining episodes. One director did the first episode, then Romano directed the second episode; it was at this time that Disney chose to stop the audition process and have Romano direct the remaining episodes. Romano directed 65 episodes of DuckTales. While serving as voice director of DuckTales, for Disney, Romano remained on staff at Hanna-Barbera, as casting director until some of the Hanna-Barbera executives chose to leave and form a new company. Knowing she would not be able to direct in this new company, Romano chose to become a freelance director.[5]

Freelance directing

1989–2000

Romano, at right, directing the voice cast of Batman: The Animated Series in a table reading at the 2019 East Coast Comicon

Romano became a freelance casting and voice director in 1989. The first series she worked for, which was made for Warner Brothers, was Tiny Toon Adventures in 1990. That was followed by Batman: The Animated Series and The Plucky Duck Show in 1992; Animaniacs in 1993; Pinky and the Brain, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and Freakazoid in 1995; Superman: The Animated Series and Road Rovers in 1996; The New Batman Adventures in 1997; Histeria! and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain in 1998; and Batman Beyond in 1999; all for Warner Bros.[5] She was also a voice director briefly for Bonkers in 1994. At the same time, Romano directed the first season of the first ever all-CGI series, ReBoot, however the position was taken over by Michael Donovan for the remainder of the show.

In addition to series, Romano also voice directed many direct-to-video films, including: Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, The Land Before Time II, The Land Before Time III, The Land Before Time IV, The Land Before Time V, and Wakko's Wish.

Since 2000

Since 2000, Romano has served as casting, and voice director for series, including; Justice League, Teen Titans, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Batman, SpongeBob SquarePants, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

She has also done the DC Comics direct-to-video films, including: Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and Batman: Year One.

Video games

On video games, Romano has stated, "On video games I only do special ones because video games tend to become recording 150 different 'oofs,' 20 different strangulation sounds… they aren't challenging to me and they are taxing on an actor's voice."[5] Romano did her first voice direction of a video game on 1999's Descent 3. She later worked on Animaniacs Splat Ball, in 1999; Floigan Bros. and Batman: Vengeance, in 2001; Teen Titans, in 2005; Diablo III, in 2008; and Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, in 2010.

Voice acting

Romano's first credited voice role was in a 1992 episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, she again voiced herself on a 1996 episode of Animaniacs. She has also voice-acted for the series Justice League and Teen Titans. In addition to these, Romano also played voice-roles for some of her direct-to-video films: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. She also voiced the Batcomputer in the 2010 video game, Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame.

Casting process and reputation

Romano is "renowned for considering 250-300 actors for lead roles", according to UGO.[4] She dislikes having to replace actors, which is why she values actors who are not celebrities, having commented, "Replacing a celebrity ... that's really uncomfortable."[6] Romano has joked that fans can sometimes tell what she has been watching on television or in the movies by whom she casts.[7] She sometimes intentionally casts the same actors with whom she has worked previously, "because it was fun, it was good and I know they can do the job."[4] Romano is known for having recording sessions with the actors recording lines in one room, rather than recording the actors' lines individually. She has been known for casting more famous names alongside veteran voice actors, most notably casting Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker in Star Wars) as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series (giving Hamill a new career as a voice actor), and regularly casts other famous guests on her shows, including Neil Patrick Harris, Weird Al Yankovic, William H. Macy, Paul Reubens, Shaquille O'Neal, James Hong, Dakota Fanning and Bernadette Peters on various shows, as well as Senator Patrick Leahy (a lifelong Batman fan) on Batman: The Animated Series, among other famous guests.

Her reputation includes Wired's Ken Denmead's description of Romano as an "iconic voice director".[8] UGO refers to her as "arguably the best known casting/dialogue director on the animation scene today."[4]

Wil Wheaton, an actor and voice actor whom Romano has worked with, has said: "I owe Andrea my whole animation career", after she cast him in The Zeta Project and Teen Titans.[9]

Filmography

Crew work

Crew work in television

Year	Title	Notes
1984–1985	Challenge of the GoBots	Casting director
1984–1985	Pink Panther and Sons	Casting director
1984–1989	The Snorks	Casting director
	The Smurfs	Casting director (Seasons 4–9)
1985	ABC Weekend Specials	Casting director (1 episode)
	CBS Storybreak	Casting director (11 episodes)
	The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo	Casting director
1985–1986	Galtar and the Golden Lance	Casting director
	The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians	Casting director
	Paw Paws	Casting director
1985–1988	Yogi's Treasure Hunt	Casting director
1985–1987	The Jetsons	Casting director (1980's revival of the original show)
1986	Wildfire	Casting director
	The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration	Casting director Animated television special
1986–1987	Pound Puppies	Casting director
	The New Adventures of Jonny Quest	Casting director
1986–1988	Foofur	Casting director
	The Flintstone Kids	Casting director
1987	Sky Commanders	Casting director
	Yogi's Great Escape	Casting director
	The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones	Casting director
	Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers	Casting director
	Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats	Casting director
	Rockin' with Judy Jetson	Casting director
	Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose	Casting director
1987–1988	Popeye and Son	Casting director
1987–1990	DuckTales	Dialogue director (50 episodes) (Season 1) Voice director (11 episodes)
1988	The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley	Casting director
	The New Yogi Bear Show	Casting director
	Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School	Casting director
	The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound	Casting director
	Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears	Casting director
	Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf	Casting director
1988–1990	A Pup Named Scooby-Doo	Casting director
1988–1990	Fantastic Max	Casting director
1989–1991	The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh	Voice director (15 episodes)
1989–1990	The Further Adventures of Super Ted	Casting director
	Paddington Bear	Casting director
1990	Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers	Voice director
1990–1995	Tiny Toon Adventures	Casting director Voice director
1992–1995	Batman: The Animated Series	Casting director Voice director
1992	The Plucky Duck Show	Casting director Voice director
1993	Cro	Voice director
1993–1998	Animaniacs	Casting director Voice director
1994	Bonkers	Dialogue director (20 episodes)
	ReBoot	Voice director (9 episodes)
1995–1997	Freakazoid!	Voice director
1995–1998	Pinky and the Brain	Casting director Voice director
1995–2000	The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries	Voice director
1996–2000	Superman: The Animated Series	Voice director
1996–1997	Road Rovers	Voice director
1997–1999	The New Batman Adventures	Casting director Voice director
1998–1999	Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain	Original Casting director Voice director
1998–2000	Histeria!	Voice director
1999–2001	Batman Beyond	Voice director
2000–2004	Static Shock	Casting director (seasons 2–4) Voice director
2001	Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat	Casting director Recording director
2001–2002	The Zeta Project	Voice director
2001–2003	Sitting Ducks	Voice director
2001–2004	Justice League	Casting director Voice director
2003–2006	Teen Titans	Casting director Voice director
2004–2006	Justice League Unlimited	Casting director Voice director
2005–2008	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Voice director
2005–2009, 2014	The Boondocks	Voice director
2006–2008	The Batman	Co-casting director and co-voice director alongside Ginny McSwain and Michael Hack (seasons 4–5)
2007–2008	El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera	Voice director
2007–2012	SpongeBob SquarePants	Voice director
2008–2010	Ben 10: Alien Force	Casting Director Recording Director
2008–2011	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Casting director Voice Director
2010–2012	Ben 10: Ultimate Alien	Casting Director Recording Director
2011–2012	ThunderCats	Casting director Voice director
2012–2013	Motorcity	Voice director
2012–2014	The Legend of Korra	Voice director
2012–2017	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Voice director
2013–2014	Beware the Batman	Casting director Voice director
2013–2016	Turbo FAST	Casting director Voice director
2015–2018	Niko and the Sword of Light	Casting Director Voice Director
2015–2018	The Adventures of Puss in Boots	Voice director
2016–2018	Voltron: Legendary Defender	Voice director
2016	Little Big Awesome: What's the Trouble Bubble	Casting director Voice director
2019	Lucky	Voice director

Crew work in film

Year	Title	Notes
1990	DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp	Voice director
	Jetsons: The Movie	Casting director & Assistant recording director
1991	The Little Engine That Could	Casting director
1992	Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation	Casting director Voice director
1993	Batman: Mask of the Phantasm	Casting director Voice director
1994	The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure	Casting director Voice director
1995	The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving	Casting director Voice director
1996	The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists	Casting director Voice director
1997	The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island	Casting director Voice director
1998	Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero	Casting director Voice director
1999	Wakko's Wish	Casting director Voice director
2000	Tweety's High-Flying Adventure	Voice director
	Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	Voice director
2001	Barbie in the Nutcracker	Voice Director
2003	Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman	Casting director Voice director
2006	Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo	Casting director Voice director
	Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas	Casting director Voice director
2007	Superman: Doomsday	Casting director Voice director
	Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale	Voice director
2008	Justice League: The New Frontier	Voice director
	Batman: Gotham Knight	Casting director Voice director
2009	Wonder Woman	Casting director Voice director
	Green Lantern: First Flight	Casting director Voice director
	Superman/Batman: Public Enemies	Casting director Voice director
2010	Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare	Casting director Voice director
	Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths	Voice director
	Batman: Under the Red Hood	Casting director Voice director
	Superman/Batman: Apocalypse	Voice director
2011	All-Star Superman	Voice director
	Green Lantern: Emerald Knights	Voice director
	Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur	Casting director Voice director
	Batman: Year One	Voice director
2012	Justice League: Doom	Voice director
	Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire	Casting director Voice director
	Batman: The Dark Knight Returns	Voice director
	Big Top Scooby-Doo!	Casting director Voice director
2013	Superman: Unbound	Voice director
	Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox	Voice director
2014	Batman: Assault on Arkham	Voice director
	Son of Batman	Voice director
2015	Batman vs. Robin	Casting director Voice director
	Justice League: Gods and Monsters	Casting director Voice director
2016	Ratchet & Clank	Voice director

Crew work in video games

Year	Title	Notes
1999	Animaniacs Splat Ball	Voice director
	Descent 3	Voice director
2001	Floigan Bros.	Voice director
	Batman: Vengeance	Voice director
2006	Teen Titans	Voice director
2010	StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty	Voice director
	Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame	Voice director

Voice work

Voice roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Tiny Toon Adventures	Andrea Romano the Magnificent	Episode: "Toons Take Over"
1994; 1996	Animaniacs	Herself	Episode: "Yes, Always" Episode: "Cutie and the Beast"
2000	Histeria!	Herself	Episode: "Histeria Goes to the Moon"
2000	Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	Joker Jr. Vocal Effects	Direct-to-video
2001	Floigan Bros.	Cute Kitten	Video game
2003	Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman	Additional Voices	Direct-to-video
2003	Teen Titans	H.I.V.E. Headmistress	Animated series
2008	Batman: Gotham Knight	Martha Wayne Dispatcher	Direct-to-video
2009	Superman/Batman: Public Enemies	Giganta	Direct-to-video
2009	Wonder Woman	President's Aide	Direct-to-video
2010	Batman: Under the Red Hood	Reporter #1	Direct-to-video
2010	Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths	Watchtower Computer	Direct-to-video
2010	Superman/Batman: Apocalypse	Stompa	Direct-to-video
2010	Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame	Batcomputer	Video game
2011	Batman: Year One	Obstetrician	Direct-to-video
2012–2013	Batman: The Dark Knight Returns	Woman	Two-part direct-to-video film
2013	I Know That Voice	Herself	Documentary
2014	Justice League: War	Green Lantern's Ring	Direct-to-video
2014	Son of Batman	Suit #2	Direct-to-video
2014	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Elevator Voice	Episode: "The Kraang Conspiracy"
2014	The Legend of Korra	Innkeeper	Episode: "The Stakeout"
2014	Batman: Assault on Arkham	Woman	Direct-to-video
2015	Justice League: Throne of Atlantis	Elderly Atlantean Woman	Direct-to-video
2015	Batman vs. Robin	Jill	Direct-to-video
2015	Justice League: Gods and Monsters	Jean Palmer	Direct-to-video
2016	Voltron: Legendary Defender	Pidge's Helmet	Episode: "Reunion"

References

1. "Nerdist Interview with Andrea Romano, 2014". Archived from the original on 2015-04-07. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
2. Cartwright, Nancy (October 30, 2009). "Nancy Cartwright Chats with Andrea Romano -- Part 1". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
3. "Homecoming Weekend will bring back the best". fredonia.edu. October 15, 2006. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
4. "Q&A With "Wonder Woman" Casting/Dialogue Director". UGO.com. December 4, 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
5. Cartwright, Nancy (December 22, 2009). "Nancy Cartwright Chats with Andrea Romano -- Part 2". Animation World Network. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
6. Weisman, Jon (May 13, 2006). "Why thesps can't laugh off animated voice gigs". Variety. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
7. McLean, Tom (July 27, 2008). "SDCC '08 - DC Animation Panel". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
8. Denmead, Ken (March 13, 2009). "Wonder Woman Comes to Animated Life in New DVD Feature". Wired. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
9. Fritz, Steve (January 23, 2009). "Wil Wheaton: Giving Voice to the Blue Beetle". Newsarama. Retrieved 7 June 2010.

External links

• Andrea Romano at IMDb