Craig Robinson Interview: Dolittle

Craig Robinson may be best known for his comedic roles in The Office and films like Pineapple Express, but he’s also making a name for himself with wacky voiceover turns. Kevin the vengeful squirrel will join the ranks of Cookie from Shrek and Grits from Sausage Party when Dolittle arrives in theaters this weekend. The actor recently explained to Screen Rant his latest role holds such a special place in his heart.

You play a squirrel that’s hard to kill. How in the world do you prepare for a role like that?

Craig Robinson: Can I take that? I’m a squirrel that’s hard to kill. I slept in the park for three days. No, we go into the booth and we just found the character, man. We found out he was about, which is that revenge. You base it on that, and then you get to see his arc of going from wanting to kill the guy to protecting him as his family.

You mentioned in jest that playing Kevin made you a better man. Was there any truth to that statement?

Craig Robinson: Absolutely, there’s truth. Like I said, he was able to overcome all his personal demons and see another perspective.

How much improv did you get to do in the booth during this film?

Craig Robinson: Tons. We played around all the time. In the booth, you get a line you and you do it a few times and then you play around with it. But rarely did we do things once and that was it; there always some alternatives. They had stuff they wanted to try, and I had stuff I brought to the table. So, it was a lot of fun to play.

Were there any other subplots that didn’t make the final cut?

Craig Robinson: One thing I wanted to see more of was Kevin being a leader. I don’t want to give it away, but towards the end of the movie, he kind of stepped up and I was like, “I want to delve into that part of his life.”

There’s a fun revenge subplot with Kevin looking to get payback on Stubbins for accidentally shooting him. How fun was it to have a little dark side under the animal’s cute exterior?

Craig Robinson: It was brilliant. It was brilliant to play; it was a lot of fun. It was him against the world, man. You can’t lose in that situation.

Do you look at squirrels any different after Dolittle?

Craig Robinson: Maybe a little bit. I think there might be a little kinship going on.

Surprisingly, Kevin the squirrel is far from the wildest character you’ve worked in a film. You played a cookie in the Shrek franchise and a box of grits in Sausage Party. How do you choose your voiceover roles and where do you want to go from here?

Craig Robinson: You know, voiceover’s the same as a script. A movie, you look at to see if it makes you laugh or makes you feel something and then go from there. And that’s what it was.

This one was easier because, at first I didn’t even have this role. It was a different role; Fleming the mouse. And then I switched over to Kevin, because we were having so much fun in the booth. They said, “Let’s put Kevin on the whole journey. Captain’s log.” We switched over, and it was a blast. But I’ll say this was easy, because Robert Downey Jr. was headlining. Yeah, I think I want to be a part of that.

Your director’s extremely passionate about the material. What is it like collaborating with him?

Craig Robinson: We had an absolute blast. He’s very funny, and he let me be free to explore. He was like, “What would you say here, Craig?” We leaned on each other, and it was fun and freeing. It was a blast.

I assume you’re familiar with the older Dr. Dolittle films.

Craig Robinson: Just the Eddie Murphy version.

From the Eddie Murphy version, what did you want to bring into this movie?

Craig Robinson: I didn’t have any thoughts on bringing something from there to this one. That didn’t cross my mind.

If you could voice another animal, which one would it be?

Craig Robinson: Maybe a crustacean of some sort. Craig the Crustacean, come on.

Award season is here and Dolemite Is My Name has already been nominated for prestigious awards like the Golden Globes. Do you think it might be represented at the Oscars? 

Craig Robinson: From your mouth to God’s ears. They put 10 movies in that category. I don’t know if there’s 10 movies better than Dolemite.

How satisfying was it to be a part of a project that gets attention like Dolemite, or even like Dolittle?

Craig Robinson: It’s like being on a cloud. And I recognize it, you’re on this cloud for awhile and then you step back off. Because there are different things you go to, events and what have you, or even going to afterparties at the Globes. There are certain things you don’t get to see all the time, so it’s like being on a cloud. It’s very satisfying and very cool. Almost like a pinch yourself kind of moment.

If Dolittle gets a sequel, where would you like to see Kevin go next?

Craig Robinson: I see Kevin with his own army. I see him doing something where he has a command an army, and they’re coming to save Dolittle. An army of squirrels.

An army of squirrels, all voiced by you with all different personalities.

Craig Robinson: That’s a whole movie.

Can you talk to me about Kevin’s relationship with Dolittle?

Craig Robinson: Yeah. They go back. Kevin has always brought nuts to Dolittle and the family. He’s that dude. So, Kevin was a little hurt when Dolittle wasn’t on his side. He brought this Stubbins dude into the fold, and like, “Yo, what about your boy?”

It was a little strained for a minute there, but they got each other’s back.

Do you think that Kevin can forgive Stubbins, or is he always going to hold a deep personal grudge? 

Craig Robinson: I think the beauty of Kevin is that he can forgive, but he’s not gonna forget. He’s always gonna have one eye opened. “Was that what it looked like?” We’ll see.

I have to bring it up, because it’s my favorite show of all time: The Office. My friends and still text about it every single day, and they go to office bar quizzes.

Craig Robinson: You know, I’ve thought about popping up at one of those trivia nights. Maybe even incognito and get everything wrong, and then at the end…

There’s this been this rumored reboot for such a long time. Is that something that you’d want to be a part of, or are you pretty fulfilled with where Darryl Philbin left off?

Craig Robinson: Oh, I would be part of it in a heartbeat. If Greg Daniels is doing it, because he would see how these characters have grown. With that squad of writers? Yeah, absolutely.

With this film and with the character of Kevin, is there anything in the booth that you’ve may have learned that you want to do differently in the next voiceover job?

Craig Robinson: I definitely take them one by one. But Kevin was one of the first times that, when I saw the end with him protecting his family, it made me want to see more of that side for that character. I’ve only done that with a couple other movies, like in Pineapple Express I wanted to see Matheson’s revenge.

I like what he did. As far as approaching another role, I don’t know. But as far as that character specifically, I’d like to see more.