25 years ago, a tie-wearing sponge appeared on the screen for the first time in the United States. Three years later also in Germany. Since then, Santiago Ziesmer has lent his voice to Spongebob. He now has the feeling that he and the sponge are growing together.
Mr. Ziesmer, that’s it Spongebob and you purely professionally or do you also sleep in Spongebob pajamas and drink from a Spongebob cup?
I’m always given things with Spongebob on them for my birthday and Christmas. People think it’s original. Some things I have in triplicate. I give a lot of things away. A friend of mine finally got her child to fall asleep thanks to my Spongebob bedding. Unfortunately, she then refused to sleep in other bedding, so she had to buy a second set.
You also sound a bit like Spongebob when you speak normally.
That’s right, you can hear it. My voice is highly recognizable.
Were you in the bakery Have you ever been hit with “You’re welcome, Spongebob”?
Once, as I was chatting and laughing with the saleswoman at the bakery, a little girl pulled my sleeve. “Are you Spongebob?” she asked me. Even when I’m sitting in the taxi and talking to the driver, I sometimes notice irritated looks. The question often comes up: “Could it be that I have heard your voice somewhere before?”
Above all, your Spongebob laugh is iconic. Is this stressful for you or is it as normal as breathing?
Laughing doesn’t bother me, but if I had to talk like Spongebob all day long, it would damage my vocal cords. That’s why we limit a recording to up to four hours. On TV I once saw how the original spokesman for Spongebob from the USA manages to achieve this special laugh. He taps his fingers on his throat. I tried that immediately too. It sounded stupid to me. That’s why I turned to a laughing bag instead.
On a laughing bag?
When I was a child there were these sacks that you would sit in or press on and they would make laughing noises. I tried to imitate this sound. This is how Spongebob’s laughter came about.
Does it ever slip out for you outside of the recordings?
Yes, sometimes I accidentally talk or laugh like Spongebob in private. Then I think, “Oh, he came out of there again.”
What does Spongebob have that you don’t have?
I like Spongebob a lot and he likes me. A cartoon character has to touch people just as much as a real character, that’s why I put a lot of my emotions into Spongebob. Otherwise he wouldn’t be credible. We have grown together over the years, it’s like a symbiosis.
Do you have to drink three cans of energy drink before a voice recording to reach the Spongebob energetic level?
I used to do vocal exercises beforehand like a singer who is singing. I have now been working as a voice actor in the studio for 22 years. I don’t need that anymore.
How were you discovered?
All of my professional success has come from coincidences. You could also call it fate. I was pushed into the industry. When I was eleven years old, a director at my school was looking for a little boy for the film “All Engines Whistle for Jan.” It was about the true story of a boy who was in a wheelchair. The director actually wanted to use a first or second grader, but when he looked out the window into the schoolyard, he spotted me. I was so small that he let me audition. A short time later I had one agent and one request after another. Most of the time I played outsider roles. At 1.64 meters tall, I was never a Romeo. But that was a good thing, there had been enough Romeos for a long time. I enjoyed acting and started taking acting lessons.
And Spongebob?
I was cast for the role, also by chance. A classmate asked me at the time whether I would like to take part in his father’s radio plays. Sometimes I think: It’s as if it was predetermined. Funnily enough, I now have three gold records hanging in my house because someone at Sony Music came up with the idea of releasing the Spongebob songs as an album. I never thought I would ever be successful with music – it’s crazy.
In addition to Spongebob, you also voice another very well-known character: Winnie the Pooh’s piglet. Who is more strenuous?
The piglet speaks at a very high pitch, so it’s definitely more taxing on my vocal cords.
When you first recorded the episodes, did you ever imagine that the story about a sponge that lives in water would be so successful?
Never! At first I couldn’t do anything with the square, holey thing. Back then, I told my sister after the casting: “I speak a cheese.” It wasn’t until I watched more episodes that I understood creator Stephen Hillenburg’s wonderful sense of humor. He was a marine biologist, so he knew a lot about the underwater world. And he had an endless imagination.
Is it the fantasy combined with humor that makes Spongebob so popular?
That certainly plays a big role. Especially because the humor appeals to children and adults alike. Children don’t understand some jokes, but their parents have something to laugh about. Perhaps more importantly, Spongebob is such a lovable guy. He is cheerful, never resentful or mean and always, really always warm. His best friend, the starfish Patrick, isn’t the brightest candle on the cake. But Spongebob doesn’t care. He likes him the way he is. I believe that every child would like to have a friend like Spongebob.