Meet Bandit’s voice actor
It’s Dave McCormack, aka the voice of Bandit and the dad of the year!
Here’s a summary of the video interview with Dave.
How similar are you to Bandit?
Dave says he’s pretty similar to the dad – apart from looks, that is. Dave even has two daughters that were about the same age as Bluey and Bingo when they started making the show. The two are so similar, in fact, that Dave would often be reading the script and laugh to himself that he had experienced just that with his daughters earlier that day. Games like playing the kids like instruments or Keepy Uppy with a balloon paralleled his experience so closely that his own wife even asked him if he was giving the kids ideas from the show! Incredibly, he wasn’t, the dads seem to just be cut from the same cloth.
How did you find the voice of Bandit?
Dave doesn’t feel as though he puts a voice on to play the character of Bandit, but fans of the show are often taken aback when they hear him. He has even had an encounter where a parent asked him to meet their kids, because they were big fans, and upon speaking to them, the kids got upset and started crying that Dave had eaten Bandit and he was now inside of him.
Do you base Bandit on your real life?
Dave says that Bandit’s character aligns with his own all the time. It’s, in part, what makes the show so fun and relatable for him, because with everything from the emotional to the funny dad stuff, they’re all things which he experiences throughout the day. It especially helps for the more tender and emotive scenes, as he is able to relate to the emotions portrayed because they are so similar to those he feels with his own kids.
What is it like being Australia’s Father of the Year?
While Dave notes that Bandit is the product of the work of a team of people, of which he only contributes the vocal part of the Australian Father of the Year, he is very glad that Bandit is number one.
What about Australia’s hottest dad?
On this front Dave claims responsibility, noting that it’s a huge compliment because the voice must be the hottest part of him. He jokes that Bandit could be drawn any type of way and would still be ‘fire’ with his voice behind him.
Favourite moment as Bandit?
Dave enjoys a lot of moments from the show, like the funny voices, but his favourite moment is from the episode The Weekend. He likes it so much because Bandit is playing with the kids while commentating on and keeping one eye on the cricket all the while. It’s his favourite moment because it’s simple but it’s true and it’s particularly relatable to him as a dad who loves cricket.
If you were watching the show – what would you make Bandit do?
If he was creating an episode, Dave would make one where Bandit meets an animated version of him, and then let the rest play out from there.