Jeremy Shada: From Finn the Human to spandex dreams

A self-confessed comic nerd, Shada, 19, says he'd jump at the chance of playing a suited good-guy, or better still, appear in a new Star Wars film.

"If I was offered anything, as far as being a superhero or as Star Wars goes, I wouldn't question anything, I would take it," he enthusiastically quipped.

"When I first started acting, when I was like five or six, that was very much a reason for wanting to do it. If I could be a super hero or in a Star Wars film that would be like a dream job."

Shada, who is best known for his voice work in the Land of Ooo, says comic superheroes were always a source of inspiration.

"Ever since I was little I've always loved Marvel and DC and I've always been a huge comic fan," he said. "And I love comic book movies and TV shows.

"When I was little I watched a whole bunch of the original Batman animated TV series and those were some of my favourites growing up. I always had a huge passion for that.

"Anything superhero, I'm always there to see it opening weekend. The other one that's equal, if not bigger for me, is Star Wars. All that stuff is super close to my heart. In some ways now I kind of like it more."

Shada, who hails from Boise, Idaho, has featured in a number of television series, serving as both a voice actor and on screen performer.

But while he's provided voices for characters in hit features Penguins of Madagascar and Paranornman, it's Adventure Time's Finn the Human that has earned Shada ongoing acclaim.

For the uninitiated, Adventure Time was created by Pendleton Ward and first aired in 2010. It is arguably one of the zaniest maintream animations currently in production.

Primarily focused on the adventures of Finn and his companion Jake the Dog, voiced by John DiMaggio, it's left-of centre approach and random nature have proven a hit with fans of all ages.

Shada is not necessarily surprised by the show's success.

"I think it's a lot of things," he said. "Adventure Time is a show that definitely has a lot of great components to it. I think the art style and the animation is one of the big draws ... it's so colourful and everything is so vibrant and it's just pretty to look at. When you're watching a show, you just kind of want to go and see all the little parts of this world.

"Then, obviously, the writing is great. There's a lot humour in there that applies to kids, but also a lot of great over-the-head humour that I think connects people of college age and adults as well. And then, also, I think it's just a good show period. It bounces a lot of great relatable things, serious plot points and character arcs as well as having the comedy."

With its bent towards the mildly twisted, it's little wonder that script comprehension can sometimes be an issue for Shada and the cast.

"I think that a lot of times when you're reading the scripts for the episodes it's kind of like, 'what the heck is happening'," Shada said.

"A lot of it I'm like, 'is this a typo or is this how it actually is', and they're like, 'no, it's the actual line', 'okay, cool then we'll go with that'. But I think once you are in that world for a while you understand it and you really start to get it and you're like, 'okay this makes sense'.

"I think that's a big part of the appeal of the show and why it's so successful and funny and fun to watch, is because it is so totally random and weird and out there. That's what makes it really special and endearing in its own way."

Behind the scenes, Shada says he and his cast mates mostly record as an ensemble.

"It's different for most animated shows, some of them do and some of them don't, but we usually are able to have ensemble recording, so most of the cast is recording together in the episode so long as scheduling permits it," he said.

"Most of the time at the very least it's me and John and I've been able to get to know him real well over the past seven years. He's an amazing veteran voice actor who's super talented and hilarious and he just embodies that role so perfectly. He's just so much fun to be around. He's hysterical. He's always doing fun stuff between takes ... all of these crazy voices. He's like having a fun crazy uncle."

Shada said that there was no great secret behind getting into character come recording time.

"I'm so used to playing Finn that it's kind of easy for me to turn on and turn off the voice," he said.

"When we record, we pretty much go in and we have our scripts, which just has the beat by beat dialogue on them, and then as we're reading those, we have a screen in front of us that also has the panel by panel, black and white storyboard drawing. We kind of get to see a little of the expression of what's happening."

Despite having voiced the character, nothing quite prepares for seeing the finished product on screen, says Shada.

"I think at first when you start hearing the voice of your character on screen it's definitely jarring and surreal, but after a while you get used to it," he said.

"For Adventure Time, when the show first came out, I tried to watch and keep up with as much of it as possible so I knew kind of what was happening and I do actually enjoy the show, I think its hilarious and a lot of fun to watch. Sometimes I'll watch it with my little sister.

"As the show has gone on it's hard to keep up with it sometimes. I try to keep up with it as much as I can but I don't end up watching every episode. It's fun seeing the finished product because we get to see such a different version from when we were recording."

While attached to Finn, Shada enjoys the chance to get in front of the camera.

"I think mostly they're just different forms of acting, but there's definitely things you have to specialise in and do differently for both of them," he said.

"Voice over is definitely less time consuming. It's much quicker and more laid-back in many ways because you're not having to get into wardrobe, you're not doing all of the physical actions of it, but it also has its own challenges because you're having to convey eveything through just the way you're speaking and how you are saying the line - all those emotions that are happening with the character, so that can be its own thing.

"And I also think voice acting, especially for Adventure Time, you're definitely able at times to go bigger and really be able to go crazy and try a lot more weird and kind of riskier stuff. Sometimes on camera you're playing these very real characters and you try to be natural and as real as possible. They're both just very different and it's kind of hard to compare. I just love doing both for very different reasons."

Aside from acting, Shada plays bass in his own pop-pink band Make Out Monday.

The band also includes his brother Zack, who ironically voiced Finn in the original series short.

At this time of this interview, both boys were in the studio with their bandmates putting the finishing touches to their debut album.

"I love being able to do different things," Shada said. "It's kind of nice to be able to experiment in different areas. We've been a band for just over two years now. It's just such an enjoyable thing to do."

During his last Supanova visit, of Adelaide and Brisbane, Shada brought his bandmates with him and played shows in each city. It's something he'd like to do again.

Of the convention scene, Shada is quick to suggest he takes as much from the events as do his Adventure Time fans.

"Doing conventions is a great way to just kind of give back to fans in a lot of ways because if it wasn't for the fans and their love and support for your show, especially for me with Adventure Time, I wouldn't be able to do so many of the things that I do and the show wouldn't still be going," he said.

"It's a humbling, flattering experience, being able to go and see people that have had it really affect their lives in great ways and kind of give back to them and hear what they've got to say about how the show's affected them and get to hang out and talk with them and take pictures and stuff and do the voice a little bit.

"I love seeing the reactions on little kids faces when you do the voice ... their face lights up.

"It's also a lot of fun, like when you're in Australia, to travel and go to different places that I normally wouldn't have been able to go to. There's a lot of great reasons why I like to do cons for sure."

Shada will be one of the guests at the Sydney leg of the 2016 Supanova Pop Culture Expo, which will be held at Sydney Showground, Olympic park on June 17-19.

For more details visit the official event site here.