Netflix's 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter' Interviews

Moviefone speaks with Laz Alonso and Yvonne Orji about 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter.' "Terry is a father that wants to be present for his family," said Alonso.

Premiering on Netflix beginning February 9th is the new animated series ‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter,’ from co-creators Everett Downing and Patrick Harpin.

What is 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter' about?

‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter’ is an animated action-comedy series following close-knit siblings Lisa and Sean, who stow away on their dad’s latest work trip, hoping to finally get some quality time together. Little do they know Dad’s been keeping a secret from them — he’s actually the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy!

Launched into the surprise space adventure of a lifetime, Lisa and Sean discover that their seemingly average dad’s job is anything but boring. Dodging dangerous aliens, robots, and laser fights galore, family bonding time becomes much more than they bargained for as they try to help their dad in pursuit of his toughest fugitive yet. With his kids along for the ride, Dad must show up for them when they need it most — and they’d better make it home before Mom finds out!

Who is in the Cast of 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter?’

The new series stars Laz Alonso (‘Avatar’) as Terry, Yvonne Orji (‘Night School’) as Tess, Priah Ferguson (‘Stranger Things’) as Lisa, Yvette Nicole Brown (‘Avengers: Endgame’) as KRS, JeCobi Swain (‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’) as Sean, Leslie Uggams ('Deadpool') as Grandma, Rob Riggle (‘The Hangover’) as Glorlox, Jim Rash (‘The Descendants’) as The Fixer and Jamie Chung (‘Big Hero 6’) as Vax.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Laz Alonso and Yvonne Orji to discuss their work on ‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter,' Terry and Tess’ relationship, why his job as a bounty hunter is threatening their marriage, and the challenges of voice acting.

Laz Alonso stars in Netflix's 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter.'

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Alonso, Orji, Priah Ferguson, JeCobi Swain, and series co-creators Everett Downing and Patrick Harpin.

Moviefone: To begin with, Laz, how would you describe Terry's relationship with his kids?

Laz Alonso: I would describe Terry's relationship with his kids as a father that truly loves his kids and wants to be present for his family. But he has prioritized providing and unfortunately, not self-aware that what they're really asking for is his presence, not what he can provide financially. But he learns that. This is something that they teach him. You usually think as parents, it's just teaching the kids, it's a one way relationship. But it's symbiotic. This show magically captured that; how much we can learn from our kids if we listen to them.

MF: Yvonne, is his absence the reason for Tess and Terry’s separation?

Yvonne Orji: I mean, I think it's the disappointment, right? It's like he prioritizes his work over the kids and so she is like, "That's not going to fly on my watch, we need to be present, we need to be a family unit." I think the more she sees the letdown and the disconnect of what he is prioritizing, I think she's kind of drawing the line in the sand and is like, "If you can't get this together, then I don't know how we can work." Which is sad because you want them to work.
Yvonne Orji stars in Netflix's 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter.'

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MF: Laz, can you talk about Terry’s job as a bounty hunter?

LA: So Terry's other job, his other life, is he's a bounty hunter in space. Not only is distance an issue, but time is an issue. Being an actor, I can really connect with that because we work all over the world. The shortest amount of time you'll be gone on a project is usually at least a month, sometimes three months, seven, eight, or nine months. That can be really hard on family members. It could be really hard on a relationship. When one person leaves, both people feel it, or more than two people feel it. So it was something that was very easy for me to embody because of the nature of my job is such that it requires me to leave to get it done.

MF: Yvonne, Terry is supposed to take the kids on a trip to Splash Town. Is that a make or break trip for their relationship?

YO: I think it is, because it is that thing of, “Okay, he's home. This is actually going to happen." I think she's wanting to will it to happen. I won't say she gave him an ultimatum, but she definitely is creating a boundary where it's like, if you let us down one more time, I can't see how this is going to work. So it is kind of a test. By the time she closes the door, she's hopeful. She's like, "All right, well he's at least home, he's not working this weekend." But little does she know, it's about to be a problem. And now her kids are part of that problem.

Yvette Nicole Brown as KRS, Jecobi Swain as Sean, Laz Alonso as Sabo Brok and Priah Ferguson as Lisa in 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter.'

MF: Laz, do you find voice acting more challenging than acting in live-action projects?

LA: Yes, because it requires a lot more of your voice. You can emote in a live-action movie without saying a word, just your expression or your reactions. But here, you have to vocalize everything, including a lot of yelling, and a lot of screaming. I feel for my friends that are parents because now I see why they yell so much. It never stops. Because kids yell, so you got to yell louder than them. But yeah, overall it was a fun experience and it was fun to play a different type of character.

MF: Yvonne, do you also find voice acting challenging and do you all record together or separately?

YO: Yeah. We're all in individual booths at different times. Yeah, I found it more challenging because you're like, "I hope that's what they want." Whereas when you're in an ensemble cast or in a live-action project, like Laz said, you play opposite each other. You can feel each other out and you be like, "Oh, I got another one for that." Here it’s just like, "Take one, take two, all right I think we got it." I’m like, "Are you sure?" So, you have to have faith and trust in the producers and the filmmakers to know that they love it.
(L to R) Laz Alonso as Sabo Brok and Yvette Nicole Brown as KRS in 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

MF: Finally, Laz, when you were preparing for this role, were you able to see concept art to help you create your character?

LA: Yeah, I mean they did a great job at describing him to me. At the time they had rough sketches, black and white stencil, nothing that was to the level of what we see now. But, I mean I watch enough sci-fi and I'm a big fan of the genre. I also had a mental image of what a fully armored bounty hunter, the energy that he would be emoting, once he was on the job. Once he clocked in, once he put that helmet on, it's no more games being played. So that's what I pretty much brought to it was how the difference between that energy feels especially between when he's dealing with his kids, and once he throws that helmet on and now he's dealing with these aliens.