Why Am From Star Wars: Visions Sounds So Familiar
The "Star Wars" franchise continues to expand, and there seems to be no shortage of exciting adventures within its sweeping universe. The newest animated "Star Wars" series is actually an anime anthology, which gives the new material a completely different look from what fans are accustomed to. The new show, entitled "Star Wars: Visions," is made up of short films, and each episode tells a different, standalone story produced by a different Japanese studio. Though its canonicity is an open question, its quality definitively is not.
"Star Wars: Visions" features tons of recognizable voices, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays a young Padawan named Jay in Episode 2, and Neil Patrick Harris who plays Karre in Episode 3. Karre's twin, Am, is also played by a major Hollywood star who's famous for appearing on several TV shows and in movies over the years.
Let's take a look at some of the many places you've likely heard her voice before.
Alison Brie got her start on Mad Men
If you thought the voice of Am sounded familiar, that's because it belongs to none other than Alison Brie. Brie's breakout role came in 2007, in the popular period drama "Mad Men." She plays the role of Gertrude "Trudy" Campbell, the loyal (to a fault) wife of Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser). As their relationship grows more toxic and publicly damaging, the two split up, though Trudy remains a recurring character until the show's finale.
Brie spoke to PopSugar about Trudy's evolution throughout the series, especially once she finally told Pete to leave after one-too-many publicly embarrassing trysts. "She found that strength that had always been there, but it was a quiet strength," Brie explained. "To see her finally voice it and become this total badass — it was such a good reveal, and it's a nice confirmation for everyone to know that she's a lot smarter than she seemed at times."
Not only did "Mad Men" launch Brie's career, but she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of Trudy in 2009 (via IMDb). Since then, Brie's gone on to appear in dozens of other dynamic roles.
Alison Brie was a central part of the Community
Brie is also known for her time on the witty sitcom "Community," during which she played the overachieving student Annie Edison. Annie was known for her anxious tendency to overwork herself in an effort to prove her worth, though she eventually grew close to the rest of the main "Community" characters, and they helped her to relax and truly be herself.
Brie was cast in "Community" in 2009 while she was still working on "Mad Men," and she spoke to her "Community" co-star Gillian Jacobs for Interview about the difference between acting on each show. "After college, I worked on 'Mad Men,' and I thought, 'I guess I'm just gonna do dramas.' In school, it's Shakespeare, and you're playing the ingénue roles, but they're all very boring. [both laugh] But they feel important, and not knowing my identity yet as an actor, we got on the set of 'Community,' and it felt like it would when I joked around with friends when I was 12 years old. My truest self was alive when we were all joking around between takes."
According to IMDb, Brie was also nominated for and won several awards for her role on "Community," further proving her comedic chops.
Alison Brie GLOW-ed on Netflix
One of Brie's more recent roles came on the comedy-drama series "GLOW" on Netflix. "GLOW" presented highly fictionalized take on the true story of a group of women's professional wrestlers in 1980s Los Angeles called the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Brie played the lead role of Ruth Wilder, also known by her wrestling persona Zoya the Destroya. Although "GLOW" received positive ratings and earned a devoted fanbase, Netflix shockingly reversed their decision to renew the series for a fourth season due to COVID-19, ending the tale abruptly after Season 3.
Brie explained to W Magazine that she felt working on "GLOW" changed her for the better. "I feel totally different as a person since working on 'GLOW.' The show has been completely empowering. And yes, learning to use my body in a different way, aside from my strength training, learning how to wrestle and throw women across a ring and be thrown is incredibly empowering and humbling and also requires an incredible amount of teamwork and vulnerability. So I think that it's opened me up in a lot of ways and also sort of relaxed me and settled me into my own power. And it's all been very exciting."
Alison Brie stirred up some controversy on BoJack Horseman
From 2014-2020, Brie provided her vocal talents for the role of Diane Nguyen on the animated tragicomedy "BoJack Horseman." While many of the characters in the world of the show are humanoid animals, Diane is a human woman originally employed to ghostwrite the titular BoJack Horseman's (Will Arnett) memoir. Although the show was popular and successful, Brie caught some heat for her role as Diane.
Multiple shows and movies have been scrutinized for white-washing characters meant to be portrayed by people of color. In "BoJack Horseman, Diane is written as a Vietnamese-American, and Brie is a white woman, which caused some fans and critics to question the casting decision. Brie ultimately apologized on her Instagram page for taking the part when it could have been a huge opportunity for representation for an actual Vietnamese-American person, and she has since stated in unequivocal terms that she regrets taking on the role.
Alison Brie has lent her voice to several other projects
Throughout her varied career, Brie has done several other voiceover roles, from animated movies to guest appearances on shows. She provided the voices for Martha Stewart and a Vampire Lifeguard on an episode of "Robot Chicken"; on one episode of "American Dad," she voiced the character Lindsay; she was the voice of a character named Miss Temple on "High School USA!"; and she reunited with "Community" scribe Dan Harmon for one episode of "Rick and Morty," on which she voiced Planetina.
Brie also voiced the role of Princess Unikitty in "The Lego Movie" and its sequels. Unikitty is a cat-unicorn hybrid who rules over Cloud Cuckoo Land, and she's known for being sweet and cheery — until she gets angry.
Brie told ScreenSlam that bringing Unikitty to life was "So fun. Animation is unlike any other type of acting work, because you really get to explore a whole different side, you know? It's not about what you look like — you're using your voice, this whole other tool. It was incredibly fun."