Ian Ziering moonlights as Godzilla's momBy Helen Lee, syndicated Nov. 22, 1998 He may be best known for his nine years on ''Beverly Hills 90210,'' but Ian Ziering has been moonlighting from his role as Steve Sanders this season to star in ''Godzilla: The Series,'' airing at 9 a.m. ET on Fox Kids. "I enjoy doing this," Ziering says of his voice work on the hit animated show. "It keeps me busy. I like doing voice work, I like the fact that it touches kids in a positive way. It's very exhilarating and very fulfilling -- and I sit in amazement working amongst some of the most talented people in the business." Ziering lowers his voice a few registers to play Dr. Nick Tatopoulos in the cartoon based on Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich's blockbuster remake. The series picks up where the movie left off, as one of Godzilla's offspring survives the siege on New York City. But Nick is there when the child is born, and the young lizard imprints on him as his parent. Nick soon discovers that the new Godzilla is a good guy. Eventually, he and his team form a group called H.E.A.T., the Humanitarian Ecological Analysis Team, to study the suddenly increasing reports of unusual environmental anomalies popping up across the world. ''They're responsible for research of all mutated life forms over the planet and they come across some pretty crazy things that would be overwhelming if it wasn't for the help of Godzilla and his atomic breath,'' explains Ziering. Ziering gets to play the non-reptilian hero of the program, which he says is the first time he's played a human character on a cartoon; he's also done voices for programs like ''Biker Mice from Mars'' and ''Mighty Ducks.'' He's especially proud of this project, though, because ''Godzilla'' has become the highest-rated weekend program according to the Nielson rating charts. And it provides him with a break from his live-action TV stint on ''90210.'' ''I don't have to spend half an hour putting on make-up or on combing my hair,'' Ziering says. ''It's kind of like escapism for me. Dr. Nick Tatopoulos is the hero, the friend of all reptilians -- and it's a lot of fun because to be heroic is always something everyone wants to do. I get to be one every week.'' He adds that on an animated program, ''the boundaries are not there. All the acting has to be done with the voice, and they animate it after the voices are recorded, so it gives me great freedom.'' During his tenure on the show, which was originally picked up for 40 episodes, Ziering has been impressed with the both the guest talent and regular talent, which includes animation industry veterans like director Susan Blu, Rino Romano (''Due South,'' ''Sailor Moon''), Charity James (''The Simpsons,'' ''Space Jam,'' "Anastasia''), Brigitte Bako (''Equal Justice'') and Malcolm Danare (''Flashdance,'' ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''). Guest stars have included Ron Perlman (''Beauty and the Beast'') Tim Curry, and Robbie Rist, best known as Oliver on ''The Brady Bunch.'' ''I was walking into the studio and there he was,'' a surprisingly star-struck Ziering marvels. ''I was like, 'Oh, cool!' I recognized him right away -- he hasn't changed his look much. He's a bit older, but he's unmistakable.'' Unfortunately for Ziering, a classic sci-fi and "Godzilla" fan from way back -- his favorite genre movies include Tony Curtis' ''The Manitou'' and the Freddy Kreuger films -- the new Godzilla won't encounter any of his old nemeses and allies. MechaGodzilla, Mothra and Gidra (Ziering's personal favorite), along with other well-known creatures, won't appear due to copyright issues. Instead, he'll find new creatures to battle. In the pilot, for example, a giant squid began attacking ships in the ocean. Other new monsters include giant earthworms, Cybernetic Flying Attack Drones created by a mad scientist, huge sewer rats, aquatic dinosaurs called Cryptocledius, mutated bees, the flying lizard Quetzalcoati, and giant bats. ''The show is just so imaginative in the writing,'' Ziering enthuses. ''They come up with some really extravagant arch enemies for Godzilla to battle and we get to do some things that -- of course -- in the real world you can't do. It's also great being part of that ['Godzilla'] heritage--continuing it on gives me a little pride as well.'' Besides, the entire process only takes four hours per episode -- Ziering comes into the studio, they read through the scripts, Susan Blu gives direction, and then the show is recorded. Which means he can still give lots of time to his other gig. ''It's a very flexible schedule -- I'm able to do it simultaneously while working on '90210' because they work around my schedule. I do it on my days off. And it's a way for me to keep busy. I find that when I'm unproductive, I get a little stir-crazy," Ziering admits. Though he seems to be constantly sharpening his already formidable resume with gigs like ''Godzilla,'' Ziering says there are still things he wants to do once ''90210'' leaves the air, whenever that happens: ''I would love to do a sitcom. I just did an episode of 'The Love Boat: The Next Generation' and it was all a bunch of physical comedy. I'm very happy to be doing all that stuff because it's a little bit of a break from the '90210' set and I'm playing a different character and just doing pure comedy. So it's been a lot of fun for me.'' He jokes, ''And I haven't played Vegas yet, but I'm optimistic. I'm sharpening my lounge act.'' Top of page |