Get behind-the-scenes of Finding Dory with this exclusive Kaitlin Olson Interview. Meet Destiny the whale shark & find out how she’s balancing her career and motherhood. This post is sponsored by Disney for the #FindingDoryEvent, all opinions are my own. 
Kaitlin Olson Interview | Finding Dory & Her “Destiny” as a Mom
Kaitlin Olson is a mom that has her priorities straight. Raising two little boys while building her acting career, this mom is all about balance. So it’s no surprise that balance became the ongoing theme throughout this interview. See how this busy mom and actress balances it all, and overcomes the challenges in bringing her near-sighted whale shark, Destiny to life in this exclusive Kaitlin Olson Interview. Warning, if you didn’t love whale sharks before, you will now. Get the insider info on Kaitlin Olson, Destiny, and behind-the-scenes of Finding Dory.
Kaitlin Olson Interview photos courtesy of Sara Lundberg/BudgetSavvyDiva.com
Beautiful, charming, and 100% a mom. I loved her the moment she stepped into the room. Now at a point in her life where family is numero uno, Kaitlin Olson is gushing about her family’s influence on her latest role. It was Destiny…if you will (get the pun?) to be in Finding Dory. But that’s not to say that life doesn’t bring on a few challenges. And in this exclusive Kaitlin Olson interview, balance is key.
Balancing an unknown role
Kaitlin had no idea who her character was going to be before she signed on Finding Dory. She just knew that she was in the place in her life where she wanted to do something her kids could enjoy.
I think Pixar movies are amazing, they really truly are my favorite kids’ movies. Wall-e, Toy Story, all of them. They’re just amazing movies. They have good messages. When I found out about the project before I even found out what kind of character it was going it be, instantly I was like “yeah-yeah-yeah yeah-yeah-yeah anything, yes!” It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not something we let our children watch. So I was really excited to do a kids’ movie. I wanted to do something they could watch.
I seriously feel so incredibly honored to be a part of this movie for that reason. It’s a quality project. I believe in all the Pixar movies. They really relate to adults and children. I’m really focused on movies and shows that you want to sit down and watch with your family, because that’s just where I am in my life now too. I just believe in Pixar’s model. I really love this movie and I think it’s going to be around for a while.
Balancing her character’s imperfections
Finding Destiny’s “voice” in the movie meant embracing a character that wasn’t perfect.
I like that she can’t swim well and that she’s imperfect. There’s just something so great about that. And about all of these characters, that there’s something imperfect about all of them. They still are making it happen and helping each other out.
Balancing…on a balance board?
Playing a wobbly-voiced, near-sighted whale shark definitely brought on it’s own set of challenges. Did you know that they tried to use a balance board to make Kaitlin’s voice more wobbly?
When they decided that Destiny would be a bad swimmer, he really wanted me to like sound wobbly like I was having a hard time swimming. So they got me this weird balance board thing that he wanted me to stand on [LAUGHS]. The problem is, guys, I have such great balance that I just was faking being off balance. We tried a whole session like that and I was like, guys, can I just try standing here and doing this [LAUGHTER]? We got rid of the balance board.
Balancing acting vs. voice acting
I couldn’t imagine yelling for 4-5 hours. Period.
I probably did eight or nine sessions over four years. But each of them are like a four or five hour session, maybe more. It was great because you go in and you have this fun day and then you have a month off. Then they send you a new script and it’s different and things have changed and the character is changed. And you get to go back in and do it again.
There’s a lot of yelling that I like to do in my acting – like all that stuff or screaming for Dory. I would lose my voice. [But] then I know that we are closing our session, [and] I’m not going to see them for a month. I don’t want to blow the last hour. And I’m like oh I should be a better vocally trained actor using my diaphragm better, you know, like the tea and throat sprat. Beating myself up about losing my voice too early was a challenge, because there was a lot of yelling, even just like calling for her places and the whale, oh the whale [LAUGHTER] speaking whale. It’ll get you.
I try not to speak whale as often as possible because I had to do it so much, but Andrew and Lindsey were so funny. At the end of every session they were like, okay sorry but we just need a little bit more whale. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’m like “okay…” I just feel so dumb doing it [LAUGHTER] embarrassing.
How much training did Kaitlin Olson actually do for her whale voice?
I didn’t do any. We can all do it.
Balancing Finding Dory’s teachable moments and parenting
Kaitlin Olson loves how Pixar’s movies bring important life lessons to kids in real teachable moments. She shares how Finding Dory’s teachable moments applies in her own parenting.
Working together for one thing and that family is really what you make of it. And if you don’t have one, you can create one with good people around you, which is really amazing. The Just Keep Swimming thing is a wonderful thing for everybody to keep in mind.
Nobody has a perfect life. Nobody is perfect, and that’s okay.
I’m specifically dealing with that with one of my sons who’s just a perfectionist. And he gets so so so upset. The Legos will fall apart and it really is the end of the world. And he feels personally like he is a terrible person. [LAUGHS] That’s like a theme of his whole life and I’ve been trying to tell him for a long time, nobody is perfect, I promise. So that’s a message in this movie that really resonates for me personally- it’s you don’t have to be perfect. There’s no such thing.
[My son is] super smart too, so he knows when you’re trying to hammer him over the head with something. I’m using that as a tool to talk to him, which is just so great. This is such a good movie, and it’s really helping me with my parenting.
We had a little private screening last night, and I brought my kids to it. That was the first time they saw it. And they sent them home with little Destiny dolls. They sleep with them. It’s so cute. That was the time where I sat in between them and I was holding both of their hands and I was like “This is what mommy does for work. You can finally see some of it!” [LAUGHTER] Yeah it’s really cute that they sleep with them.
Balancing career and parenthood
How the heck does Kaitlin Olson do it all? By keeping her priorities in check.
My kids are one hundred percent my priority, so I don’t take things that will take me away from them too much. I recently agreed to do this pilot called The Mick. It just got picked up on Fox, so I’ll be shooting that next year. Luckily we’re mid season, so it’s just going to be twelve episodes this coming first season. And I wanted to produce it so I could make sure that it was not only the vision that I wanted, but that I could also have a little bit of control over the schedule.
I always want to be there for bedtime.
There are times when I miss it. It’s rare that I go a day without seeing them. If I do, I’m there in the morning. I just do the best I can, like everybody is. You know, a lot of working moms out there. And I have the luxury of being able to have them come to me after school and play in my trailer. I can’t always hang out with them because I’m working, but at least they’re close and they feel like I’m not too far away.
We’re currently in production for season twelve of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, that’s what we’re doing right now. I took the day off for this; it’s pretty exciting. Then The Mick on Fox will be airing at the end of this year and this and that’s [LAUGHS] about it for right now. And then the kids, you know, as we all know, a complete full time job in and of itself.
Balancing life with humor
Best advice as a mom? Be a “goofy idiot.”
It’s number one [LAUGHS]. Well, patience is number one and then humor. Yeah I mean, it’s huge. At the end of a hard day, it’s just why couldn’t you have just laughed when he wrote on the wall, rather than…? You know what I mean? I think it’s of the utmost importance.
“As long as I can be a total goofball and they think I’m a goofy idiot, I’m perfectly happy with that.”
This Kaitlin Olson interview was so encouraging for me as a mom. I loved her honesty and how much balance plays an important role in her life on and off screen. If you’ve missed the fun on the #FindingDoryEvent train so far, be sure to catch up:
- Finding Dory Movie Review | Safe for Kids?
- Walking the Finding Dory Red Carpet
- Ellen DeGeneres & Ed O’Neill Interview
Be sure to grab your FREE Finding Dory Coloring Sheets, Finding Dory Crafts, Finding Dory Party Ideas and even an adorable Finding Dory Hair Bow to get ready for the BIGGEST sequel event of the year! Hope you’ve enjoyed this Kaitlin Olson interview, with lots of Disney insider info on the biggest movie of the summer, Finding Dory!
What do you think of the new Finding Dory character, Destiny?
I was invited to attend an all-inclusive Disney press trip in exchange for this post. But don’t be fooled, my love for Disney runs deep. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube for more exclusive Disney movie insider info, recipes, crafts and travel.
Leave a Reply