If you’re a gamer, you’re more than likely familiar with Analesa Fisher whose voice can be heard in major franchises such as Honkai: Star Rail, Cookie Run: Kingdom, and many others. They’re no stranger to on-camera projects with roles in notable projects such as the Netflix film Metal Lords. Moreover, as a member of the autism community who also lives with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Fisher is also a staunch advocate for disability rights and continually strives for authentic representation in the entertainment industry.
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This week sees the release of their latest project Rise and Shine, a feature film about the experience of a neurodiverse teen girl with a developmental disability. We had the opportunity to chat with Fisher not only about Rise and Shine but other recent projects including Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2 also out this week and much more.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Taimur Dar: It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a big week for you with the release of the film Rise and Shine. The entertainment industry has a history neurodiverse representation that although well-intentioned often come across as tone-deaf. How did Rise and Shine avoid that pitfall and what was your experience working on the film?
Analesa Fisher: What drew me to the project initially was when I read the script. There’s so much of the story between my character and the main character as best friends that boils down to girlhood. It has nothing to do with the fact that [the characters] are disabled or are neurodivergent. They’re out there living their lives, trying to get dates to the promise, going to the mall. We don’t really get to see that. Usually when we have representation, it’s only the hard parts of our lives that we deal with that we get spotlighted. We’re fully rounded human beings with hobbies. That was number one.
Number two, our director Laura Somers was so intent on doing this right. I think there were four or five lines I changed in the movie. I came up to our director and said, “I don’t like how this sounds. I think this is infantilizing us or comes off weird.” Before I would even finish my sentence, she’d go, “Then don’t say it. What would you like to say?” I would give her a couple of ideas and she goes, “Let’s do that.” She was so accommodating in that way and I was so grateful for that. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to be a voice for an entire community of autistic girls. We get so little representation. We have Heartbreak High on Netflix and one other show that has real authentic autistic girl representation. Otherwise, it’s mostly male representation of autism which is also important. I was scared to be that voice for that entire community. Looking back on it, I’m really honored I got to do that and took it so seriously.
Taimur Dar: Before we move onto your other new project this week, I have to bring up your role in the Netflix movie Metal Lords. That film actually came to my attention because James Gunn mentioned on the Peacemaker podcast how much he loved it.
Analesa Fisher: Wait, really?
Taimur Dar: Yup! James Gunn loved Metal Lords so much that it led him to hiring its director Peter Sollett to be involved in Season 2 of Peacemaker. I’d love to hear your experience on the film working with Sollett?
Analesa Fisher: You’re the first person who ever told me that. James Gunn has seen and liked a movie that I was in. That’s a wild sentence. I’m going to process that later. Peter was amazing. I loved Peter. Peter and I had a good working relationship that consisted of me being so nervous. I was fourth billing in a giant Netflix movie that was being made by the Game of Thrones producers. I was scared every single day that I wasn’t doing the right thing and scared of saying the same thing. So as an autistic individual, of course I scripted what I was going to say to this man before I got on set. I always told myself, “You’re going to say one thing you like about his outfits. Just really look at him and pick out something you really like.” By the end of the shoot, it got to the point where he said, “I get dressed in the morning thinking about what you’re going to say. It makes my day.” He was a great director. Very open to hearing what we as young people would actually do in certain scenes. I’ve been very lucky in getting to work with some pretty awesome directors and Peter is one of them.
Taimur Dar: By the time this interview runs, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 will have been released so you’re free to hopefully discuss getting to be involved in the anime.
Analesa Fisher: It was a dream come true for me. The first season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is one of my favorite anime of all time. I think I’ve watched it seven times. I did the first round of auditions for the lead characters and didn’t get any of those. As they were recording, they kept sending more auditions out. The character that I’m playing, Omi, was the last audition I got. I wasn’t even home with my home setup. I had to record it in my mom’s car in Portland because I was visiting. I was like, “There’s no way I’m going to get this, but I have to try because it’s one of my favorite anime.” When I did get it, I was blown away. I didn’t think I was going to be in this show and didn’t know how big of a part [Omi] played. You’ll see how integral she is not only to the storyline but D’s storyline specifically and her relationship to him and how it’s a different path than what he is attempting.
Taimur Dar: As we’ve discussed, you work in both on-camera as well as voiceover. I’m curious when you first got into acting if voiceover was an intentional path or something you discovered in the course of your career?
Analesa Fisher: My first jobs ever when I was young and up in Portland, Oregon doing acting were voiceover. I was auditioning for on-camera stuff but being in Portland we had like two shows that would come through and film there and maybe a movie every eight years. The amount of roles for young girls and opportunities were limited. But we have radio and local spots and commercials. My manager had put me onto that pretty young because the acting studio we were taught at was right across the hallway from one of the voiceover studios in Portland. I had always done them in tandem which was weird to me moving to L.A. and discovering that people were one or another. I get asked a lot if they influence each other. Absolutely, but I’m not sure I can articulate how because I’ve always done them at the same time. I’ve always approached any form of acting the exact same way whether that is on-camera or voiceover. I think there’s something magical about that. I do try to get my friends on both sides to dive in a little bit. I tell my on-camera friends they’ll learn new things about their acting and instincts if they give it a shot. Same thing with my friends in voiceover who want to delve into on-camera. It’s hard and not for the faint of heart but it is so fun and thrilling.
Taimur Dar: You became a part of the Miraculous Ladybug franchise not too long ago voicing the characters Aglaé and Sublime. It’s pretty amazing how big the Miraculous fanbase has grown. Obviously, it wears its anime influence like Sailor Moon on its sleeve and still has some deep emotional storytelling. Is it emotionally meaningful for you as an actor to be involved in Miraculous Ladybug?
Analesa Fisher: Very much so. I think interacting with the fans is what made me more appreciative of that. I knew how big of a show it was cognitively but I never watched it. I didn’t even audition for the roles. They offered [the roles] to me. A producer on the show reached out, “Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to be part of this dub?” I say yes to everything and was like, “Hell yeah! I love work and getting the chance to act.” When I got the contract and it said Miraculous Ladybug, I was like, “Hold on! This is too big. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this.”
But the fans have been so welcoming and I’ve gotten to talk to them at conventions. Some of them are 21-22 now and were 11 when they started watching the show. It blows my mind because they really did grow up with this and are still being so welcoming to the new characters and excited about the new stories even well into adulthood. We don’t get that anymore in TV or film. There’s no longevity in things. Shows maybe get two seasons if we’re lucky and Miraculous just keeps going and finds new generations of kids who are discovering and loving it. It’s a real honor for me. Since connecting with the fans, I have tried to do my due diligence in being a part of the community because I think it’s owed that with how iconic it is.
Taimur Dar: Though I’m a bit of a lapsed video game player, I do have an awareness and appreciation of games such as DC: Dark Legion that featured you as the voice of Supergirl. Did you ever imagine you would play the Maiden of Might?
Analesa Fisher: Never. I didn’t even have it on my radar as something that anyone would see me as. My two typecasts are the “Kendall” who is blunt and angry at everybody. Or the awkward nerd. What I knew about Supergirl growing up is that she’s like Clark Kent. She’s very put together and sweet and do-good. I never thought I could do that. When I got the audition for Supergirl I tried to do that. I actually got a call from the director, “I want you to redo this. I want you to bring you to this. Give me the Analesa take.” I was like, “Are you sure? That’s not how I know Supergirl.” And he was like, “Just trust me.” So I went into the booth and gave it that take and booked it. This was before Supergirl came out. This before Superman even came out. I think [Superman] was coming out in two weeks when I went to record for the first time. So they were telling me about Woman of Tomorrow and Milly [Alcock]’s performance in Supergirl and what they were doing with that and why they wanted that take that was the sassier and angrier at life take. It was really cool to get that insider info well before anything was public. I felt very special. Milly’s Supergirl was fantastic. She was born to play that role. I was honored to play a small part of that in the video game.
Taimur Dar: Besides acting, you’re also a writer and heard you penned a YA thriller film called Wake Up. Anything you can say about that project?
Analesa Fisher: All I can say is if you love Obsession and Backrooms and internet horror, you’re going to love this.
Taimur Dar: Finally, anything you want to promote or plug for our readers?
Analesa Fisher: I will just say go see Rise and Shine on October 23rd in AMC theaters and then check it out on Angel Studios when it comes out in November. And go watch Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 on Netflix. There’s a lot of stuff you can see me in.
