Voice actor Colleen O'Shaughnessey on playing Tails and why AI can't replace emotion in art

The National

22-04-2025

A new generation of fans is endearing itself to Sonic the Hedgehog. Having become mainstream in the 1990s with the release of the video games on Sega, Sonic amassed a legion of dedicated fans that has only grown since then – especially thanks to the character's 2020 film. And while Sonic is undoubtedly the star of the show, there is another character that has also won fans over: Miles 'Tails' Prower. Tails, a fox cub with two tails who serves as Sonic's sidekick, was first introduced in the second Sonic video game in 1992 and quickly became a fan favourite. Since 2014, Tails has been brought to life by voice actor Colleen O'Shaughnessey, first in the video games and more recently in the films. O'Shaughnessey has had a prolific career, appearing in other popular franchises such as Digimon, Bleach and Mobile Suit Gundam. At the weekend, she was in Abu Dhabi for Middle East Film and Comic Con as a celebrity guest, where she took pictures with fans and signed memorabilia. Speaking to The National, O'Shaughnessey explained what feels different about voicing Tails now compared to when she first started, more than a decade ago. 'I think the biggest difference is the circumstances where he finds himself,' O'Shaughnessey says. "When I first started voicing Tails, it was for Sonic Boom and Sonic and Tails already had an established relationship.' However, in the films, this storyline arc changed. Instead, Sonic meets and befriends Tails for the first time, which O'Shaughnessey says meant she needed to change the tone of the character, instead making him a little more serious. 'He's nervous to meet him and the stakes are much higher. It's a little more cinematic and grounded,' she says. O'Shaughnessey adds that she loves how the films have brought in a whole new generation of fans to the franchise. "My favourite is when little kids now, they'll come up and their parents will be like, 'Look, it's Tails', and they're like, 'What do you mean?' And I'll do the voice," she says. 'Their eyes get really big and then they start laughing, it's the cutest. They can't wrap their head around why this lady's face is making that sound, but that's my favourite.' During her career, O'Shaughnessey has also voiced characters in the Studio Ghibli films Spirited Away and Ponyo. Her close working relationship with the storied Japanese animation house meant she understandably raised an eyebrow at the latest trend of artificial intelligence mimicking its famed visual style. "I don't love it," she says. "AI can be a wonderful thing. I think there are ways to use AI in certain ways to make things easier, but when it comes to artistic integrity and the creative process, I don't think you can teach a computer how to feel human emotions.' When it comes to AI in voice acting, she also believes it falls short because it can't get the nuance of a character the same way a human can. "I think it's just very different," she says. "You can teach a computer a lot of things and it can learn, and I understand that technology is moving so fast, but it's not my favourite.'