An Interview with Gabrielle Nevaeh from ‘Curses!’

Larry (voiced by James Marsters), Stanley (voiced by Rhys Darby), Russ (voiced by Andre Robinson) and Pandora (voiced by Gabrielle Nevaeh) in "CURSES!," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Gabrielle Nevaeh is a rising star in Hollywood that is popping up in everything from music videos to NFL games. Currently she stars as Pandora Vanderhouven in Curses! on Apple TV+, and to further celebrate the season two release of the show, we sat down with Gabrielle to discuss her experiences on the show thus far.
 
John Betancourt:  I'd love to start by getting to know what it means to you as an actor to be back for a second season.
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: I feel very blessed to be back for a second season, because, as we know, all shows don't get that opportunity. So, I'm thrilled that we get to explore more Curses! and see more Pandora.
 
John Betancourt:  I love talking to actors that do voice work, just because it's such interesting preparation process, everybody seems to have a different style to it. And I'm curious how you prepare to play Pandora every season.
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: There isn't much preparation that goes into playing Pandora. I kind of just jump into it, as far as developing her character, I remember very early on, I kind of had to find the placement in my throat of, yes, it's still my natural speaking voice, but it's a little heightened, and it's just, you know, it's me when I'm excited. Because, yes, it is an adventure comedy. It's an adventure horror comedy. So, things are very heightened, and things are very tense oftentimes, so that puts a different strain on your voice. So, I think just vocal health in general is how I really prepare for Pandora. But as far as like specific character action, her vocal print is very pinched and very tense. So just taking care of taking care of my voice, with all the screams and all the stress that comes with playing her is the most important part.
 
John Betancourt: To follow up on that I’m curious how you as an actor capture the essence of her, because everybody stands out so well as characters in this show, and obviously that that is a tribute to your work.
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: Pandora has a lot of childlike wonder. And when I started playing Pandora, I was about 16 or 17, so I wasn't too far off. It's not, you know, I wasn't completely out of that ballpark. But as far as capturing her humor and her essence, that came from a lot of improv, you know, and permission from the producers of saying, “Hey, it's okay for you to have some fun with this,” because I didn't want to come into Curses! with layering it with so much comedy, because it wasn't presented as so much of a comedy. It was more of a horror animation style. So, finding the balance of realism with comedy was really an instrumental part of the process, and instrumental part of finding her charisma and her overall character identity.
 
John Betancourt: I’m also curious, what it was that attracted you to the character in general, and the project.
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: I loved her look on life. You know, I liked that. It was a fun character. It's set in a horror setting. So, I think that's what really drew me to the project, was Pandora's overall personality. The way that they wrote her was very punchy, very spunky. You know, she's got her skateboard, she's in the house, and she's breaking rules, but she also has a lot of heart, and she also cares for the greater good and always tries to do the right thing, even if she falters a little bit. And I think that's what really drew me to Curses! in general and drew me to the character was her heart and her spirit. And another layer on top of that. It's a biracial family, right? And it's not a plot point per se, but it's representation in the sense of they're just on screen, and it doesn't have to be a big deal. It doesn't have to be made a talking point. It can just simply exist. And I think that's something that drew me to Pandora, was that the fact that she was a biracial kid, and you're telling this story from that perspective.
 
John Betancourt: In addition to being able to put so much of that on the screen and have that representation and the heart, what else do you love the most about playing this character?
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: I just love the opportunity to work on a horror project, you know, because it's a little different than what I'm used to doing. I have a comedy background. But when I sit back and watch the full episode, and I get to see the final product, getting to finally see Pandora in action, and what she looks like and her attire and the things that she -- her action, you know, because when I'm acting, you know, I have an image of Pandora in my head of what I think that she's doing. And then, of course, the animators and the producers have a different idea, or sometimes, it's in a line, but usually it's a different idea. So, what I love most about playing Pandora is getting to see the final product of, you know, everyone's ideas kind of melted into what we see on screen. So, I love getting to finally see the final product of Pandora and see how everybody's creative ideas came together, too.
 
John Betancourt: Why do you think the show resonates so well with everyone?
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: I think that there's a lot of versatility with our show. I mean, just speaking on, to the way that the show physically looks, it has a vintage feel to it, but it's also fresh and new. I've never seen the show that looks quite like it, so I think that is an aspect that really resonates with audiences. Again, we have the biracial aspect of it, that's representation of people, making people feel seen, and definitely made me feel seen as a biracial actor. And then on top of it, we have different cultures being explored. We have different artifacts that are being returned to different countries. So, you're you have an educational aspect, you have a horror aspect, and you also have a comedy aspect. So, I think that's something that is very relatable for audiences, and I think that lends to why we came back for season two.
 
John Betancourt: I also love the fact that this show has so many different layers to it, and I'm curious what you hope this season audiences take away from this show.
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: This season, I hope audiences take away the aspect of family, right? And family isn't always who you’re blood related to, right? Debbie is 1,000,000% a part of the family. Margie is 1,000,000% a part of the family, just as much as Russ or Alex is. And I think that's something that I hope viewers take away, is that family isn't always who your blood relatives are. You can create your own family. And people that you call family are, you know, can be friends. They can be, you know, they can be, really anybody. And I think that's something that we showcase in our show.
 
John Betancourt: From a general perspective, what are you excited for audiences to enjoy here in season two?
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: From a general perspective, things are just bigger, and they're more heightened because we have the added layer of, yes, we're returning artifacts, yes, we're still cursed, and yes, dad is back home, but everything isn't quite settled with dad. So, the added layer of what's happening with Alex on top of, “Oh my gosh, we're running away from a scary monster.” I think that's something that viewers are really going to enjoy in season two, and that's something that I've really enjoyed telling the story of. I liked the added layer of everything that's happening with Alex, and I think that adds a fun aspect for viewers at home.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for you today, what are you most proud of so far when it comes to your work on this show?
 
Gabrielle Nevaeh: I think I'm proud to be able to impact families at home. I think I'm proud to be a part of a project that is hopefully a gateway to the horror genre for kids, because we're scary. Curses! is scary, but it's not too scary that it's going to turn off young audiences. So, I think that I'm most proud to be, hopefully an introduction to the horror genre. Hopefully kids grow up and be like, “Yeah, Curses! was my favorite horror animation. It scared me out of my mind when I was a kid, but I just couldn't turn away.” Because for me, that was Gravity Falls growing up where it creeped me out, but I couldn't… I just couldn't look away. So, I hope to be that for a kid at home, you know? And that's what I'm most proud of.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
​

---