An Interview with J. Smith-Cameron & Carl Tart from ‘In the Know’

IN THE KNOW -- Episode 101 -- Pictured: J. Smith-Cameron as voice of Barb and Carl Tart as voice of Carl -- (Photo by: PEACOCK)

J. Smith-Cameron and Carl Tart are a pair of accomplished actors that have appeared in multiple popular franchises throughout their careers. Currently they star as Barb and Carl in the upcoming Peacock series, In the Know, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with both of them to discuss their characters and the series.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to learn what it was that attracted each of you to this particular project.
 
J. Smith-Cameron: Well, in my case, I just thought it was really witty. I mean, I got to read the whole script, and see where it was going. I just thought it was really well written. And I thought it was really funny that for a straight man, my character was still actually funny in her own right as well. I mean, I just really responded to it. The writing, which is always what draws me into a project, first and foremost, and the characters, the characterizations were really interesting and defined. And yet, as it turned out, when we got to do it, they also really collaborated with us and like took in who we are and what we came up with, which made it really fulfilling.
 
Carl Tart: What drew me to it, of course, was having so many friends attached to the project. And with Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner, who are both UCB guys, one of my improv teammates, Ronnie Adrian is one of the writers on the show. And then the opportunity to work with Mike Judge is paramount. You know, he's a legendary person. So that was really great to be a part of anything that he puts out, you know, be immortalized in the Mike Judge universe. That was really awesome for me too. And it's super funny. Like, like J. said, the script was dope. And it was really cool to be a part of, and I'm excited for people to see it.
 
John Betancourt: Something I was deeply impressed with was the depth of the characters and how realistic they feel. How did you as actors bring these incredible characters to life.
 
Carl Tart: I think that came with the freedom that Brandon and Zach gave us during the recording process. And also, we didn't know what the character was going to look like when we were first recording, we didn't know, so we kind of got to create them ourselves. And we collaborated together -- we recorded together initially. And that's kind of rare in animation and stuff. So that kind of helped us, just they really encouraged like, “Oh, if you sneeze like don't be afraid to… don't stop the flow of the dialogue. If you cough, if you sniff or anything like that, like we'll be putting that in because it's real.” So, they wanted it to be kind of dirty, kind of gritty. And so, it was not like perfectly edited and stuff like that. It's kind of like, they want this to seem as real as possible, even though it's animated. And I think that's what makes what gives it its edge and what gives it a really cool thing about it.
 
J. Smith-Cameron: Yeah, they really focus on that they're human beings. These characters are like really detailed, nuanced humans. Who might have allergies. (Laughter)
 
John Betancourt: What does it meant to each of you personally to have this unique project finally air?
 
J. Smith-Cameron: I'm really excited and curious how it will be received, I think my friends, the kind of people that I know, up close, will really recognize the humor, because I tend to be the kind of person who listens to NPR shows, and I think it's a lot of sort of inside humor, that, you know, people who are really into that culture would love to see this, you know, see it through this lens. Because it's kind of, you know, it's usually sort of sane and thoughtful. You know, it's about thoughtful, thought-y people making reasoned arguments and exploring something and then you see this chaotic workplace, and they're a bunch of nuts. Like, that's fun for people. I hope. I think it will be.
 
Carl Tart: Oh, yeah, I think what it means for me, personally, I'm excited for everybody see it, too. I think it's really unique and really funny. And it's something that hasn't really been done before. There have been like, mixed animation and the real-life stuff, but with the puppetry and how much work has gone into it. And, I mean, the brilliant minds of Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner, Mike Judge putting out something like… it's just I'm excited to add it to the, to the landscape of television. I think it's important. I think it's gonna be super fun.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have both of you today, is what are you most proud of when it comes to work on this show?
 
Carl Tart: I don't even… like I take pride in everything I do. I'm proud of the fact that we got it done so quickly and painlessly and how much work was put into it, I, I'm proud of the people, the artists who did way more than what I did on it. I just came in, said a bunch of stuff. But everybody else who's put so much work into it, and I'm proud, I'm proud of all of them and proud for all of them. The people behind the scenes that we don't get to see. The crew members, the animators, the writers, the producers, everybody, I'm proud, I'm proud of them. And I didn't do nothing, I didn't do nothing. Nothing. (Laughter)
 
J. Smith-Cameron:  Well, I guess I would say that I'm proud of the fact that, you know, I'm used to working, you know, having my face and other parts of my being to communicate with. And so, I'm new to the voiceover world, relatively, certainly compared to Carl and Zach and Brandon, and, of course, Mike Judge, et cetera. So, it's a unique thing. And I remember after we'd done the group stuff, and when we got to the individual and the ADR, you know, the post work that we did the fine tuning, like notes, I'd be given on things, like to “now do it this way, and insinuate that, and just with your voice,” you know, and it would be sometimes very, like very specific things. And I just, that was really fun for me and a really great feeling to feel like I was developing that skill.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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