by Edwin L. Carpenter – Associate Editor, The Dove Foundation

The Dove Foundation recently interviewed Dominic Scott Kay, the voice of ‘Wilbur’ from the newly released “Charlotte’s Web.” At ten years of age, Dominic comes across very articulately and he was a delight to interview. He got his start in 2002’s “Minority Report,” playing young Sean in the film which starred Tom Cruise. He already has several credits under his belt, including a voiceover for 2006’s “The Wild,” as young Samson. We kicked off the interview by asking Dominic how he got started in the business.

“Well, my daddy played drums for the Commodores, and since I was two I’ve been doing a little show in my house and I’ve always been interested in writing and creating and doing shows, so I went for my first audition for ‘Minority Report,’ and I got it. That was where I played Tom Cruise’s son. That was my first movie and I was four years old

Time goes fast, doesn’t it?” I joked with Dominic and he laughed and said, “Yes, it does!”

We asked Dominic how he was offered the role of Wilbur in “Charlotte’s Web,” and he replied, “I got the call to audition and I happened to be reading the book at the time. So it was the perfect time.  I got the part and was so excited.”

Dominic is very polite and when we complimented him on his voice as Wilbur, he quickly replied, “Thank you so much!”

We wanted to know what it was like doing voiceover work compared to acting in live-action films, and about the difficulty of acting and speaking to a microphone. “I’ve done a couple of voiceovers,” he said. “I love them both (acting and voiceovers). Everything’s pretty much different. In acting you run over the scene, you memorize it. And if you get stuck you have to start all over. And in voiceover you don’t memorize it, you read it and you are a lot more animated. And if you get stuck you just say it three times in a row, or five times in a row.”

“I went out to New Mexico, to record with Julia Roberts. She had her babies at the time and she wanted me to do the voiceover with her because it would be a lot more natural.  It was so much fun—she was really funny. She was really great.”

We wanted to know if Dominic had a favorite scene in the film. “Yes,” he said, “I have so many. There are so many great parts.  There’s the part when I’m talking to the baby spiders. At the very end, that’s a really great part. And when I’m always saying, ‘Great name,’ I think it’s really funny. “When I go up to Samuel I ask who he is, and he says, ‘It’s me,’ and I say, ‘Me,’ great name!’”

In comparison to Dominic’s favorite scenes, we wanted to know if he faced any difficulties in making the movie.  “Not too much,” said Dominic. “I mean, it was pretty fun. It was kind of just all a blast. There’s not too much that was hard about it.”

Dominic has some future projects in the works including a couple in post production titled “Midnight Clear,” and “The Dukes.”

When we mentioned these, he added, “I directed a movie with Kevin Bacon in it, and it was shot in 35 mm.  I wrote a true story that happened to my family. I directed it when I was nine and it’s still going through some editing. It’s called ‘Saving Angelo.’”

We were truly impressed as we learned more about this remarkable ten-year-old kid who has acted in several projects and already directed a film! We asked Dominic what he liked best about acting.

He took a moment to reflect. “Everything: film families, being on the set, having so much fun with all the other actors. I really, really do love film families. I love being able to spend so much time with them and getting to know all the people that are on the set. All the people involved in sound, props, hair and make-up. It’s really fun.” He elaborated on how close film families can become, “especially when you’re with them for a long time. You get so used to them and it’s really sad when the movie wraps.”

Dominic was looking forward to the film premiere of “Charlotte’s Web,” which had not yet taken place when we spoke with him. “It’s going to be a huge premiere,” he said.  As we were ending the interview we asked him if it was fun playing an animal, Wilbur the pig. “Definitely!” he said. “You get to be a pig!” In signing off, Dominic left us with a, “God bless you. Bye!”


Read Dove’s Review of “Charlotte’s Web”