Actor Laurence Fishburne spills the beans on imitating Doc Rivers' "raspy voice" for 'Clipped' series - "Not hard"
Actor Laurence Fishburne took on the challenge of playing former LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers in FX's new six-episode miniseries "Clipped." However, according to Fishburne, the role, including imitating Rivers' famous "raspy voice," wasn't too difficult for him.
Based on ESPN's 30 for 30 podcast "The Sterling Affairs," the miniseries documents disgraced former Clippers owner Donald Sterling's downfall. On April 25, 2014, TMZ released a tape, recorded by Sterling's mistress, V. Stiviano, of the then-80-year-old making racist remarks.
Sterling's comments sparked national outrage, resulting in the NBA banning him for life on April 29, 2014. He was also issued a massive $2.5 million fine, the maximum permitted under the NBA constitution, and forced to sell the Clippers.
On May 29, 2014, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the franchise for $2 billion, marking the end of Sterling's tumultuous 33-year ownership tenure.
Throughout the process, more accounts came to light of Sterling's extensive history of racial discrimination, marking a dark cloud over the league during the 2014 playoffs. Meanwhile, Rivers, who coached LA from 2013 to 2020, was tasked with navigating the team through the controversy.
During a Tuesday appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," Fishburne touched on his preparation for the role. Patrick asked the 62-year-old if he tried to "mimic" Rivers' voice, to which he concurred.
"Well, it was very clear that he had a raspy voice, and it was very clear why he had a raspy voice to me, but I made the effort to sort of replicate that in my performance," Fishburne said.
When asked how difficult it was to get Rivers' voice right, Fishburne quickly noted that he had no issues doing so.
"Not at all. Not hard," Fishburne said.
Patrick later asked Fishburne to "judge" his producer Todd Fritz' Doc Rivers impersonation. The three-time Emmy winner humorously gave a review while mimicking Rivers' voice.
"Hey, listen, that's not bad. Not as good as mine, but it's alright," Fishburne said.
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Laurence Fishburne didn't know who Doc Rivers was before playing him in 'Clipped'
While Laurence Fishburne was able to imitate Doc Rivers' raspy voice with relative ease, he first had to learn who he was.
During his appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," Fishburne was asked what his first thoughts were when offered the role of Rivers in "Clipped." According to the veteran actor, he first questioned, "Who is Doc Rivers?"
Fishburne added that not being a "sports fan" made it "easier" for him to play the role, as he had "no preconceived notions" about Rivers' history. However, he noted that he later connected with the now-Milwaukee Bucks coach and "observed Doc being his natural self," allowing him to adequately prepare.
Also Read: Doc Rivers maintained firm stance on addressing former Clippers owner per “Clipped”: "I'll call him Mr. Sterling when he calls me Mr. Rivers"