Hayao Miyazaki apologized to “The Boy and the Heron” star for giving him 'such a strange role'

In EW's exclusive video preview, Masaki Suda, who voices the titular bird in the Japanese version, says he studied video of real herons for the voice role.

Before this year is over, audiences around the world will have the chance to watch a new film from animation master Hayao Miyazaki. Unlike The Wind Rises, his new work The Boy and the Heron is a fantasy epic in the vein of his past masterpieces like Spirited Away — but even stranger.

Don't take our word for it. Watch EW's exclusive English-dubbed clip (above) of a conversation between voice actor Masaki Suda, who plays the titular bird in the Japanese cut, and musician Kenshi Yonezu, who sings the theme song "Spinning Globe." The conversation was recorded and released in Japan, but GKIDS will now share the video in theaters during Ghibli Fest screenings of Spirited Away.

According to Suda, Miyazaki playfully apologized for some of the weirder elements of the movie — such as his character! "He told me, 'Sorry for giving you such a strange role,'" Suda says. "It wasn't a problem at all, though."

A strange role indeed. The Boy and the Heron follows a young boy named Mahito, who's grieving the death of his mother as his father takes him to live with his new stepmother. While acclimating, he encounters a mysterious grey heron, who starts speaking to and even taunting Mahito. Soon, the creature draws him into another world that's shared by both the living and the dead.

The original Japanese cut of the film features Soma Santoki as the voice of Mahito alongside Suda's Heron. The English voice cast includes Luca Padovan as the boy and Robert Pattinson as the bird.

In order to nail the role, Suda studied the sounds of real herons... only to discover that they make "really strange sounds, or more like noises." So, he tried a couple different vocal accents and left it up to the master to decide.

"I didn't really know how to approach it. I tried different voices and having exchanges with the other woman from production," Suda recalls. "Hayao Miyazaki himself hadn't spoken until then. But there was a sense of tension, since he was listening. And then, while I was trying different voices, I heard him say, 'That's it!'"

"Like the voice of God coming from above?" Yonezu asks.

"Yeah, exactly!" Suda responds. "After that moment, everything was quick."

Yonezu also spoke about working with the legend of animation. "Honestly, I thought I was going to die," he says of the creative process. "I got to the point where I didn't know what was right anymore. I always worked at home alone in my studio, making songs by myself. Like a weaving crane, I've always worked by myself. This time, I was so lost."

The musician and composer calls it "so overwhelming" to see all the elements that needed to come together for the music, but adds, "Seeing [Miyazaki] sitting right there in front of me, listening to it... He even cried."

The Boy and the Heron hits select New York and Los Angeles theaters on Nov. 22 and goes wide Dec. 8. Watch the full clip above.

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