The 44-minute Netflix animated special My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, meant to tease the September debut of a new eight-episode series, follows Sunny Starscout (voiced by Jenna Warren) and her pony friends as they celebrate magic’s return to Equestria on Maretime Bay Day. But with the Unicorns and Pegasi having trouble with their powers and Earth Ponies frustrated about their lack of magic, Zipp (voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is worried about the glitches being the result of a bigger issue and sets out to show everyone why unifying with kindness is more important than ever.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Ramakrishnan talked about how My Little Pony is such a classic and timeless property, why she loves the characters, how Zipp is similar to her, the voice recording process, the exciting success of Turning Red (she voiced Priya), what it’s like to know that Never Have I Ever will be wrapping up with its fourth season, what she can tease about Season 3, and how she’s okay with not knowing what might come next for her career.
Collider: In all honesty, I love My Little Pony. I had all of the toys as a kid, so I’m thrilled they’re still around because it makes me feel like I made a good toy choice.
MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN: You stuck with the classic, timeless toy choice.
Yeah, I’ve got My Little Pony figures, all the Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, and Strawberry Shortcake.
RAMAKRISHNAN: I feel that. I love the Care Bears. Tenderheart? Hell yeah!
When did you become familiar with My Little Pony and what do you most love about the characters?
RAMAKRISHNAN: I was a fan of My Little Pony when I was a kid and I remember having all the different dolls. I’m pretty sure I still do have all of them in a trunk because I’m not gonna get rid of them. Why would I? Clearly, as we discussed, it’s a timeless choice. But I loved all the different colors and different designs of the characters. I was a Rainbow Dash gal. I love Rainbow Dash, for sure. We love a good rainbow. So, it was a dream to be a part of My Little Pony as one of the main characters. It’s wild.
How did this opportunity come your way?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Truly, it was just my agent getting the audition because my agent knows I love animation. As soon as I saw that it was My Little Pony, I was like, “Oh my gosh, yes. I definitely wanna audition for this. I wanna try my best. Let’s go.” And I guess I have a unique voice. It sticks out, and that’s what you need for animation, so there you go. I’m Zipp Storm.
You’re still pretty new to the whole professional acting thing. Along with leading your own TV series, you’re now branching out into voice work with My Little Pony and Turning Red. How have those projects compared? Is the process of recording basically the same, or were there any differences between those two projects?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Honestly, they’re all pretty distinct, even Turning Red to My Little Pony. Of course, Never Have I Ever, which is live-action, to animation was very different. But from Turning Red to My Little Pony, there are differences because one’s a feature film and one’s a series. You get to live with a character way longer in a series than you do in a feature film. How I got to record was also different. Turning Red was done isolated, so I wasn’t with anyone else. What’s cool about My Little Pony is that there are times when I get to be with the other cast members – the other main five ponies – and we get to record together, which is really nice.
What is that like? Is it ever hard to not just get excited and all talk over each other, even though you’re not supposed to do that in the recording process?
RAMAKRISHNAN: It’s a good balance. You find a balance in knowing how to play off of each other. In that way, that’s no different to doing live-action and having a script, knowing the beats, hearing each other, and working off each other. It’s really not that hard to make sure you don’t step on each other’s toes. I will say, though, there are times where I accidentally jump a line and I’m like, “Oh my bad, my bad, my bad, my bad. Sorry, sorry, sorry.” But it’s always good fun.
How cool has it been for you to see how much people have loved the friendship aspect of Turning Red? People have fallen in love with that group of characters. What was it like to see and hear the response for that film?
RAMAKRISHNAN: That was great. That was awesome. It’s such a unique group of friends that we haven’t really seen in animation because we lack diversity. And now, here we have this group of girls that are very unique in personality, similar to the ponies and how they’re all very unique in who they are, and we see them just be themselves. They’re a true group of friends that really understand the value and love of friendship.
What do you love most about Zipp? How would you say you’re most like your pony? How do you most identify with her?
RAMAKRISHNAN: I think Zipp and I are both very sarcastic and we like to laugh at our own jokes. I realize, as we’re recording more episodes, the writers like to put in my own tendencies and my own sayings. I like to say, “Cool, cool, cool, cool,” Jake Peralta/Brooklyn Nine-Nine style, so they started adding that in for Zipp as well. And they’ve added more sarcastic comments and Zipp laughing at her own dry humor. I don’t think the wings and being a Pegasus is a common ground for us, but maybe one day.
Zipp is a princess who is set to be queen someday, but doesn’t seem to like that idea. It doesn’t seem like something she’s particularly ready for. How does she feel about all of that? In an ideal world, what do you think she would want?
RAMAKRISHNAN: That’s a good question. In an ideal world, I think she’d probably wanna just ditch the whole princess life, fully. But I think she also enjoys some perks of it. I will say that. She’s learning how to make princess, that title, her own, which I think is really nice for audiences to see. She loves her detective work a lot. That’s definitely what makes her cutie mark shine. I think she’s still happy to be a princess, but just on her own terms.
Over the course of voicing Zipp, is there a point where you feel a sense of ownership over her because you’re really making her your own?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Yeah, 100%. Zipp is my girl. I love Zipp. I definitely love her to death. She’s obviously my favorite pony. She’s the greatest. I do feel a sense of, “Yeah, go Zipp. Let’s go.” The writers protect her quite well, so there’s not much that I need to do.
When you see the character, does that change at all how you want to play her, or is it just however it comes naturally to you?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Honestly, when it comes to animation, animators do such a great job of hearing the voices and visualizing what that will look like for the character. It goes both ways, where I’m giving the voice to help inform what the character looks like, and now, when I get to see the character and Zipp’s mannerisms, I get to work off of that, too. It goes both ways, hand in hand.
Do you have your own Zipp figure yet?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Not yet. I’m looking for a Zipp plush. That’s what I want. But the figures are available. Hasbro is on it.
What have you found that you most enjoy about the whole voice recording process and bringing a character to life with only your vocal performance? And are there challenges that come with that?
RAMAKRISHNAN: For me, the biggest challenge is not being able to see what it’s gonna look like. You record first, and then the animation comes after, once they get the voice. That’s the biggest challenge, but it’s also what makes it exciting because in animation, you can do anything. I might not be able to physically jump over a building, but Zipp definitely can fly through, over and under everything in Zephyr Heights. In that way, the sky is truly the limit in animation because anything is possible.
A lot of actors talk about not being able to watch their own performances. Are you someone who normally doesn’t like watching yourself? And does it make it any easier when it’s an animated project and you only hear yourself?
RAMAKRISHNAN: I think animated projects can be a little bit easier. You don’t see yourself, but then you also hear yourself a lot more because there’s less to look at, in terms of seeing yourself, so you’re really focusing on your voice. It’s like when you hear a video of you and you’re like, “Oh my God, I sound like that on this recording. Wow, my voice is weird.” But I do watch my own projects because I wanna know what I have to talk about in an interview. I also will say that I do get joy in live-action, watching myself do emotional scenes, because I’m like, “Why are you crying? That’s so weird. Literally, stop that. You’re a mess right now. That’s so embarrassing.”
I love that this group of pony friends is referred to as the Mane 5 because that’s just such a cute name for them.
RAMAKRISHNAN: Yeah.
What do you most enjoy about the friendship aspect of all of this and how different they all are, but how much they really are so great together?
RAMAKRISHNAN: That’s exactly what I like the most about it. They’re so different from each other, but they get along so well. What’s great about how they’ve written the series and the specials, and everything that you’re gonna see, is that there’s no pair. They truly put every character with each other. It’s like, “This episode, these two will be together. But the next episode, these two will be together instead.” You see how they truly all get along, and their unique dynamics and friendships that they have, within the group of the Mane 5, which I think is really nice.
You really jumped right into the deep end when it came to acting and you’ve gotten to do so much on Never Have I Ever. How different do you feel, as an actor now? Do you feel more confident in your craft? Have you realized that you have strengths that you didn’t know you had?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Definitely. Before Never Have I Ever, I’d never cried on command. Before Never Have I Ever, I’d never been in front of a camera, so that was a huge step. Learning what everything means on set, in terms of what an eye line is and what a mark is, was all new to me. But now, with doing all these different kinds of projects, including animation, I feel way more confident and have way less imposter syndrome. I feel way more confident, but I do still know that I’m only three years in, which is wild to think about.
We know that we’ll only get four seasons of Never Have I Ever, but we also know that at least we will have that. What’s it like to know when the last season is while also knowing that you’ll still have time to leave the show on your own terms? Do you try not to think about that, or is it always in the back of your mind?
RAMAKRISHNAN: It’s always lingering in the back of my mind, especially as we film Season 4 right now. We went back-to-back [with Season 3 and 4]. But I do try to not think about it because we don’t want to be upset all the time. I will say I’m very grateful that we get to know that it’s the end, rather than releasing the season, and then being told, “Well that was it. Good job.” At least we get to know, “Okay, this is gonna be your last season, so everyone give it your all.” The writers can tie things up and we can really just put everything on the table, which I think is awesome. All good things have to come to an end, right?
Do you already know how the series will end?
RAMAKRISHNAN: We actually don’t know how it’ll end. We find out what happens within a season, as we go along. That’s what makes it exciting. I don’t know, genuinely, how the series is gonna end, right now in this current moment.
What can you say to tease fans about Season 3 and what they can expect from what I’m sure will be plenty of upcoming character drama?
RAMAKRISHNAN: I would say that you can expect a lot of drama., for sure. I really don’t do spoilers. I’m the kind of person that’s like, “Don’t even watch the trailer. Just go in blind. Just go in. Figure it out on your own.” But it’s a good season. I’m very excited. It’s wild for me to think that the other 50% of our show hasn’t come out because to me it’s very much out. I know it’s there, but it’s not out. Only Season 1 and 2 are available.
Are you good with not revealing spoilers? Have you ever almost gotten in trouble, but then caught yourself?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Oh no, I’ve always been the chamber of secrets, 100%. No one has caught me slipping. No way.
I love how My Little Pony can have the simplest of messages, like how everything is better when you face it together. Zipp has these friends and family that she can count on, Priya had that in Turning Red, and even Devi has that in Never Have I Ever. Do you have that, yourself? Is that something that you can also rely on, when you need to?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Oh yeah, 100%. My family and my friends are my rock. They keep me grounded. They keep me humble. They remind me of who I am. A lot of them knew me before all of this, so they know me beyond the screen and beyond the characters. They know me as the loser that comes over and is dying of cramps and just loafs on the couch. That’s how they know me. They’re so important to me and they do so much to take care of me, which I love and appreciate about them.
When you started this whole acting thing, did you have in mind what success would look like, or what you wanted for your own career goals? Did it look anything like leading a TV show and doing voice-over work?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Not at all. Before Never Have I Ever, I did accept going to a theater program at a university and I didn’t know where that was gonna take me. I remember thinking to myself, “If all I do is community theater, that’s cool, but I don’t even know if I’ll become an actor. I just wanna do theater because I know I enjoyed it in high school, so I might as well do something that I find fun and keeps me happy. I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I know at least I’ll be happy.” I truly did not think I would be doing all the things that I’ve done.
Now that you are, has it changed the perspective? Do you now have thoughts about what you would like to do next?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Yeah. For me, I just wanna keep the streak going of taking on these powerful characters that audiences clearly resonate with so much. Whether it’s Priya or Devi or Zipp, I wanna take on these characters that people can see themselves in because they’re fully formed characters. They’re not tokenized or stereotypical. They’re true, real human beings.
Would you want to do another TV series? Are you looking to branch out into films? Have you thought also about producing or directing, in the future?
RAMAKRISHNAN: Right now, it’s this interesting time where, because Never Have I Ever is wrapping up, it’s the unknown. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, and I think that’s okay. I think it’s totally fine to not know what’s gonna happen next because not knowing is pretty exciting, too. I had no idea, two weeks out of high school, I would be in L.A. filming. I had no idea. I was not gonna be able to predict that. That was definitely not on the bingo card. So, I’m very excited to see what comes my way, but I would love to just continue to act. Acting is just what makes me the happiest, so if I could keep doing that a little while longer, I would be so appreciative.
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark is available to stream at Netflix.
