Voice acting legend Tom Kenny recently shared delightful behind-the-scenes stories from his 25-year journey as SpongeBob SquarePants, including one particularly memorable recording session that left him in tears of laughter.
During the recording of the now-classic episode "Sailor Mouth," Kenny and the cast were given unique creative freedom. Initially starting with mild placeholder words, creator Stephen Hillenburg eventually encouraged the actors to use real expletives, knowing they would be replaced with dolphin sounds in the final cut.
"That is one particular episode where I remember just crying, just hearing these characters do that," Kenny recalled. "Just gales of laughter, tears from laughing." He noted that Clancy Brown, who voices Mr. Krabs, was the "champion" when it came to the improvisational cursing scenes.
The beloved voice actor also shared insights about other fan-favorite episodes. For "Band Geeks," the entire cast recorded together as an ensemble, which wasn't typical for the show. The episode features the iconic "Sweet Victory" performance, which Hillenburg introduced to Kenny as a "super generic power ballad."
In discussing his approach to voicing SpongeBob, Kenny revealed that the character has always felt natural to him. "SpongeBob always felt like a nice, comfortable shoe, like a nice slipper that I could just slide right into," he explained.
Kenny also serves as the show's voice director, a role Hillenburg specifically encouraged him to take on. Beyond voicing the main character, he brings several other characters to life, including Gary the snail and the French Narrator - the latter being a tribute to Jacques Cousteau, one of Hillenburg's personal heroes.
When asked about SpongeBob's future, particularly whether the character will ever get his driver's license, Kenny responded with characteristic optimism: "Whether he'll get it or not, he'll keep trying. He'll pick himself up, dust himself off, and jump back in the driver's seat."