'Big Nate' Star Ben Giroux Describes Why Series Is an 'Extra Special Project' (Exclusive)

By Brian Jones

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Big Nate is the newest show for Paramount+. The animated series produced by Nickelodeon Studios is now streaming and is about an 11-year-old boy named Nate and his best friends trying to get through sixth grade. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Ben Giroux who voices the lead character Nate Wright, and he explained why he loves the series. 

"I see a lot of myself in Nate, which obviously makes this an extra special project," Giroux told PopCulture. " And I think if you spoke to any actor on our show, they would say we're all basically playing elevated versions of ourselves. I had the privilege of already having friendships with all of the other series regulars before we were cast. And I think that real-life friendship that we have in our dynamic really comes through in the show.

"My real-life writing partner and improv partner is Arnie Pantoja, who plays Teddy Ortiz. And so Arnie and I have been riffing together for years. And for that to come through as Nate and Teddy, it's just made this project extra special." Big Nate is based on the comic strip and the book series of the same name by Lincoln Pierce. The comic strip debuted in 1991 and the success led to multiple books before the animated series was produced. 

"I'm 37, so I missed the initial Big Nate surge," Giroux explained. "So it's actually been really fun for me to retroactively dive into the incredible Big Nate fan base that exists. I think that's one of the responsibilities I feel as the voice of the title character is to honor the source material of this iconic book series and comic strip franchise. And in the same vein, finding ways to elevate it and invite in a whole new generation of Big Nate fans that might not be aware of the decades of amazing Big Nate characters and stories that already exist."

Big Nate uses the same principles seen in an animated series today. However, the series stays true to the comic strip as it also uses 2D animation to tell the story. "This one for me really stands out because I see so much of myself in Nate," Giroux revealed. "I grew up in sixth-grade drawing and doodling, and Nate literally is an artist. He draws on the show. One of the coolest parts about the animation on our show is that we're a CGI show, but Nate's doodles on the show come to life as 2D representations. So we're mixing mediums in animation."

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