Fast & Furious Spy Racers Mexico

Netflix’s beloved animated series, Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, returns for a fourth season on April 16. This time the team of amateur spies makes its way to Mexico while on the run from their bosses – because their team leader Ms. Nowhere has been framed and their fellow spies won’t believe they’re innocent.

The agency must send one their best in order to capture their best, which is where the larger-than-life Palindrome comes in. Played by Paul Wight, known as The Show for decades of his fascinating wrestling career, Palindrome is an overly eager and driven hero who will stop at nothing to get his woman. But, given the “family first” motto of the Fast & Furious universe, that doesn’t mean he has no soft spot for her or the kids.

Related: Fast & Furious Connections In Netflix’s Spy Racers

Wight spoke to Screen Rant about infusing all of Palindrome’s physicality into his voicework, his character’s push-and-pull dynamic with Ms. Nowhere, and his own plans with AEW.

How did you get involved with the show?

Paul Wight: Well, it’s funny. This was brought to me by my agent, who said, “Hey, there’s an opportunity to be a part of the Fast and Furious franchise.” And of course, when you hear Fast and Furious, your ears perked up right away. My first thought was, “They want me? Really?” When I heard Fast and Furious, I was thinking, “Jeez, I just had a hip replacement three weeks ago. When do they plan on shooting?”

When I got all the info, I was like, “Okay, I can do this. This is a chance to have a lot of fun.” It’s such an incredible project to be a part of, because it’s part of the animated series; it’s voiceover work. And I find out the direction they’re taking it, making it more fun for younger audiences, and that the main theme is still the one that we love about the entire franchise: to always focus on family.

The Palindrome character too, this guy is just a lot of fun. I’ve said this before to the people that created him, but I love Palindrome’s hair. He’s got a full head of hair, which is great. I miss my long hair days, I really do. I miss having hair to comb. My head now is really easy to take care of, just about two and a half minutes with a razor and my it’s done.

You obviously have a long history of playing a larger-than-life character in wrestling, and wrestling is already a performance in and of itself. But how different is your approach when playing a character with just your voice, and none of the physical aspects?

Paul Wight: It’s a bit challenging at first, because you have to let go of a lot of distractions. I think that when doing voice acting work, a lot of it literally is closing your eyes and putting yourself in the moment.

For me, it was a big relief and a chance just to have fun. Palindrome is an over-the-top character. He’s very motivated in so many aspects of his life, so to have all that energy to let loose and have fun with was very entertaining. When I knew that I had an episode coming up and got a chance to record Palindrome, I knew it was going to be a fun day and a fun session.

I had a lot of fun watching Palindrome’s frienemy dynamic with Ms. Nowhere. Can you talk a little bit about those characters and how they dance around each other?

Paul Wight: I don’t want to give away too many tales in the schoolyard, but the way this thing starts out is Palindrome is tasked to hunt down Ms. Nowhere. This is one of his biggest hunts yet, so to speak. His name is Palindrome, obviously, because he puts criminals right back where they started, which is in jail. Palindrome is this highly intense individual, and it’s funny that Ms. Nowhere really balances in out.

Through the episodes, she gets the better of him here and there, and as the story develops, you see how the two have a dynamic pairing that works really well. It gets into that message of family and whatnot, and I really enjoyed how the relationships between the characters – even Palindrome with the kids and Ms. Nowhere – grew. It made a lot more fun to record.

Speaking of family, I love how Fast and Furious always goes back to family. What does family mean to you, and what message do you take away from the franchise as a whole?

Paul Wight: Their message is that family is the one thing you can count on. There’s so many things thrown at us in life that we have no control over, but you do have control over family and how appreciative and thankful you are for the family that you do have.

Some of these families aren’t families by blood, they’re families by choice. They come from different backgrounds, and to see this collage of different people come together to form that family unit of support and love and respect is so important. I mean, how many times have we said, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family?” But in all reality, you can pick your family. You can pick those that you want to support, and those that support you.

And those human connections are so important. Especially after everything that we’ve all gone through in the past year, we really realize how important human connection is.

Did you ever get to record with other actors, or was primarily a collaboration with the creative team?

Paul Wight: Mostly, it was just me and the creative team. I don’t want to single out a specific episode, but there was one episode where I had to speak Russian. I’ve never spoken Russian before, so they had a lady there in the sound recording studio that helped me enunciate the words properly. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re a giant, because you have this huge palette and this big throat and voice box. Sometimes enunciating English is hard for me. But the Russian was a lot of fun that day.

I was sweating it a little bit when I was reading the script, and I was trying to Google it. I was like, “Oh my gosh, there’s no way.” But the team was so professional; they had someone there and, when there were a couple of words that I couldn’t quite get my mouth around because I’ve never said them before, she literally mashed my face with her hands to say the words right. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It’s like, “Yeah, that’s how I was trying to say that.”

But it’s funny, as an actor and as a performer, you take something away from doing those kinds of exercises that then helps you prepare for something else. I have confidence now that, if I have an opportunity to someday to play someone that has a Russian accent or speaks Russian, then I wouldn’t dismiss it right away. I’m like, “Yeah, I can do that.” That’s all thanks to doing Spy Racers that I’ve become a better performer. I’m not just the ceiling fans duster; I have talent.

Without spoilers, I love how Palindrome becomes a bit of a mentor to the kids as well, not to mention a fitness expert.

Paul Wight: Yeah, that was a great. He had a nice little attitude there, how it worked out. Palindrome is a little excessive with his physical fitness routines, but for the sake of the show, it’s funny to do the one-arm or one-finger pushups. They’re stressing how important it is to keep yourself in shape and keep active.

We all know that’s a real subtle message, especially with so many of our youth and how they’re trapped playing video games and whatnot. This is a really good message of: yeah, all that stuff is cool and great to do, but taking care of yourself is important as well.

Ms. Nowhere has her own take on how she runs the show with her team of kids. How do you think that Palindrome would handle things if he was in her place?

Paul Wight: Well, I think Palindrome is a little bit more high maintenance. He has a little bit of a problem with subtlety. I think Palindrome’s about as subtle as a punch in the face.

The wit and the charm and even the compassion of Mrs. Nowhere, and just the fact that she’s smarter than everybody else, has a way of playing to everyone’s strengths. And then sometimes you need a guy like Palindrome who has that intensity of, “There’s a brick wall there, I could run through it. I know I can!” You need to channel that guy in the right direction, but for everyone’s safety, I think it’s great that you have Ms. Nowhere to be the yin to his yang, so to speak. She balances him out really well.

Now that you’ve had this taste of acting, are you looking to do more roles either in voicework or on camera?

Paul Wight: Everything’s upside down right now, but I’m definitely doing more on-camera stuff. I’ve just moved to a different Wrestling federation; I’m with All Elite Wrestling now. For me, there’s a lot more opportunity to pursue film and television and voiceover acting.

I love doing voiceover acting, because I’ve always been a fan of cartoons and stuff like that. I’m a big nerd, by the way. I play Dungeons and Dragons, and I don’t think anybody’s gonna come up and beat me up because I’m a D&D fan. But yeah, voiceover work is so much fun, because you really get to step outside of your own skin and expand and let loose.

I was fortunate to do The Jetsons a few years ago, and that experience was one day. By the end of it, I couldn’t even say hello because my voice was so shot. Whereas with Fast and Furious: Spy Racers, there was a lot more fun. The intermingling of episodes I did here and there gave me a chance to really sit back and think about the character before the next session, and then understand how much fun this character is having. So, I definitely got hooked on doing the voiceover work.

And again, for films and TV, you just got to get the reps in. You’ve got to be able to convince those people that are looking at you that you can carry that character all the way to the pay window, as we say in wrestling. You’ve got to make sure you’re the investment that they want to make.

Speaking of wrestling, you’ve been doing commentary for AEW and getting the opportunity to oversee some new talent. What other plans do you have on the wrestling side of things?

Paul Wight: I’m enjoying the new job site. Being a color commentator on my own show with Tony Schiavone on Elevation has given me a chance to get in there and really understand the talent.

This is one of the opportunities I wanted; I didn’t want to jump in right away, and here I am running for title. There are other guys that can do that. I wanted to slide in and really absorb the product around it. Because my goal is to try to help all the talent there. I want to get a chance to sit up close and understand how the talent is performing in the ring, and to really point out a lot of the things that they do well, or if there are things I can help with given my four decades of experience.

I can help them adjust a little bit and get them the most out of their character in their career, and carry that knowledge on. It doesn’t do any good to be in business after four decades and then not be able to pass that knowledge along. And that’s fun. That’s the main thing right now: I’m just having fun. It’s been a long time to go from being a cog in a machine to actually now being a lot freer and able to have fun.

You answered that wonderfully. I love that you’re interested in shaping the younger generations.

Paul Wight: Here’s the thing: younger people, they sometimes don’t want to listen to older people talk. For me, I just let it be known that my door’s always open. If anybody wants ask me anything, I’ll give them my opinion.

I tell them all the time, though, that there are basic forms in wrestling. It’s a basic formula and basic foundation, just like building a home. You have to have your foundation; you have to put in your plumbing, your wiring, and all that. But wrestling is also an art form; it’s an interpretation of art. You have to be a character that you’re comfortable with, and that rings true, because if you don’t believe in the character then the audience won’t.

It’s not about doing it the way I think you should do it, it’s about a way of finding out together how you can be the best that you can be. It’s about finding yourself. I think that’s the thing that I bring; the thing that’s a little bit different because of my experiences. Palindrome got a little bit of information from Ms. Nowhere on that one.

You mentioned speaking Russian, which was fabulous, but is there any other moment or or storyline that you most enjoyed while playing Palindrome?

Paul Wight: There’s some spots in Spy Racers where he and Ms. Nowhere are really dancing around each other a lot. I love that competitiveness, and the respect and the love that comes out of those two characters.

Also, like we talked about before, a lot of the mentorship with the kids is good. Because even though he’s this over-the-top, pedal-to-the-metal guy, he’s also a good motivator and a good role model for younger people to understand being committed to something and showing perseverance through adversity. That’s one of the beautiful things about spy racers, that there’s such a diverse group of characters. There’s a character for everyone: boy or girl, different ethnicities, there’s someone to identify with.

What I like about Palindrome too, is I think his character has that drive and that push that brings the intensity to every single thing he does. Even lacing up his shoes, even putting on his pants, you know what I mean? That’s not a bad example, for kids to follow, because sometimes things do get tough and perseverance wins the day. Not everything is going to be handed to you; not everything’s going to be easy. Some things, you’re gonna have to push yourself for and push beyond your comfort zone.

Anytime we can help translate that message and let people know that with opportunity comes hard work, I think it’s a win for everybody.

Would you be interested reprising the role of Palindrome in one way or another? Either in a future season of Spy Racers, or else if they wanted to bring him to the live-action films?

Paul Wight: Absolutely. I would love to do more of Spy Racers. I love the Palindrome character. You never know how these things evolve, but absolutely, I would love an opportunity to bring Palindrome to flesh and life in a different setting. I would absolutely be a part of that incredible franchise. I’ve been hit in the head with a lot of chairs in my life, but I haven’t been hit with enough to not understand how that’s an incredible opportunity if presented.

So yes, my answer is absolutely. If they call me up, my boots are laced, and I’m ready to go somewhere to go. Where do you need to go, buddy? What do you need me to do?

More: Tim Hedrick & Bret Haaland Interview: Fast & Furious Spy Racers Sahara

Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Mexico launches exclusively on Netflix April 16.

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