Quotes from Ethan Slater

SpongeBob's voice is really pingy and forward and nasally. The problem is, if you live in the extreme of that for more than 10 minutes, it can be a little grating, and it can be hard on your voice. Also, it gets in the way of the acting to be forcing your voice into this place.

I've gotten to meet Sara Bareilles a couple of times. I'm just a such a massive fan of hers, from her albums to 'Waitress' to everything that she does. To be a fan of somebody and then find out that they have a good heart and are kind is really heartwarming.

I feel very proud of everyone I've worked with on 'SpongeBob' because they're all brilliant artists working at the top of their game to make something really special, and I think audiences feel that.

I start with a pretty yoga-based warm-up. I do jumping jacks and burpees, and I do a lot of dynamic stretching.

I've always loved the Marx brothers and Charlie Chaplin.

When I'm in the audience of Broadway shows, I feel like I'm in the presence of something really special with artists working at the height of their craft and doing the best work that they possibly can.

The magnitude of being able to make my Broadway debut as SpongeBob in 'SpongeBob SquarePants' really only started to hit me when we took it out of town.

Making my Broadway debut was, in and of itself, just a dream come true. I've wanted to be on Broadway forever.

I grew up with SpongeBob - it came out in 1999, right before I turned 7. So it's been a part of my life and all my friends' lives and defined our humor, in a way.

I know that my father was a little nervous about me pursuing a career in the arts.

There's a social element of me that's pretty reserved. High school was when I was starting to come out of my shell because of the theater community.

SpongeBob has these qualities that I aspire to. Sure, he's a little naive, maybe, but he's so optimistic and is able to put his love of his friends and family above everything else.

I've always been somebody who sort of throws himself, you could say, obsessively into whatever thing I'm passionate about.

I'm used to working hard and making sacrifices.

To be honest, it was a little bit of a surprise to me that my Broadway debut was a musical.

The process of finding my voice as SpongeBob was to start by watching what Tom Kenny did, trying to do an impression of sorts, and then forgetting all about it and letting the voice become a second-nature thing.

Tom Kenny is awesome.

The whole cast and creative team were definitely aware of the 'This is the death of Broadway!' kind of thing about 'SpongeBob,' but we've been really ready to change people's minds. I'm really proud of being part of something that took the most creative route to a commercial entity.

Playing SpongeBob is freeing. There is something intrinsically about him that people identify with no matter their age.

Wrestling is a small, intimate sport.

I look a lot like my mom. I'm the only one of my siblings with red hair, and she had bright red hair. I always have felt incredibly connected to her.

My mother passed away when I was seven. She had a piano in the house that she was teaching my sisters how to play. That was where I first encountered music, through her.

One of my favorite pieces of fan mail was a gift that I got. It was a jar filled with handwritten nice thoughts.

The sort of stereotypical wrestling practice is that you're doing burpees, and the coach is yelling at you to keep going, and you feel like you're going to collapse, but you somehow make it through to the end.