Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’s Brady Noon Calls His Raphael a “Hothead with a Lot of Heart”

This article is presented by Paramount Pictures.

Master Splinter tells Raphael that he has “bravery,” which is a positive spin on Raph’s declaration that he “dreams of fighting every night.” He’s got a rage problem but sometimes you need a little of that in the family. Raphael is the big brother of the Turtles and very loyal to all of them, even if his aggression gets in the way sometimes. As the original theme song says, he’s cool but crude. Despite that his good heart shines through. Raph wants to experience life as a human, imagining what it might be like to go to high school, instead of living as a mutant outcast.

Brady Noon has previously worked with Mutant Mayhem producer and writer Seth Rogen on the coming-of-age comedy film, Good Boys, where he played the role of Thor. Before that he came to prominence with the role of Tommy Darmody in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He’s also appeared in the Disney+ series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers and provided his voice for two of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films.

Den of Geek: What were your experiences with TMNT growing up before you got this role?

Brady Noon: Growing up, I was a huge fan of Turtles. I watched the 2012 version on Nickelodeon, so that was my jam. Now being able to be a part of it is just a dream come true.

In the trailer, Splinter describes Raphael as having “bravery.” How else would you describe the character?

Raphael has definitely got a mixture of everything. I mean, there’s definitely some bravery in there, leadership, and a lot of heart as well. A lot of people forget about that because Raph is such a hothead. Raph’s leadership gets developed more and more when necessary.

Do you think that the Turtles feeling like outsiders makes them continually resonate with audiences?

I think so. Audiences will definitely be able to connect with characters that are different or unique. Something that I hope people take away after watching the film is that it’s okay to be different. Sometimes even the most unique people can be heroes.

How did you and the rest of the turtle cast go about making it feel like you were really lifelong siblings? It definitely comes across in the trailer.

The first time that I met all the Turtles actors was in a chemistry read and we just kind of knew right there when the four of us were trying to read the script. The producers and the people at Nickelodeon and Paramount were just cracking up. 

We all knew at that point we had something special. Working on this in the last two and a half years or so, I’ve seen the other Turtles actors every week. It’s like these guys have become my brothers in a way

Did you guys ever ad-lib dialogue? There’s such a flow to the way you all talk together.

A lot of times we would start recording and [co-writer and producer] Seth [Rogen] would be like, “Argue about a topic related to TikTok!” And in character we would start arguing and we’d just riff and see where we’d end. We know when it’s a safe place to ad-lib and when to not. The movie is actually hilarious and it’s partially because of the improv.

Your versions of the character seem like the most teenage these characters have ever been. What’s that been like?

Us being actual teens and us putting forth our actual experiences being in this new generation, we got to be hands on with this movie. Seth and Jeff Rowe would ask us, “What’s new?” We’d consistently talk about certain slang that we’d use nowadays and incorporate that so it’s relatable to people our ages.

How would you describe this film to your friends and family?

It’s action-packed, lighthearted, exciting, thrilling, hilarious. It has got everything. So grab your popcorn and enjoy.

Was there anything for you that was particularly challenging?

Any of the fight sequences. It’s so hard to match that animation! I will be fully acting out in the booth as if I’m on camera. Just to get the authenticity of me running through the woods. “Now jump.” So now I have to jump. So I’ll be like [makes running noises] and then start running again. I haven’t done a lot of voiceover work. I’ve mainly done live action. This was definitely a challenge for me. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone. But I eventually thrived and I love it. 

Were there other things that Micah and Nick and Shamon were doing that you were copying?

We were throwing fists in our own little corner of the studio. Nick, who plays Leonardo, had his own guardrail for his recording sessions because he gets really into it. He’d just grab it and shake it. So we gave him a little rail. Here you go, have this. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hits theaters on Aug. 2.

*Parts of this interview are courtesy of EPK.