E.G. Daily: The Voice of Your Childhood

After 172 successful episodes and three feature films, audiences were overjoyed to hear about the revival of Nickelodeon’s Rugrats on Paramount+.

The series has undergone a makeover through CG animation and received a modernized twist, but core elements of the story remain intact, such as the friendship between the babies and the constant rivalry between Angelica and everyone she meets. The details are catered to millennials, who may be watching this classic show with their kids. 

Reprising her iconic role of Tommy Pickles is E.G. Daily, one of the top voice-over actresses in the world.

Finding success in the 80s, Daily has starred in more than 40 films and is an accomplished singer-songwriter who co-wrote and co-produced four solo albums. In addition to Tommy, she has lent her voice to other memorable childhood characters including Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls, Babe the Pig, and Mumble in Happy Feet. Whether it’s acting, singing, or animation, Daily’s work will always entail her voice. 

How excited are you to reprise your iconic role of Tommy Pickles in the Rugrats revival?
What can I say? It’s kind of dreamy! This is a show that we love doing, and it was so successful throughout its first run. It didn’t leave because it wasn’t any good—it left because it was done. We did so many years of Rugrats, so to be able to come back to a show that left on such a high note, that is so rare and awesome. It’s amazing. 

Episodes began airing May 27 on Paramount+. Are more in the works?
Oh, yes. I think we just got picked up for a second season. During COVID, we did about 52 episodes. I was in my little home booth here at the beach doing Rugrats sessions, and it was pretty awesome because you knew it was coming, but we were not allowed to say anything. There are so many new episodes coming out, and then we will start season two, which I think will be another 52 episodes. It’s just great. The animation, the stories, everything is really topping itself.

What are your thoughts on the CG animation makeover?
I love progression. I think in life, we have to be willing to keep growing, and it is so easy to get caught in, ‘but I love that’ or ‘that’s what I was familiar with.’ A lot of the beautiful fans are saying, ‘We like the old animation,’ but once they start watching it, they start to see how expansive it is now, how the rugrats have become so much rounder and the experience is so much more tactile. 

As much as it needed to progress to come back, it needed to progress to make the adventures and the stories that much fuller. It needed this new progression of animation. Like, when you go see a movie like Wreck It Ralph, which I did some voices on, it is so incredible. The carpet looks real, the waterfalls, and now to take that and put it into Rugrats, it’s endless how incredible it is. 

Can you talk more about how the revival is getting a modernized twist that caters to millennials and younger audiences?
Yes. The baby rugrats are all the original voices, but they did have to replace some of the adults because some have left the planet, God bless them. The decision was made to have these roles played by some more popular television celebrities and whatnot, and they want to cater to young millennial parents who were most likely watching the show’s original run, and now they can watch it with their children. They also brought in all the different things we have now, like cell phones, dating apps, and blogs.

Rugrats has been brought into today’s time so that the new kids can experience it. They did not want it to be old fashioned; they wanted to make it contemporary, and I think Nickelodeon and Paramount+ were so smart about how they pulled the whole thing together. Their casting choices, they picked people who really gave the essence of the original character. They were very particular. Like, Didi, Ashley Rae Spillers plays her, and she is so fantastic. I think they are going to bring a whole new audience to Rugrats. 

I was surprised, yet, not so surprised when it was announced that Betty DeVille would be openly gay. Do you think this was a good choice for the show to make, and will we see more LGBTQ characters?
I think this is 1000 percent important. Rugrats is all about diversity and being authentic. It’s about the real relationships and the real vision seen through the eyes of these babies. It’s about the relationships between these family members, so why shouldn’t there be every kind of person we are all living with? LGBTQ is necessary. It is a part of our life. We have that in our real-life family, as well as different religions, difference experiences. We have to be current and embrace the world, and Rugrats is all about that. The Rugrats are everyone’s family and will not exclude anyone. That is why I have so much respect for the show, and I am so happy to be part of it because we are representing. 

Do we know what happened to Betty’s husband, Howard, or are we going to pretend like he never existed?
I don’t know how they are going to unfold these things. Even with some of the other characters, like Baby Dil. They are making very strategic choices right now about staying true to the very beginnings of Rugrats. So, I am not sure. That’s a good question, but I do not know the answer to that. I trust they ate making great choices with all that.

Is it true that Tommy was the first cartoon you ever auditioned for?
Yes! I was always doing on camera acting and music, everybody knows I am a singer, and that was my first audition for a cartoon character. Even more, here’s some cool trivia, I actually replaced someone. Someone else had already done a season of it, but the creators were not sure about the voice being the right voice, so they went through a recast process. After I booked it, I did not really have any knowledge about voiceover. I was kind of very innocent about the whole thing. That was a pretty awesome god-shot. 

What has been your favorite part about voicing Tommy?
Tommy Pickles is super authentic, and he does not try to be something that he’s not. He loves his friends dearly, even the ones that annoy him, like Angelica. He tries to find the beauty in everyone, and even in his innocence, he is still a leader. To me, that is the coolest thing because not only is he sweet and kind, but he is a leader. You don’t need to be a jerk to be a leader, and that’s what he represents. Tommy is a good little guy. When something ends up not working, he goes, ‘let’s get out my trusty screwdriver,’ and he figures things out. I just love playing this character and I feel like he is a huge part of who I am. Also, there is a boy in me (laughs). I call myself she, he, and the boy who lives inside me is Tommy Pickles, so I represent that character. 

Did you ever think Rugrats would make such a significant impact on entertainment and culture?
No idea. When I got cast, I had no idea what it was, but it started to develop the more we did it. They were like, you guys won an Emmy, now they are doing a feature, Rugrats won another Emmy. It just kept on folding, and we could have never expected anything, which I have to say is kind of how my career goes. Things just sort of drop in and start to unfold. I never really know what’s coming next, and I never know what job is going to blow up. 

I think it’s the same with movies like Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. I did that movie and Tim Burton was the director, and I never had any thoughts that this was going to be huge and iconic 30 years later. That movie just blew up, and I represent Dottie from that movie. I just love when you don’t hold onto things so tightly, so then you are kind of going down a beautiful Lazy River and things keep dropping into your world. I really like that, and that is kind of how Rugrats and all the other movies I’ve done have been. I took them, I did them, I let it go down the river, and then magical things happened. 

Although we saw what Tommy was up to in All Grown Up!, let’s push it a little further. What do you think he would be doing as an adult today?
I think he would be doing charitable things and representing people of all kinds, types, colors, sexuality, and beliefs. He would be embracing everyone. I also think he would definitely be working with animals to make sure they are well and safe. 

You have been involved in entertainment professionally since the 80s. In addition to Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, you have appeared in films like Valley Girl, Funny Money, and No Small Affair. Have you always had a passion and desire to pursue a career in the arts?
I have. Honestly, I was not very good at school, and I did not get good grades. I really struggled and I had a lot of learning things that people get, like ADD, and I had a hard time reading. I think because of that, my own nature was to go do things that I could tap into that were easy, so I didn’t feel stupid. The arts made me feel very not stupid. The arts were where I could soar. I felt connected to a much bigger source to where I could use my intuition, my body, my voice, my face. It required different parts of me. I am smart, I just have a hard time with certain things. 

I struggled when I was little, so I am happy that I did not beat myself up. Instead, I kept allowing myself to go where the flow went. Where it was open for me and where I could do it. I found my own little path, and that little path opened me up to the arts. I am a singer, so using my voice, songwriting, feelings, expressing myself. It turned out the voice is such a huge part of my life because I, today, feel like my voice is here to speak up for the voiceless. It has turned out to be a pivotal part of my world, and if I hadn’t listened and thought I should follow through because if you really want to succeed, you have to do it the way most people do it, and you have to push through your learning issues. I didn’t feel like I had to do that. So, it opened a bigger world for me. 

Another one of your most notable roles was voicing Buttercup in The Powerpuff Girls. Are you looking forward to the CW live action reboot?
I am. I think it is a really cool idea. I don’t know much about it, but I always think it is great when people take something and try to grow new life into it, and this is a new form. So, I think it’s cool. My own daughter auditioned for one of the roles, but I don’t think she got it. 

What did you enjoy the most about playing Buttercup?
Buttercup is super feisty and super macho. A major contrast from ‘hold onto your diapies, we’re going in!’

Are you currently working on any music projects?
I have so much new music out there! If anybody wants to see it, my new videos are on my YouTube page. During COVID, I felt like I needed to be creative, so I started tracking songs safely and doing videos that I would direct and edit with my partners. I was able to put out three new songs and videos. Two of them were covers and one was an original, but I am very proud of them. Definitely check them out. One was a Billie Eilish cover, ‘When the Party’s Over,’ but the video is like a piece of art. I shot it in my house with one friend and edited it. Another one is in honor of animals, so all the streaming money goes towards animal causes, and then I did an original called ‘So Pretty (Guitar Version).’

I am also going to be on a Go-Go’s tribute album. I am the first single of that album, and it should be coming out soon. So, keep your eyes out for that. It is going to be really cool. The Go-Go’s are getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I just love the song that I did. There is also a little funny video that I have for it as well. So, lots of stuff. Lots of music.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
I have a movie coming out called The Blonde Experiment, which is going to be a blast. I play a singer. Other than that, just the Go-Go’s tribute album and season two of Rugrats will start recording soon!

Connect with Daily by following her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, or visit her official website.

*Featured image by Dean Foreman