7 Fun Facts about Finding Dory - An Interview with Ellen DeGeneres and Ed O'Neill #FindingDoryEvent

We sat down with Ellen Degeneres and Ed O'Neill to get more details about Finding Dory. I've got some pretty fun facts to share from our interview following the Finding Dory world premiere.

There's something kind of surreal that happens when you find out you're going to interview the two stars of Finding Dory. I was among a group of 24 bloggers that traveled to Los Angeles for the world premiere of Finding Dory and we knew we were going to have the opportunity to talk with certain members of the cast, but never did any of us dream that we'd get to sit down with Ellen DeGeneres AND Ed O'Neill at the same time! Things like this don't happen everyday (or in a lifetime for most!). After watching the movie at the premiere the night before, we were ready to sit down with these hilarious actors and find out their thoughts on making the movie, and we discovered some fun facts along the way.

7 fun facts about Finding Dory from Ellen DeGeneres and Ed O'Neill

1.) Ed O'Neill thought his role as Hank was going to be a cameo. 

You'll see how crazy untrue this turns out to be when you see the movie, but according to Ed O'Neill,  "I thought it was a cameo. I had done sort of a cameo in Wreck it Ralph, and so when they called me and said, "Oh, they want you to do this thing, this sequel to Nemo... it's an octopus." I said, "Oh okay, can I see it? Is there anything written?" No, there's nothing. And I said, 'Well, why would I sign on to nothing? I don't even know what it is." Well, It's Pixar. It's from Finding Nemo... I said, "Okay, I'm in!" And that's all I even knew, and then over time I kept coming back. And I would say to Andrew, "What's happening? I'm back again?" And he said, "Well it's a progression..."  I had no idea [it was going to be three years]. But, I mean, after a while, I said, "This is a bigger part than I thought it would be.'"

2.) Ellen's life motto really is "just keep swimming."

Since "just keep swimming" became a supremely famous quote from Finding Nemo and people often quote it to get them through a difficult time, we asked Ellen and Ed O'Neill what 3 word phrase gets them through a challenging time.

O'Neill answered, "Just keep punching," to which we all laughed. Apparently he likes to muscle his way out of hard times.

Ellen replied that, "It's weird that that became part of that iconic character and I didn't know it before this happened, but that was my motto. My life has gone through a lot of different twists and turns, and I did just keep swimming. I didn't realize that that was what I was doing. But I just kept moving forward, and I just kept doing what I know how to do, which is make people happy and make people smile and make people laugh. And so it's just so weird that that is part of this fish's motto. And I talked to so many people that go through whatever it is, if it' an illness, or they are going through a difficult time, "Just keep swimming" is what they think about. So, I guess that's everybody's motto that perseveres.

3.) Ed O'Neill did only 1 thing to research for his role at Hank. 

Some actors do an incredible amount of research to assume their roles, but not Ed O'Neill in the case of playing Hank. Mr. O'Neill told us that he did only 1 thing: "I Googled: mimic octopus." He went on to say that it wasn't like that he knew that animal even existed. He also said that he found out that this species of octopus only lives 2-3 years... but SHHHH! Don't tell anyone at Disney / Pixar, we're hoping for another movie in the series!

4.) Hyperventilating was Ellen's biggest challenge in tackling the role of Dory. 

Ellen told us some of the great things about voice work (like no hair and makeup!), but she said there are also some significant challenges. Ellen said, "It's four hours... and Dory is always left behind. She's always catching up. She's always like [panting]... and, I'm like hyperventilating."

5.) Both actors had the same thoughts on what they hope people take away from watching Finding Dory. 

Both Ellen and Ed O'Neill agreed that the message of never giving up was probably the most important in the film. Ellen said, "I think that message of never give up and be optimistic and there's always another way. When someone says that there isn't another way, there is. You don't get stuck. And no matter what your situation is, it can get better, and everybody starts from a different place, and some people start with a lot more odds stacked against them. But, there's a way out. There's a way to use whatever you do best to help you. Even if you have a disability, use your strengths. Whatever that is. Mine was making people laugh. I had a lot of stuff that was hard for me in my life, and I knew that I could make people laugh, and that was my strength."

Ed O'Neill added, "There's always some other option."

6.) Ellen takes full responsibility for Finding Dory finally happening.

We asked Ellen what role she played and how involved she was in the writing of the film and how it turned out. She said, "ZERO. I mean, I take full responsibility for it happening, because I made it happen. I kept saying, "What's wrong with you people?! It won an Academy Award. It's a great film. It's iconic and why...?!" I didn't ever imagine it would be about Dory, I just thought that Pixar makes sequels, right? I mean there's Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3... Where's the sequel? Then it became a joke. I had a talk show, so I had a place to make a joke about it, every time a new sequel came out. And it really was just a joke... at a certain point, I just gave up. I just thought there's no way. I guess I stopped swimming... So, when Andrew called me he said, "Uncle, I give up." So, that was all him and his idea, and he said it's about Dory and finding her family.

7.) Ellen had one word to say about the Disney / Pixar short "Piper" that you'll see before Finding Dory.

We asked Ellen what she thought about Piper and she replied: Adorable!

I really can't say enough good things about Piper. Disney / Pixar shorts are always amazing, but Piper is just so heartwarming and the animation is nothing short of incredible. I even wondered if they meshed real life footage of the ocean with animation; it is that realistic. Piper is just about the cutest character I've ever seen too!

Special thanks to Sara Lundberg of BudgetSavvyDiva.com for the images for this post!

Check out the Finding Dory trailer here:

Official information from Disney / Pixar:

Disney•Pixar's “Finding Dory” reunites everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory, with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? Directed by Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL•E”) and produced by Lindsey Collins (co-producer “WALL•E”), the film features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton. “Finding Dory” swims into theaters June 17, 2016.