Will Arnett has had "a lot of downs" in his career.
The 49-year-old actor has said he’s able to "relate" to his role as the titular horse in Netflix’s animated series ‘BoJack Horseman’ – which follows BoJack as he navigates life as a TV star alongside the pitfalls of fame – because his own life hasn’t been "a straight line".
Asked if he uses personal experiences to rate to BoJack, he said: "Absolutely. My career definitely had a lot of downs, but in everybody’s lives, nothing is a straight line for the most part. We’ve all had moments in things, and disappointments, etc.
"Certainly, I’ve been able to draw on a lot of that stuff to access emotionally those places for BoJack. Again, I’m the recipient of tremendous writing by Raphael [Bob-Waksberg, the show’s creator] and all the writers on the show, so I consider myself very fortunate in that way, to be able to speak those words.
"But because BoJack has had a lot of downturns, especially in show business, it’s something I can relate to absolutely."
Alongside working on the Netflix comedy – which premieres its sixth and final season later this month – Will also stars in family movies including ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and ‘The Lego Movie’, and has said he took on those roles because his sons are too young to watch his other work.
Speaking about his roles, he said: "I started making the deal that I would do one for them, one for me. With ‘BoJack Horseman’, my kids were like, ‘Can we watch BoJack?’ And I’m, ‘Absolutely not.’ They’re 9 [Abel] and 11 [Archie]. Then I did ‘Lego’, and then my show ‘Flaked’ – which I’m also like, ‘No, you can’t watch it.’ Then I did Ninja Turtles. It’s worked out really well."
Since voicing Batman in the Lego movies, Will has also become the host of new show ‘Lego Masters’ – which begins airing on February 5 – in which contestants battle it out to create the most impressive Lego sculptures.
And Will says he was keen to accept the role because he wanted to make a reality show that didn’t "make people look bad".
Speaking to Parade, he said: "I didn’t want to do reality TV that was trying to make people look bad. This is all about people who are really good at doing something. In this case, it happens to be building with Legos. Their creativity and skill are off the charts."
Will Arnett: My career has had ‘downs’
