VIDEO: The Man Behind Elmo Sits Down to Talk

Behind Elmo, the furry Sesame Street star, is a large deep-voiced man named Kevin Clash. Despite his difference from the two-foot tall monster Clash’s demeanor was reflected the puppet’s character at Silverdocs' Tuesday.

Clash sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Robin Givhan in the Silver Spring Civic Building to discuss the film Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey.

Clash, a Baltimore native, discussed his life as Elmo to an audience of about 50 people. In the audience he was joined by his family, who he periodically glanced at to chuckle about a story or playfully reprimand for laughing too loudly.

“The spunkiness of Elmo is from my mom and his creativity is from my dad,” Clash said.

Being Elmo premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January winning the Special Jury Prize.

“Every film is hard to make. This film was hard to make, but there were a lot more laughs along the way,” said Constance A. Marks, the director of Being Elmo. Marks got the idea for the documentary when her husband was working as a cameraman for Sesame Street.

“I’ve got a thing for Elmo,” she said with a smile. Clash was not the only one being interviewed. He stopped the interview after spotting a little girl in the audience and brought out Elmo from a bag by his side.

“Elmo loves you,” Elmo said to the ecstatic girl as he made his way back to the stage.

Clash touched on his time with Jim Henson, the Muppets creator, as well. “Jim said create the character and they worry about the voice, it will come,” Clash said.

His baritone voice makes a complete 180 when he speaks for Elmo moving to high-pitched falsetto ranges.

Clash said that he had always wanted to be a puppeteer. After a pet dog named Pepper died when he was a child, he used a Teddy Bear and jar to create a puppet to take its place.

“I always liked building stuff,” he said.

Clash’s sense of humor and young-at-heart attitude kept the crowd smiling and laughing along with him throughout the hour-long interview. “Every single character we perform is part of us,” Clash said.