Madeline Sharafian

Writer
Art Department
Animation Department

IMDbProStarmeter See rank

Pik Sen Lim and Madeline Sharafian

In an exclusive conversation with IMDb, the cast of Disney-Pixar's upcoming animated feature 'Elio' shared insights into their creative process and character development. Rising star Yonas Kibreab, who voices the titular character, revealed the nuances of emotional voice acting versus on-camera performance.

"Communicating emotions through a mic is a lot harder than communicating emotions on camera," Kibreab explained during the interview. "The easiest part is being myself because I share a lot of traits with Elio's quirkiness."

Zoe Saldaña, who portrays Olga Solís, discussed the unique demands of voice acting. "It brings out a different form of acting that sometimes can feel picturesque because emotions need to be really accentuated and inflected," Saldaña noted.

Brad Garrett, making his animated villain debut as Lord Grigon, described how the character evolved through collaboration with the creative team. The production team particularly praised Garrett's ability to bring unexpected tenderness to the role, which influenced the character's development.

Director Domee Shi highlighted Saldana's contributions to shaping the mother-son dynamic between Olga and Elio. "She asked so many questions about where Olga's coming from, getting to the root of Olga's frustration," Shi said.

Producer Mary Alice Drumm credited their casting department for discovering Kibreab early in the process, noting "his performance speaks for itself."

Play clip6:30

How Zoe Saldaña and Yonas Kibreab Can Really Relate to Their 'Elio' Characters

Madeline Sharafian was born on 1 February 1993 in Alameda, California, USA. She is a writer, known for Coco (2017), Elio (2025) and Alerte rouge (2022).

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Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 nominations total

Known for

Coco (2017)

8.4

Art Department

2017

Elio (2025)

7.0

Writer

2025

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, and Rosalie Chiang in Alerte rouge (2022)

6.9

Animation Department

2022

Edi Patterson, Eden Gamliel, Bobby Moynihan, Demetri Martin, Eric Edelstein, and Keith Ferguson in Ours pour un et un pour t'ours (2014)

Ours pour un et un pour t'ours

7.8

TV Series

Writer

Credits

Writer

Elio
7.0
- story by
- 2025
SparkShorts
7.6
TV Mini Series
- written by
- 2020
Ours pour un et un pour t'ours
7.8
TV Series
- story
- written by
- 2015–2017
We Bare Bears: Goodnight Ice Bear
7.6
Video
- writer
- 2016
Omelette
7.5
Video
- Writer
- 2013

Art Department

Animation Department

Videos1

How Zoe Saldaña and Yonas Kibreab Can Really Relate to Their 'Elio' Characters

How Zoe Saldaña and Yonas Kibreab Can Really Relate to Their 'Elio' Characters

Personal details

Alternative name
- Maddie Sharafian
Born
- February 1, 1993
- Alameda, California, USA

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