BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Puppets are some of the most beloved characters in the world and Bowling Green is home to some of those furry friends and the voice that makes them come alive. James Kemp is the voice behind characters like "Steve the alien", "Sparky the firefly", and "Riley the dog" all part of the online series, The Slugs & Bugs Show. 

Imitating Sesame Street characters as a kid and creating his puppets out of socks, Kemp was always fascinated with the magic of puppetry saying,  “They can’t actually be alive but yet here they are, they are, they are. I’m looking at them they’re doing everything but breathing you know and it just blew my mind to a point where I wanted to bring that to other people.”

Being a professional puppeteer has landed him big-time roles including Lucky Charms' Lucky the Leprechaun and McDonald’s Big Mac. He even created the puppet and was the voice for the king of fried chicken,  Colonel Sanders. Making puppets is a complex process making sure you have all the right components from vivid details to the right foam for the body.

Kemp has also had the opportunity to create characters like Riley who is a part of a new, online series called, Brave Me. It gives kids the confidence to get through tough situations. Suffering from medical anxiety himself, Kemp says this character not only helps him but also helps the kids to stay “Strong, calm and ready for what’s going on, so it’s super rewarding to not only help myself in that way but to help all these other kids you know who are scared about what’s going on with them medically.”

Most recently Kemp got the biggest reward he could ever ask for. A kid wanted to dress up as his character, Sparky the firefly, for Halloween. Kemp says that he is fulfilling his lifelong dream.