Even more than live actors, voice actors get around....with different roles, that is. And it never ceases to entertain me how many different characters can be attached to a voice actor, especially one with a distinctive voice. For example, with the new Avengers cartoon...
The Jarvis AI ( Phil Lamarr ) is also Vamp, the bisexual, flamenco-dancing, nigh-unkillable villain from Metal Gear Solids 2 and 4. Presumably, he's planning to hijack the Iron Man suit so he can go down on the Avengers Mansion's silverware.
Rhodey ( Bumper Robinson ) is Bumblebee from the Transformers Animated show. I really hope he'll call Tony " Boss-Bot " at some point.
The Wasp ( Colleen O'Shaughnessey ) is Konohamaru, the tag-a-long kid from Naruto. Aside from the different genders, they're equally annoying and largely useless.
The Black Widow ( Vanessa Marshall ) is Irwin, the nerdy sidekick from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Hail Hydra, yo!
The Red Skull ( Steve Blum ) is, amongst other characters, Leeron, the flamboyantly homosexual tech guy from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. He certainly gave the Third Reich a hard, manly twist.
Amora the Enchantress ( Kari Wahlgren ) is, amongst others, Haruko Haruhara, guitar-slinging space-wacko from the dub of the even wackier anime FLCL ( Fooly Cooly ). And lo, was Midgard besieged by a pox of vespas..
Dr. Leonard Samson ( Cam Clarke ) is Liquid Snake from the first Metal Gear Solid. Hopefully the gamma treatment will compensate for his DAMNED INFERIOR GENES!
Any others?
And to think, I used to hear anime fans rip on the supposedly poor quality of American dubs. Or do they typically use different actors for anime dubs?
ReplyDeleteSome other fan favorites I'd include, even though they're not involved in the new Avengers show:
-John DiMaggio: While Ultimate Spider-Woman will never be animated, he'd be my choice to play Jack O'Lantern. He nailed the Joker in "Under The Red Hood".
-James Avery: Being Judge Phillip Banks automatically makes him cool by default, but he was also the Shredder in the 1980s cartoon, of which Cam Clarke is also an alumnus. That makes them both doubly cool.
-Ben Stein: When you need an extremely flat and boring voice for an extremely flat and boring character, look no further than Mr. Stein, AKA the teacher on "The Wonder Years", AKA the Pixies, AKA Francis 'Pip' Pumphandle, AKA Duckman's neighbor, AKA the teacher on "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", AKA the teacher in the film version of "Richie Rich."
-Maurice LaMarche: Need a wry intellectual with a Deadpan Snarker sense of humor? LaMarche has voiced great scientific minds such as Egon Spengler and the Brain, and he'd have made a great Leader or Mad Thinker...not that the current actors don't do perfectly well themselves.
Jon Lovitz: Probably better suited to a comedic role, since that's what he's become known for. On the other hand, he'd also do well as an intellectual Deadpan Snarker, like he did when he was also known as Jay Sherman. Or perhaps he'd be a more flamboyant asshole, like the director from that one episode of "The Simpsons" when Marge got the lead role in a play.
-Ed O'Neill: For the longest time he was Al Bundy, but that's not the only role he can play. If you ever need a tough, two-fisted blue-collar type, O'Neill deserves full consideration. He'd probably make a great Harvey Bullock.
-Reginald VelJohnson: VelJohnson's made a career out of playing police officers. Why mess with success?
-Mark Hamill: Like I really need to explain this one.
-Kevin Conroy: See previous comment.
Ian James Corlett, Cree Summer, and Veronica Taylor are all really good at playing younger kid characters, so they could be used in all those roles.