Hollywood Meets Anime: 10 Celebrities Who Snuck Into Your Favorite Anime

Whether in English or Japanese, anime voice actors are no stranger to celebrity culture. The voice actors who give the best performances and appear in the most works will almost always develop massive followings from fans, and in Japan, especially, voice actors are held in incredibly high regard to the point that everything they do is treated as a major event.

Anime voice actors will always have some sort of celebrity culture attached to them, and anime dubs sometimes take that to an incredible degree. When an animated movie or TV show gets a high-profile release, the company in charge will often get major celebrities to voice the characters as opposed to regular voice actors, and sure enough, some of the most high-profile anime shows and movies often get major celebrities to voice their characters. A few examples of that are especially noteworthy, as each celebrity in question added an incredible amount to their role, no matter how small.

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10

Dave Bautista As The Parakeet King

Character From Studio Ghibli’s The Boy And The Heron

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The Boy and the Heron

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  Soma Santoki

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  Masaki Suda

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  Aimyon

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  Shōhei Hino

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9/10

8.3/10

Release Date

July 14, 2023

Runtime

124 Minutes

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers

Hayao Miyazaki

Franchise(s)

Studio Ghibli

Studio(s)

Studio Ghibli

Distributor(s)

Toho

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Dave Bautista is a former wrestler turned actor, best known for playing Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, its sequels, and other projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Outside the MCU, Bautista is best known for playing Rabban in Dune, Sapper Morton in Blade Runner 2049, and Duke Cody in Glass Onion, A Knives Out Story.

Despite his storied career in film and television, Dave Bautista hasn’t done much voice acting, and the only notable example of such was when he voiced the Parakeet King in Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron. It was a fairly minor role, but overall, Dave Bautista’s performance as the Parakeet King brought an incredible amount of gravitas to the role, and it would be great to see more anime dub performances from Dave Bautista sometime in the future.

9

Chace Crawford As Justin

Character From Studio Chizu’s Belle

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Belle is a film exploring the journey of Suzu, a 17-year-old high school student who discovers a vast online world called “U.” As her avatar, Belle, she gains widespread attention, ultimately encountering a mysterious, dragon-like figure amidst her virtual experiences.

Release Date

July 16, 2021

Runtime

121 minutes

Director

Mamoru Hosoda

Writers

Mamoru Hosoda

Producers

Nozomu Takahashi, Genki Kawamura, Yuichiro Saito, Yuka Saito, Hibiki Itou, Takeshi Kikuchi, Toshimi Tanio

Main Genre

Animation

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Chace Crawford made his acting debut as Tyler Simms in The Covenant before landing his big break as Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl. Crawford has been consistently appearing in film and television ever since, and since 2019, he’s starred as The Deep in Amazon’s The Boys, which has arguably become his most iconic role to date.

Chace Crawford is no stranger to voice acting, voicing assorted roles in Family Guy and Robot Chicken and reprising his role as The Deep in The Boys Presents: Diabolical. As for anime, Crawford’s only voice role is as Justin in Studio Chizu’s Belle, the main villain who continually harasses Belle and Ryu in the name of order, and sure enough, Chace Crawford’s performance perfectly sold Justin’s deranged villainy in Belle, and it was easily one of the biggest highlights of an all-around phenomenal film.

8

Alison Brie As Natsumi Suga

Character From CoMix Wave Films’ Weathering With You

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Weathering with You is an animated film directed by Makoto Shinkai, released in 2019. It follows Hodaka, a high school runaway in Tokyo facing financial difficulties, who meets Hina, a girl with the extraordinary ability to control the weather, amidst the city’s continuous rainfall.

Release Date

June 19, 2019

Runtime

112 minutes

Director

Makoto Shinkai

Writers

Makoto Shinkai

Producers

Minami Ichikawa, Genki Kawamura, Noritaka Kawaguchi, Yoshihiro Furusawa, Wakana Okamura

Main Genre

Animation

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Alison Brie first got her big break in acting playing Trudy Campbell on Mad Men, and not long after that, she landed her iconic role of Annie Edison in Community. Since then, Brie has also starred as Ruth Wilder in Netflix’s GLOW, and she’s set to play Evil-Lyn in the upcoming He-Man film, Masters of the Universe.

Alison Brie has just an impressive career with animation as she does live-action, voicing Planetina in Rick and Morty, Princess Unikitty in The Lego Movie, and Diane Nguyen in BoJack Horseman. As for anime, Brie’s only notable role is voicing Natsumi Suga in CoMix Wave Films’ Weathering with You, but sure enough, Alison Brie’s performance as Natsumi Suga in Weathering with You was perfect for selling her as a big sister-type character to Hodaka from start to finish.

7

Haley Joel Osment As Takeshi Jin

Character From Production I.G’s IGPX

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IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix is set in 2048 within a city dedicated to the thrilling sport of Immortal Grand Prix racing. Teams of three pilots maneuver high-speed humanoid mechs on a 60 km track. Victory hinges on machine performance, pilot skill, and teamwork in this futuristic motorsport spectacle.

Release Date

October 5, 2005

Network

tv asahi, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim

Directors

Yoshitaka Koyama

Producers

Ken Iyadomi, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Shigeru Watanabe, Norihisa Oki, Hiekazu Terakawa

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Haley Joel Osment was one of the most famous child actors of the 90s, most notable for playing Forrest Gump Jr. in Forrest Gump and, of course, Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense. Osment is still highly active as an adult, of course, with notable roles of his including Keenan Feldspar in Silicon Valley and Stu Camillo in Future Man, and he’s even set for a guest appearance in Wednesday season 2.

Haley Joel Osment has also made a name for himself as a voice actor, voicing characters in Disney cartoons and straight-to-DVD movies and, most famously, Sora in Kingdom Hearts. As for anime, Osment has voiced Takeshi Jin in Production I.G’s IGPX, and considering the timing, Haley Joel Osment’s performance as Takeshi in IGPX always did wonders to sell him as an engaging protagonist and arguably helped pave the way for his future voice acting prospects.

6

Emily Rudd As Marcille Donato

Character From Studio Trigger’s Delicious In Dungeon

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Delicious in Dungeon

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  Sayaka Senbongi

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  Kentarou Kumagai

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  Hiroshi Naka

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  Asuna Tomari

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9.3/10

Release Date

January 4, 2024

Directors

Yoshihiro Miyajima

Writers

Ryoko Kui, Kimiko Ueno

Franchise(s)

Delicious in Dungeon

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1

Story By

Ryoko Kui

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

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Emily Rudd is a fairly new actress, only being active since 2013 and not getting her big break until 2021’s Fear Street trilogy as both Cindy Berman and Abigail. In 2023, however, Rudd famously played Nami in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece, earning praise from old and new fans alike, and it’s undoubtedly become her most famous role, by far.

As for voice acting, hot off the success of the live-action One Piece, Emily Rudd was cast to voice Marcille Donato in Delicious in Dungeon, and sure enough, Emily Rudd does a perfect job of capturing Marcille’s high-strung and comedic energy to just as great a degree as Sayaka Senbongi, if not more so. Rudd’s performance has been one of the best parts of the English dub, and with Delicious in Dungeon season 2 in production, it hopefully won’t be long before there’s more to hear.

5

Charles Martinet As Magenta

Character From Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

PG-13

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  Mayumi Tanaka

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  Christopher R. Sabat

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  Hiroshi Kamiya

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  Mamoru Miyano

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8.8/10

Release Date

August 18, 2022

Runtime

99 minutes

Director

Tetsuro Kodama

Writers

Akira Toriyama

Prequel(s)

Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Budget

36 million

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Charles Martinet is the only actor on this list known primarily for voice acting, but he’s a major celebrity for it, nonetheless. From 1991 to 2023, Martinet was famous as the voice of Mario in every entry of the Mario franchise and any of his guest appearances in other games, and while he’s retired to be the brand ambassador, he’ll inevitably continue to be tied to the role for years to come.

Charles Martinet has lent his voice talents to roles beyond Mario, and that includes anime. Not only did Martinet voice Wilson Philips in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure OVA, but he also voiced Magenta in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and overall, Charles Martinet’s performance as Magenta was great not only on its own, but for showing how much range he had beyond the simplistic nature of voicing Mario, and hopefully, there will be more of that to come.

4

Keith David As Professor Tenma

Character From Studio M2’s Pluto

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  Laura Megan Stahl

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  Mike Pollock

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  Jason Vande Brake

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  Keythe Farley

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9.5/10

Release Date

October 26, 2023

Finale Year

November 30, 2022

Directors

Toshio Kawaguchi

Writers

Tatsuro Inamoto, Heisuke Yamashita

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Creator(s)

Naoki Urasawa

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

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Keith David is a legendary actor famous for roles in both live-action and animation. In live-action, David’s first major role was as Childs in The Thing, and he then went on to star in projects like They Live, Armageddon, and the sixth and final season of Community, with many fans and critics citing his character of Elroy Patashnik as the best part of season 6.

As for voice acting, Keith David is famous for his roles in shows and movies like Spawn, The Princess and the Frog, Amphibia, and, most notably, Gargoyles. As for anime, not only has he voiced Okkoto in Princess Mononoke, but most recently, David voiced Professor Tenma in Studio M2’s Pluto, and sure enough, Keith David’s iconic voice was perfect for bringing out the reserved and melancholic personality of a character like Professor Tenma.

3

Sir Patrick Stewart As Lord Yupa

Character From Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind

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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

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  Sumi Shimamoto

• 

  Gorô Naya

• 

  Yôji Matsuda

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9.6/10

Release Date

March 11, 1984

Runtime

117 Minutes

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers

Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis, Donald H. Hewitt, Kazunori Itô

Main Genre

Animation

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Sir Patrick Stewart is one of the most celebrated actors of all time in both live-action and animation. Whether it’s mature and composed characters like Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Charles Xavier in X-Men or utterly bizarre ones like Avery Bullock in American Dad! and the Poop Emoji in The Emoji Movie, Stewart’s incredible range and delivery has made him iconic in every medium, and he always finds new ways to astound his fans.

Naturally, Patrick Stewart has also lent his voice talents to anime. Stewart starred as Lloyd Steam in Steamboy, but most famously, he voiced Lord Yupa in Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and as is often the case, Patrick Stewart brought plenty of poise and dignity to his performance as Lord Yupa to make him one of the most engaging characters in the movie.

2

Giancarlo Esposito As Faraday

Character From Studio Trigger’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

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Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

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  Aoi Yuki

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  Kenichiro Ohashi

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  Kenjiro Tsuda

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  Kazuhiko Inoue

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16

9.3/10

Release Date

September 13, 2022

Finale Year

September 13, 2022

Network

Netflix

Writers

Mike Pondsmith, Yoshiki Usa, Masahiko Otsuka

Franchise(s)

Cyberpunk

Seasons

1

Story By

yoshiki usa

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

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Giancarlo Esposito’s first major acting role was as Dean Big Brother Almighty in Spike Lee’s School Daze, and he’s also starred in Malcolm X, Captain America: Brave New World, The Mandalorian, and Breaking Bad. Esposito’s role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad was especially iconic, and since then, he’s made a name for himself playing stoic and violent villains with cold and calculating personalities.

Giancarlo Esposito’s signature style has also shown itself in voice acting, with notable examples including Ra’s al Ghul in Son of Batman and Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6. As for anime, Esposito voiced Faraday in Studio Trigger’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners; sure enough, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ Faraday was another character who was an entertainingly cold and calculating villain thanks to Giancarlo Esposito’s impeccable delivery, and it would be great if this wasn’t the last time he lent his talents to anime.

1

James Marsters As Zamasu

Character From Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Super

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  Sean Schemmel

• 

  Jason Douglas

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  Christopher Sabat

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7/10

70

8.9/10

Release Date

July 5, 2015

Finale Year

March 25, 2018

Showrunner

Tatsuya Nagamine

Directors

Tatsuya Nagamine

Writers

Tatsuya Nagamine, Akira Toriyama

Franchise(s)

Dragon Ball

Number of Episodes

131

Seasons

1

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Story By

Akira Toriyama

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu, Crunchyroll

Based On

Manga

MyAnimeList Score

7.46

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While James Marsters is famous for playing Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, his history with anime has far more negativity attached to it. Marsters infamously played King Piccolo in Dragonball Evolution, one of the worst live-action anime adaptations of all time, and while Marsters tried to salvage the script the best he could, his efforts were ultimately for naught.

As a fan of Dragon Ball, James Marsters was more disappointed than anyone in his poor performance as King Piccolo, and when Dragon Ball Super came out, he got the role of Zamasu as a means of making amends for Dragonball Evolution. Sure enough, James Marsters take on Zamasu is one that perfectly captures his poise, arrogance, and sadism in a way his King Piccolo never could, and with that level of dedication, it’s arguably the best example of a celebrity having a part in a major anime.

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Category: Entertainment