Interview:Liam O’Brien

On the 15th of August 2009 LotsofInterviews.com conducted a interview with voice actor Liam O'Brien. Liam is best known for vocing of Gaara on Naruto and also voices Nightcrawler and Angel on Wolverine and the X-Men. We talk about how he became a voice actor, if he has ever been recognized on the street from his work, his work on Wolverine and the X-men and about his work as a an ADR Director.

How is it that you got into voice acting?

Like the vast majority of actors I know in the VO community, I

came in from other acting arenas. I went through the NYU

acting program, and hit the ground running in the theatre. I remember having an inkling that I would like to work on the English versions of anime series while in school, but having no idea how to make it a reality. Fast forward to a production of Shakespeare's R&J in Cincinnati, where I fell down into Wonderland like Alice, following the white rabbit down a strange hole in the ground. My rabbit was a guy called Crispin Freeman, who you have doubtlessly heard a million times while watching anime. He had been working in VO for a couple years at that point, and saw that I had a real interest, so when we got back to NYC, he hooked me up with my first VO audition. I booked the gig, which lead to another, and another, snowballing into the career I enjoy today.

What do people say when you tell them you are a voice actor?

Either A) Who do you do the voice for? ...Never heard of it. Or B) Who do you do the voice for? ...Do the voice. Do it, do it!

Have you ever been recognized on the street from your work?

Veeeery rarely. I do have a pseudo celebrity status for the work I do, and have been flown to conventions around the world (yay), but almost no one knows what I look like. I have been at conventions where in the space of an hour, I have been cheered and applauded by fans while on stage, and then shoved in lines waiting for coffee an hour later. Someone has to tell a fan who I am, and then there's a reaction. The other 99% of the time, I am Joe Schmoe.

   What is your favourite character which you have voiced?

  Well, picking one is impossible. I'll give ya my top three, which so

  far are Gaara on NARUTO, Nightcrawler on WOLVERINE AND

  THE XMEN, and the character Shichigoro from AFRO SAMURAI:

  RESURRECTION. There are bunches more, but those are my

  favourites at this second in time.

  Is there any show you would like to work on if you had the

  chance?

  I would love to be a part of one of the Batman or Justice League

  series, which are so solid. And anything in a Miyazaki film. I've

  done some bits and pieces on a one of the films, but would love

  to do something more. And I'd eventually like to be a part of the

  Metal Gear universe, as well as Bioshock. I'm a big gamer. Or I used to be. Between kids and a mountain of acting, writing, and directing work, I don't get in as much dweeb time as I'd like..

Were you a fan of the X-Men before you got your roles on ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’? Had you read the comics, watched past TV shows/Films?

I was a comic collector up through high school, and was all about the X-men when Jim Lee was on board. And Nightcrawler was always one of my favourites! Loved his time with Excaliber! I'm working on a game called Darksiders right now, which is the brainchild of Joe Madureira, whose work I couldn't get enough of in Xmen, not to mention BattleChasers.. So it's pretty damn cool to find myself in a recording studio with him.