In preparation for the amazing Shin Ultraman English-language dub, several the cast and crew have reached out to Ultraman Connection to share their best wishes for the upcoming screening on January 12th! We love our voice actors and are thrilled that they love us (and Ultraman) right back. Turns out some of our performers are toku and Ultraman fans!
Chris Hackney (Shinji Kaminaga) (Twitter: @ChrisHackneyGGK)
“My Toku loving heart is ecstatic to provide the English voice of Kaminaga aka ULTRAMAN in this film!”
Dawn M. Bennett (Hiroko Asami) (Twitter: @DawnMBennettVA)
“I'm so excited to see everyone's performances come together! I loved getting to play off Chris Hackney (Kaminaga AKA Ultraman); his acting is always impeccable. I'm also grateful I got to work with director Rawly Pickens again, as I haven't been able to see him since moving out to LA! He always makes the whole process a lot of fun. To the fans: Thank you all very much for supporting us, and we hope you enjoy watching the dub as much as we enjoyed working on it!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“I'm actually new to the world of Ultraman. By a stroke of luck, I watched the first episode of the original Ultraman show with a friend right before auditions for Shin Ultraman were sent out! That being said, I like Kaminaga's character - he's got his weird quirks that make him an awesome hero. As for tokusatsu characters in general, Godzilla's my favorite! Honestly, all of the monsters and their designs are insanely cool. They make up the heart of tokusatsu!”
Brandon McInnis (Akihisa Taki) (Twitter: @branmci)
“We had so much fun working on this! The comedy is exquisite, and we spent so much time laughing between takes because the interactions between characters are both heartfelt and moving, yet deeply entertaining. While recording I felt like they were people I knew in my everyday life. Ultraman is such an important, meaningful franchise, so I'm very grateful to be part of it. Thank you for having me!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“Lipiah” (The real name of the alien that would become Ultraman in Shin Ultraman)
John Burgmeier (Kimio Tamura) (Twitter: @johnburgmeier)
“I was thrilled to be a part of the Shin Ultraman dub cast, and I had a great time taking inspiration from Hidetoshi Nishijima’s performance as Captain Tamura. I hope Ultraman fans will enjoy the final result!”
Emily Frongillo (Yumi Funaberi) (Twitter: @frongi_voice)
“I feel so grateful to have worked on this dub. My knowledge of tokusatsu is minimal compared to most fans of the genre; I’ve seen some Godzilla, some Kamen Rider, and most recently, I enjoyed watching Fuuto PI, but until being cast in Shin Ultraman, I had never before seen any Ultraman! Now that I’ve been introduced to it as well as delighted by the enthusiasm of its fans, I realize how much I’ve been missing. I can’t wait to watch this movie in theaters, and then explore even more Ultraman! Thank you for bringing me into this world, and please enjoy the English dub!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“From Shin Ultraman, Taki.”
Brook Chalmers (Tatsuhiko Munakata) (Twitter: @brookchalmersVO)
“I was so happy to be involved in the movie, and Munakata is the best character in the movie by far, someone has to navigate all the red tape! I can't wait to watch some epic Ultraman battles on the big screen! Hope you all enjoy.”
Favorite Ultraman Character
Munakata from Shin Ultraman!
Jordan Woollen (Mefilas) (Twitter: JordanWoollenVO)
“Being trusted with Mefilas and just being part of this dub at all means the world to me. Not only because I love tokusatsu, but also because I'm pretty new as far as the dubbing industry is considered so being part of such a stellar cast of pros is ultra (heh) amazing. I can't wait to hear everyone in the dub, and I hope I make everyone watching proud!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“I've always loved King Joe just because of the name, but now I obviously like Mefilas the most. Already got some figures pre-ordered!”
Kellen Goff (Zarab) (Twitter: @kellengoff)
“I'm absolutely thrilled to be the English voice of Alien Zarab in this! It's my 4th time sharing a role with the great Kenjiro Tsuda, which is always a tremendous privilege. We had so much fun experimenting with the nuances of Zarab's speech, and in his subtle manipulations. It's an absolute honor to be a included in the legendary legacy of Ultraman, and I hope you kind folks enjoy what we did!!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“My favorite Ultraman character, besides my lad Zarab, is Eleking! Love me some electric kaiju! ⚡”
Charlie Campbell (Prime Minister Taishi Okuma)
“As a little kid growing up in Houston Texas, I would get up early for school so that I could watch Ultraman (reruns of the 1966 TV series). I'm a huge sci-fi fan and loved the whole Ultraman premise! The idea of a giant superhero fighting giant monsters was right up my alley! Ultraman is so much more maneuverable than most of the monsters but always had to worry about running out of energy before the battle was over. Being cast as Prime Minister Taishi Okuma in Shin Ultraman was a dream come true! A huge thank you to Okratron 5000 and Kocha Sound for casting me!
“I have been so fortunate over the years to have worked on Anime and live-action dubs that relate to shows and characters from my childhood. Shows like Gatchaman (I used to watch as Battle of the Planets), Mazinkaiser (I had the Great Mazinger Shogun Warrior toy), Shin Godzilla (watched every giant monster movie I could), Sonic the Hedgehog, and Battleship Yamato and of course Ultraman shaped my childhood and I've been lucky to be a part of them since! If you get the chance, you really must see Shin Ultraman on the big screen and watch the dub!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“The 1966 Ultraman”
Jim Foronda (The Government Official) (Twitter: @jimforonda)
One of my earliest television memories, right next to Mister Rogers and Sesame Street, is Ultraman. The local UHF station ran the syndicated English dub on Saturday mornings, and I watched it every week. It was Ultraman who sparked my lifelong love for Japanese pop culture! Finally, I'm so excited to be part of the Shin Ultraman dub; I mean, I GOT TO SAY "ULTRAMAN" TO ULTRAMAN.
Also here is a goofy 9-year-old Photoshop I did of my cat Momiji. Back when he was newly adopted, he'd fallen asleep on the couch in a Spacium Beam pose...I couldn't resist! 😅”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“The 1966 Ultraman!”
Frank Todaro (Male Foreign Affairs Officer) (Twitter: FrankTodaroVO)
“Gosh, it is just an incredible honor to be a part of this franchise on any level, one that I have been a fan of for so many years (and oh so many sofubi figurines)! But on a project as amazing (and personally anticipated) as SHIN ULTRAMAN?! I am beside myself.
Records for this show, and any project with Okratron 5000 and Kocha Sound are of course part serious business, and a part having fun some ultra-kind super-talents that have become dear friends, throwing pop-culture short-hands left and right to get to where we need to go. Every nanosecond of my experience on this project has been an absolute “BLAST (the invaders)”. Badumbum. I hope you all have as much fun watching as we had recording!!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“I would have to say my favorite character/Kaiju in the Ultraman mythos would have to be Twin Tail (the one on the left in headshot). I mean, just look at that face…”
Theo Devaney (Zōffy) (Twitter: @theodevaney)
“The Ultraman Universe is legendary, and I’m honored to be a part of this movie, alongside such a fantastic creative team. I can’t wait to see how fans and audiences respond!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“My favorite Ultraman character is Zōffy!”
Christian Thorsen (Additional Voices) (Twitter: CThorMcAwesome)
“I have always been a huge fan of Kaiju movies and tokusatsu like Ultraman and Super Sentai, so it's a dream come true to get to be involved in such a fantastic entry to the Ultraman franchise!”
Rawley Pickens (ADR Dub Director & Mix Engineer) (Twitter: @SirRawley)
“When the opportunity to work on this legendary franchise came up, I was beyond excited. Ultraman has been an influence on the culture for decades and getting the chance to direct and mix the dub for such a blockbuster film was a huge undertaking, but an absolute blast. We all had so much fun with the character interaction and watching all the fights! I can only hope the audience enjoys the ride as much as we did!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“Picking a favorite character is very hard. I adored recording and mixing the scenes with Lipiah and Zoffy. So much gravitas and power behind their dialog. And Mefilas had some of the best monologues. But Asami might be my favorite. Working with Dawn Bennett is always a blessing and her character has range and development throughout the film. I can't wait to see it in the theater! Go, Ultraman!!”
Christopher Sabat (Executive Producer & Additional Voices) (Twitter: @JustChrisSabat)
“As someone who has worked on some of the largest Japanese properties out there, it is an absolute honor to work on a franchise with such a rich history and legacy as Ultraman!”
Favorite Ultraman
“Ultraman Ace!”
Brittany Lauda (Casting Director) (Twitter: @BrittanyLaudaVO)
“Two months ago, I didn't know much about the Ultraman universe at all, but now I'm in deep! So honored to have been trusted with putting together this amazing cast, I can't wait to see everyone on the big screen and I hope both new and old fans alike enjoy what we created!”
Favorite Ultraman Character
“Jugglus Juggler!”
And for more Shin Ultraman and Ultraman Series news, stay close to Ultraman Connection!
