Neil Kaplan -
Anime
Convention Personality of the Week - December 31, 2006
In more than two decades, the
Autobots-versus-Decepticons battles of the Transformers have filled an
unending number of animated episodes and movies. For most of those
episodes, Peter Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime, the series' ultimate
good guy. However, the volume of shows and the number of production
companies that have handled them means there's room for other voices in
the role. Gary Chalk was Optimus in three series, and Neil Kaplan was
the hero in the 2001 version of the Transformers. It just happened that
Kaplan was one of the first of these actors to get to an anime
convention when he appeared at the Phoenix Anime Fest in 2006. Kaplan's
acting credits include a few years as various Digimon voices, and he
has the kind of practical experience that means he has a solid
background in the business and a clear understanding of how things
actually work. Talk to Kaplan and you'll learn what the acting business
is really like.
In more than two decades, the
Autobots-versus-Decepticons battles of the Transformers have filled an
unending number of animated episodes and movies. For most of those
episodes, Peter Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime, the series' ultimate
good guy. However, the volume of shows and the number of production
companies that have handled them means there's room for other voices in
the role. Gary Chalk was Optimus in three series, and Neil Kaplan was
the hero in the 2001 version of the Transformers. It just happened that
Kaplan was one of the first of these actors to get to an anime
convention when he appeared at the Phoenix Anime Fest in 2006. Kaplan's
acting credits include a few years as various Digimon voices, and he
has the kind of practical experience that means he has a solid
background in the business and a clear understanding of how things
actually work. Talk to Kaplan and you'll learn what the acting business
is really like.