Robin Williams: The anime fan?

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
A recent news report on the Anime News Service surprisingly suggests that eccentric Hollywood actor Robin Williams is an anime fan. Speaking in an interview posted by 'The Argus Leader', Williams discusses his latest (3D-CG) project "Robots" and then goes on to explain his interest in other 'cartoons'.<ul><span class=menu>Q: Did you always like cartoons?
Williams: I was always a hard-core Warner Bros. fan. Elmer and Daffy and (animator) Tex Avery. I collect a lot of Japanese anime. I am waiting to see "Steamboy." The Japanese are very aware that animation isn't just for kids to the point of making pornography. They make deeply dark movies, science-fiction movies.</span></ul>Read the full interview for yourself right here.
 
it's good to hear a big Hollywood name giving anime a bit of media coverage. i can't remember the last time that happened - Jim Cameron is the only other one i've heard of so far. still, it's pretty interesting. sounds like he's anticipating Steamboy as much as the rest of us!
 
Yeah, it's always interesting to hear what a lot of these actors make of anime. The guy sounds like a big fan and I was especially pleased when I also read that:

"Williams' character in the Hollywood film One Hour Photo bought the little boy of a family he was stalking a Neon Genesis Evangelion action figure."

Good stuff Robbie!
 
Ah yes... I can't remember if i've heard this before somewhere... but I seem to remember RW is a confessed fan of the things I like - I believe he may even be a Half-Life fan :)
 
This is wonderful, for such a long time i have always thought to myself "Out of all these hollywood stars, how come none of them like anime", and it has frustrated me alot. I have always liked Robin Williams as an actor and now i like him even more.
I especially liked this quote "The Japanese are very aware that animation isn't just for kids to the point of making pornography.", this is something which i have often tried my best to tell non-anime fans, that anime is not just Pikachu and Digimon (how ever much i like both of these) but something to suit every age and taste
 
and with any luck, people might take that view more seriously now that a big name actor is sting it. although this is only one interview, it's good to see anime being viewed in a positive light by the mainstream. nice going, Mr Williams.
 
Paul said:
"Williams' character in the Hollywood film One Hour Photo bought the little boy of a family he was stalking a Neon Genesis Evangelion action figure."
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Ah yeah i remember that moment (if you havent seen that film, go see it NOW, its that good)

I think he deicded to make it a EVA figure.
 
It's good to see anime brought up in main stream actors. Maybe he'll do some dubbing for anime in the future, he has lots of voice acting experience!
 
wow mr.williams himself i'd would have never thought someone like him would like stuff like anime, me, i love it to bits but... well...er i suppose it's a bit of a shock! :)
 
Williams: I was always a hard-core Warner Bros. fan. Elmer and Daffy and (animator) Tex Avery.
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The man has impeccable taste, even if he does make too much overly sentimental crud like Patch Adams.
 
What I've always wondered is, if the (high profile) actors/actress that do the voices for English anime dubs are fan of anime/manga or are they doing it just for the money.

I'm pretty certain that Anna Paquin is an anime fan. Like it really matter though...
 
really? that makes sense when now that i think about it. she did do the voice for one of the characters in Princess Mononoke i believe.
 
bmxgamer said:
I'm pretty certain that Anna Paquin is an anime fan. Like it really matter though...
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I always knew there was something i liked about her.

Princess Mononoke had loads of big hollywood voice talent, let me try and remember who did what....

Gillian Anderson .... Moro
Billy Crudup .... Ashitaka
Claire Danes .... San
Minnie Driver .... Lady Eboshi
Jada Pinkett Smith .... Toki
Billy Bob Thornton .... Jigo
 
Charter_Mage said:
Princess Mononoke had loads of big hollywood voice talent, let me try and remember who did what....
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I know Nausicaa has Uma Thurman. Wonder if she knows much about anime? She did star in Kill Bill, which had a little bit of anime influence.
 
Charter_Mage said:
bmxgamer said:
I'm pretty certain that Anna Paquin is an anime fan. Like it really matter though...
Click to expand...
I always knew there was something i liked about her.

Princess Mononoke had loads of big hollywood voice talent, let me try and remember who did what....

Gillian Anderson .... Moro
Billy Crudup .... Ashitaka
Claire Danes .... San
Minnie Driver .... Lady Eboshi
Jada Pinkett Smith .... Toki
Billy Bob Thornton .... Jigo
Click to expand...
Anna Paquin played Sheeta in the new Laputa dub. unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing overall compared with the old one (although i hadn't seen that version in years). It's the same with Princess Mononoke. they employed lots of famous names in there but the dub ends up as being somewhat less than the sum of its parts. still, who's to say Robin Williams won't do a bit of anime VA work in the future?

as a side-note, i might look into who stars in the new Nausicaa dub. i think Patrick Stewart is in it, but i might be getting confused with Steamboy or something. it's late and my caffeine levels are low...
 
Concrete badger said:
as a side-note, i might look into who stars in the new Nausicaa dub. i think Patrick Stewart is in it, but i might be getting confused with Steamboy or something. it's late and my caffeine levels are low...
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Alison Lohman (Nausicaä), Patrick Stewart (Lord Yupa), Uma Thurman (Kushana), Shia LaBeouf (Asbel), Chris Sarandon (Kurotowa), Edward James Olmos (Mito), Mark Hamill (Mayor of Pejite), Emily Bauer (Lastel), Ashley Rose Orr (Peasant Girl), Jodi Benson (Lastel's Mother), Tress MacNeille (Obaba) (Source)

Having seen it, I really liked Disney's dub. Then, I've quite liked all their Ghibli film dubs. On the other hand, Patrick Stewart's lord Yupa alone makes it well worth listening to. I'm looking forward to hearing him in Steamboy too.
 
Cheers for the info Colin. Stewart is a fantastic actor and always adds a touch of quality to every film he stars in - a bit like Morgan Freeman i suppose. i'm really looking forward to the Nausicaa and Steamboy releases as well.
 
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