Sean Schemmel Explained

Sean Schemmel (born November 21, 1968)^{[1] [2]} is an American voice actor, ADR director, and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. His most notable role is the teen and adult voice of Son Goku in the Funimation dub of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Career

Initially, Schemmel never planned on becoming a voice actor; he trained to be a classical French horn player. When a friend persuaded him to audition for Dragon Ball Z, he tried out for a minor character who was going to be killed in the first season of the show. He had been recording for two weeks before he was told that he was going to be the lead.^[3] Since being cast as Son Goku by Funimation in 1999, he has been the most consistent English voice actor for the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise, having voiced the character's older teen and adult incarnations in every anime series produced to date (Dragon Ball, Z, GT, Kai and Super) and most Dragon Ball animated movies and video games, as well as other characters such as King Kai and Goku Black.^[4] Besides voicing Goku, Schemmel has lent his voice to several other anime characters including Amidamaru in Shaman King (2001), Lucario in Pokémon and Elliot Grant in Mew Mew Power. His other roles in animation include Firefly in G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, Gonard in Kappa Mikey and Hawkman in DC Super Friends. In video games, Schemmel has provided his voice to Makuta in Bionicle, Black Doom in Shadow the Hedgehog, Maxwell in Bullet Witch, Horace in Skullgirls, Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, Sun Wukong (whom Goku was originally based on) in Smite, and Marc Wilson in Fallout 4.

In addition to his voice acting career, Schemmel was also an ADR Director and scriptwriter for NYAV Post, where he had directed and adapted for English dubs of several Japanese anime series. In the field of narration, he has won two awards for his audiobook recordings.

Personal life

Schemmel was married to Melissa Cox, from 1993 to 1998. He married actress Melodee Lenz the same year. They divorced after three years of being together in 2001. In a 2018 interview, Schemmel mentioned that he is on the autism spectrum.^{[5] [6]}

Filmography

Anime

List of dubbing performances and production work in anime television series and OVAs

Year	Title	Role	Crew Role, Notes
1999–2003; 2005	Dragon Ball Z		[7] Funimation dub Vegito shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2001		Goku (adult)	TV special
2001–03	Dragon Ball	Goku (teen)	Funimation dub Goku (young) voiced by Stephanie Nadolny
2001	Blue Gender	Rick
2002	Berserk	Gaston, Conrad, others	[8]
2002	Ultimate Muscle	Bone Cold
2002	Yu Yu Hakusho	Shigeru Murota, Roto, Mr. Akashi
2003	Hades Project Zeorymer	Gisou	OVA
2003	Samurai Deeper Kyo	Nobuyuki Sanada	ADR voice director, script writer
2003	Space Pirate Mito		ADR voice director, script writer
2003	Sadamitsu the Destroyer	Junk/Helmet	ADR voice director, script writer
2003–05	Shaman King	Amidamaru, Rio, Nichrom
2003–15; 2020–present	Pokémon	Morrison, Archie, Cyrus, Sir Aaron's Lucario, Lampent, Dracovish, Sawk, Thundurus	4Kids dub DuArt dub Iyuno Media Group dub
2003–05	Dragon Ball GT	Goku (adult, Super Saiyan 4), King Kai, Gogeta (SS4)	Funimation dub Goku (young) voiced by Stephanie Nadolny Gogeta shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2004		Goku	TV special
2004	Kiddy Grade	Carvo	Episode 4
2004	Seven of Seven		ADR voice director, script writer
2004	Case Closed	Kowalski	Episode 8
2004	Giant Robo	Tetsugyu	OVA
2004	Domain of Murder	Dispatch	OVA
2004	The Gokusen	Minoru Tatsukawa, Kouhei Iwamoto
2004	Fullmetal Alchemist	Clause's Father	Episode 4
2004		Takashi Sonobe	Episodes 1-4
2004	Munto	Munto	OVA
2004	Shura no Toki: Age of Chaos	Shinzaburo Kuki
2004	Shrine of the Morning Mist	Naonori Hieda	ADR voice director
2004–07; 2013–present	One Piece	Helmeppo, Hatchan, Chabo, Kuroobi, Hachi Dr. Indigo Goku	4Kids dub Funimation dub
2005	Mobile Police Patlabor: The New Files	Hiromi Yamazaki	OVA
2005	Magical DoReMi	Mirabelle's Father, Simon
2005	Mew Mew Power		4Kids dub of Tokyo Mew Mew
2005	Midori Days	Jigoru	ADR voice director, script writer
2005		Seiji Nomura
2005–06	The Galaxy Railways	Humanoid B	Episode 10
2005–06	G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
2005	Samurai 7	Genzo	Episodes 9, 11-12
2005	Ah! My Goddess	3rd Class Earth Spirit	ADR voice director
2005–06	Yu-Gi-Oh!	Bobasa, Karim	4Kids dub of Yu-Gi-Oh!
2005–08	Yu-Gi-Oh! GX	Vellian Crowler, Ojama Yellow, Thelonious Viper, T-Bone, Mad Dog, Elemental Hero Neos, Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth, Dr. Collector
2005	Lupin III: Island of Assassins	Gordeau	TV special
2006	Pokémon Chronicles	Jimmy
2006	Munto 2: Beyond the Walls of Time	Munto, Munto's Father	OVA
2006	Ninja Nonsense	Onsokumaru
2006	Outlanders	Tetsuya Wakatsuki, Geobaldi	OVA
2007	BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad	Hiroto	Episodes 23–24
2007–10	Dinosaur King	Zander, Spectre, King Louis
2008–11	Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's	Zigzix, Greiger, MC, Rudolph Heitmann, Hans, Mr.Pitts (season 3)
2010–13; 2017–18	Dragon Ball Z Kai	Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito	Includes The Final Chapters Vegito shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2010	Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn	Flaste Schole	OVA
2011–15	Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal	Bronk Stone, Orbital 7(episode 13–75), Kazuma Tsukumo
2016	Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096	Flaste Schole
2017–19	Dragon Ball Super	Goku, King Kai, Goku Black, Vegito	Funimation dub Vegito shared w/ Christopher Sabat[9]
2020		Pen Draig Knight B	Second Season
2021	Mars Red	Yoshinobu Maeda	[10]
2025	Dragon Ball Daima	Goku	[11]

List of dubbing performances in feature films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2006	Padre Pio	Prefect
2014	Time of Eve	Katoran
2014			Limited U.S. theatrical release	[12]
2015		Goku	Limited U.S. theatrical release	[13]
2019				[14]
2022		Goku	Limited U.S. theatrical release	[15]

List of dubbing performances in anime films

Year	Title	Role	Crew Role, Notes
2001			Funimation dub
2002		Goku	Funimation dub
2002		Goku	Funimation dub
2003		Goku	Funimation dub
2003		Goku, King Kai	Funimation dub
2003	The Weathering Continent	Guard 2	ADR voice director
2004	Blue Gender: The Warrior	Rick	Compilation film
2004		Goku, King Kai	Funimation dub
2005	Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek	Noshiga
2005		Goku
2005		Goku
2005		Goku	Funimation redub
2006		Ryuichi Narasaki
2006
2006			Gogeta shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2006		Goku
2006		Goku	Funimation redub
2006		Goku, King Kai	Funimation redub
2011		Paradox
2011		Grings Kodai
2012	Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I – The Egg of the King	Gaston, General Gien
2013	Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II – The Battle for Doldrey	Gaston
2013		Dr. Indigo	[16]
2014	Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent	Gaston, Conrad

Animation

List of voice performances in animation

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003–09	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Nobody, Yukio Mashimi, Constable Biggles, Sh'Okanabo, Master Khan, Zippy Lad, Various characters
2006–07	Winx Club		4Kids version
2006–08	Kappa Mikey
2006	Wulin Warriors	Scar
2006	Viva Piñata	Bart, Chortles Chippopotamus, Hamilton Horstachio
2006–11	Thumb Wrestling Federation	Colonel Cossack, Face-Off Phil, Mr. Extremo, Dorsal Flynn, James Montgomery Flag, Lucky O'Leary, Pierre Pamplemousse, Knockout Ninja, Evil Ira, Flashback, The Visitor, The Scorchion, Mugsy Thumbscrew, Scoutmaster Scott.
2006–10	Chaotic	Maxxor, Ulmar
2008–09	Three Delivery	Various characters
2008–09		Dickie Ranford, Racer X / Rex Racer, Dr. Chezko / Sparky, narrator
2009	Pat & Stan	Stuart
2009–12		LeBlanche, Mr. Mactavish, Ghost of Sir Lancelot
2011	Shaktimaan Animated	Tock	English dub
2015	DC Super Friends
2015	Sofia the First	Slim, King Habib	[17] [18]
2015	Lego Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror	Charlie, Treasure Hunter No. 2
2016	Trip Tank	Wayne, Announcer	[19] [20]
2016	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	The Box of Truth	[21] [22]
2017	Spider-Man	Sal Salerno	[23]
2020 - present	Lego Monkie Kid	Monkey King, Syntax, Jin
2022	The Casagrandes	Mr. Vanderspeed	Episode: "Race Against the Machine"[24]

List of voice and dubbing performances in direct-to-video and television films

Year	Title	Role	Crew Role, Notes
2006	Impy's Island	King Pumponell the 55th
2009	TMNT: Turtles Forever	Raphael 84
2010	Animals United	Biggie the Rhinoceros	[25]
2011	A Car's Life 2	Fender
2013	A Car's Life 3: The Royal Heist	Fender, Otto, Pinion
2015	A Car's Life 4: Junkyard Blues	Fender, Otto
2016		Dark Opal
2017		Mr. Salt, Mr. Turkentine

Live Action

List of dubbing performances in Live Action!Year!Title!Role!Notes

2023

Ultraman Z

Ultraman Zero

English Dub

Video games

List of dubbing performances in video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002
2003	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2	Goku, Vegito, Gokule
2003	Bionicle	Makuta
2004	Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors	Goku
2004		Roto
2004	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
2005		Goku
2005		Goku, King Kai (Narration), Vegito, Gogeta
2005	Shadow the Hedgehog	Black Doom
2006		Ricardo Gomez
2006	Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai	Goku, Vegito, Gogeta
2006	Super Dragon Ball Z	Goku
2006	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2	Goku, King Kai, Vegito, Gogeta
2007	Bullet Witch	Maxwell
2007	Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai – Another Road	Goku, Vegito, Gogeta
2007	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3	Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito, Gogeta
2008		Goku
2008		Goku, King Kai, Vegito, Gogeta
2009		Goku, Vegito, Gogeta
2010		Goku, Vegito, Gogeta
2010		Goku, Nail, Vegito, Gogeta
2011		Goku, King Kai, Vegito, Gogeta
2012	Skullgirls	Horace
2012		Goku, Vegito
2012	The Dark Knight Rises		Mobile game [26]
2013	Gangstar Vegas	Jason Malone, Radio Ads	[27]
2014		Goku, Vegito
2014	Smite	Sun Wukong, Thor (Heavy Metal)
2014	Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U		[28]
2015	Dragon Ball Xenoverse	Goku, Tokitoki, Vegito, Gogeta
2015	Fallout 4	Strong, Marc Wilson, Male Ghouls
2015		Additional Voices
2016	Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle	Goku (Narration)	Mobile game
2016	Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2		[29]
2017	Dishonored: Death of the Outsider	Overseers	[30]
2018	Dragon Ball FighterZ	Goku, Goku Black, Vegito, Gogeta
2018	Dragon Ball Legends	Goku, Vegito, Gogeta, Goku Black, Nail	Mobile game
2018	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Lucario	Archive audio
2020		Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito
2024	Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO	Goku, Nail, Vegito, Gogeta, Goku Black

Awards

Year	Award	Work	Category	Result
2008	Earphones Award	The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo		[31]
2013	Audie Award	I Suck at Girls by Justin Halper	Audie Award for Humor	[32]
2019	Guinness World Records	Kamehameha	Guinness World Record for most people performing a Kamehameha	[33]

Notes and References

1. 1197608437653241856. SeanSchemmel. Birthday! Galaxycon! #yousayitsyourbirthday #itsmybirthdaytoo. Sean Schemmel. November 21, 2019. March 14, 2022.
2. 1330600418200621056. SeanSchemmel. I was very moved by all the birthday wishes yesterday from everyone! Truly made my birthday special! Amazed it happens every year thank you!!!. Sean Schemmel. November 23, 2020. March 14, 2022.
3. Web site: Dragon Ball's' voice of Goku speaks for himself . Los Angeles Times . 14 March 2022 . 30 June 2017.
4. Web site: Sean Schemmel Teases His Approach To Goku Black In 'Dragon Ball Super' . . 16 March 2022 . en.
5. Web site: Sean Schemmel IN DEPTH interview Part 2 • Kanzenshuu . 2024-11-30 . www.kanzenshuu.com.
6. SEAN SCHEMMEL INTERVIEW PART 1 OF 2: Becoming Goku, Music, Puppets, Life. . 2018-07-18 . Geekdom101 . 2024-11-30 . YouTube.
7. Web site: Sean Schemmel - 259 Character Images | Behind the Voice Actors . May 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190507192739/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Sean-Schemmel/ . May 7, 2019 . live .
8. Web site: Hey, Answerman! – Hentai Schmentai. Brian. Hanson. November 13, 2010. Anime News Network. January 20, 2017. Perhaps worse is realizing that one voice actor has multiple roles. As Hope Chapman noted, Steven Blum voices a police officer talking with Onizuka. Sean Schemmel voices every third character in Berserk. When you hear the same voices over and over in the same show, it makes it immediately obvious that you're being entertained instead of being part of a story.. https://web.archive.org/web/20170227122137/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2010-11-12. February 27, 2017. live.
9. News: Funimation Reveals Dragon Ball Super English Dub Cast . Anime News Network . November 30, 2016 . December 1, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161201134932/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-11-30/funimation-reveals-dragon-ball-super-english-dub-cast/.109341 . December 1, 2016 . live .
10. Web site: March 28, 2021. MARS RED English Dub Announced, Cast and Crew Revealed. March 28, 2021. Funimation.
11. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Dragon Ball Daima Anime Reveals English Dub Cast, January 10 Debut. Anime News Network. December 3, 2024. December 3, 2024.
12. Web site: 'Battle of Gods' will please 'Dragon Ball Z' fans . Los Angeles Times . 15 March 2022 . 7 August 2014.
13. Web site: Leydon . Joe . Film Review: 'Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F' . Variety . 15 March 2022 . 12 August 2015.
14. Holub . Christian . Watch Vegeta fight Broly for the first time in exclusive 'Dragon Ball Super: Broly' clip . Entertainment Weekly . 15 March 2022 . en.
15. Web site: Friedman . Nicholas . Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO Reveals Global Theatrical Release Dates, English Dub Cast [UPDATED] ]. . 23 November 2022 . en-us.
16. Web site: Brook's English Voice Actor Revealed! – Funimation – Blog!. December 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20191108154312/http://www.funimation.com/lee/blog/brooks-english-voice-actor-revealed/7884777. November 8, 2019. live.
17. Cool Hand Fluke. Sofia the First. Disney Junior. 3. 1. August 5, 2015.
18. New Genie on the Block. Sofia the First. Disney Junior. 3. 7. October 16, 2015.
19. How the Sausage Is Made. TripTank. Comedy Central. 2. 12. June 27, 2016.
20. Deuce Ex Machina. TripTank. Comedy Central. 2. 17. August 2, 2016.
21. Sleepover. Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Disney XD. 2. 22. September 26, 2016.
22. Butterfly Trap. Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Disney XD. 3. 51. March 10, 2018.
23. Venom. Spider-Man (2017 TV series). Disney XD. 1. 13. October 21, 2017.
24. Race Against the Machine. The Casagrandes. Nickelodeon. 3. 61. June 10, 2022.
25. Web site: Sean Schemmel. December 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161201092057/http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Sean-Schemmel. December 1, 2016. live.
26. Web site: The Dark Knight Rises: The Mobile Game (2012) - 12 Cast Images | Behind the Voice Actors . April 8, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401090420/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/The-Dark-Knight-Rises-The-Mobile-Game/ . April 1, 2019 . live .
27. Gangstar: Vegas . Gameloft Divertissements Inc. . Gameloft S.A. . June 21, 2013 . Android . Closing credits, Cast, 22:57 .
28. SeanSchemmel . Sean Schemmel . 472434229997879296 . May 30, 2014 . I'm voicing Lucario in that game... . February 8, 2017.
29. Web site: Sean Schemmel (visual voices guide). 22 September 2021. Behind The Voice Actors. . A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information..
30. Web site: Behind the Voice Actors . Behind the Voice Actors . 2 September 2024.
31. News: THE BIG SPLASH by Jack D Ferraiolo Read by Sean Schemmel Audiobook Review AudioFile Magazine. AudioFile Magazine. June 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134604/https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/40905/the-big-splash-by-jack-d-ferraiolo/. January 25, 2018. live.
32. News: Winner of the 2013 Audie Awards Industry News – Awards Voices.com Blog. Tanya. June 3, 2013. Voices.com Blog. June 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170628011420/https://www.voices.com/blog/winners-announced-in-the-2013-audie-awards/. June 28, 2017. live.
33. Web site: Most people performing a Dragon Ball Kamehameha . Guinness World Records . 15 March 2022 . en-gb.