Popular voice actor Hot Interview
Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato, Susumu Kodai dubbed by Kei Tomiyama
Masao Tsukada from Kanagawa Prefecture asked, “Tell us about Kei Tomiyama who dubbed Susumu Kodai in Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato.
Kei Tomiyama is now number one in popularity as a voice actor. Female students with autograph books wait for a recording session to finish, then rush into the cramped studio. “I’m going to walk with Mr. Tomiyama!” This is the high point every day.
Tomiyama’s voice for Susumu Kodai in Space Battleship Yamato has caused his popularity to skyrocket. He is a pioneer in the world of telerecording, but he says, “I’ve only been doing this job for 16 to 17 years.” It is this humility that enabled him to express the character of Susumu Kodai so well. The youthful excitement of a man burning for justice, trembling with love, and searching for something; Tomiyama’s voice captures it perfectly.
“It started out as a part-time job, doing voice-over work for Sunset 77, Route 66, Surfside 6, and other shows, playing roles such as “bystander A” and “policeman B.” And then, before I knew it, it became my real job. Now I’m doing 5 regular shows including animation.”
In between his busy schedule, he also goes to the movie theater. It is often the case that he can only see the first half of an hour or the second half of a movie. He said he enjoyed Wild Geese, which he saw recently.
“Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman are so good that it’s almost embarrassing. Candace Bergen and McQueen are my favorite stars.”
Since he does the voices for Bucha Cat in the popular morning children’s program Ping Pong Pan and the voice of the parrot in Detective Baretta, he says, “It’s hard to be a “human being” at work.”
Surprisingly, he says, “I don’t have a fixed star of my own.” [Translator’s note: this refers to the common practice of a specific voice actor consistently providing the voice of a foreign actor across multiple films.] I’ve done John Paul Belmond, and I’ve done Horst Buchholz two or three times. The rest are too many to count: Bruce Davison in The Strawberry Statement, Warren Beatty in Splendor in the Grass, Alan Bates in King of Hearts, Ryan O’Neal in Wild Rovers, and Lew Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front. The list is endless. (See more credits here.)
The common character trait of all these stars is that of a young man in distress, which can be summed up in Susumu Kodai.
Tomiyama says that his attitude toward voice-over is to think about “Why was this role assigned to me?” He says, “I have to give my performance, because that’s the reason they came to me.” That’s why he was recently puzzled to be chosen to dub Antonio Fargas, who plays the role of Huggy Bear in Starsky & Hutch. He is a black man, as you know, and the voice of a black man is unique.
“I had to give him a distinctive voice, and I was very confused in the first two or three episodes. After about the fourth one, I discovered how to use my mouth.” He pushed his teeth forward, stretched his jaw, and puffed out his mouth, creating a mouth like Antonio Fargas. His voice was low-pitched but luminous. “It’s fun to do, but I’m frustrated because he doesn’t get to do much,” he said.
“I love music, and what I want to do most right now is musicals. I’d like to perform on stage, but that would limit the roles I could play. I can play any role as a voice actor, in a puppet show or an anime, but I want to do a fun musical. I’d like to sing a lot of songs.”
Finally, he bowed deeply and politely, and returned to the crowd. He was wearing a black and white striped shirt and a black jacket. His walk was light and nimble, like a sportsman.
Biography
Kei Tomiyama was born in Sokkyo on October 31, 1938. He joined the Toho Children’s Theatre Company without his parents’ knowledge when he was in high school. After dropping out of the Nihon University College of Art, he worked at the Acting Institute and Gekidanro before joining Kawanokai in 1965. He has been a member of Anji Productions since 1951.
(interviewer: Masako Suganuma)
