D.C. Douglas Talks Anime, Video Games and Cider in Dublin, Ireland

Interviewer: So you’re D.C. Douglas indeed?

D.C. Douglas: I am, and you’re well known for your voice acting skills for computer games and also television roles and anime. How do you like the weather?

Interviewer: Good lead-in, that’s how you’re gonna go one way and you went the other way. I don’t like it.

D.C. Douglas: It’s very wintry indeed. We actually just had a whole like two weeks of rain in LA, which is unusual, so it was nice to all of a sudden see the Sun for a day and then come here and know I’m back to the rain again. So you know, be changed allowed to spare. That’s what I heard. Yes, he knew I was coming, and they said you know it’s screwed 90, so my dears let’s just make it so the DC can have a good drink tonight. Oh yeah, I’m gonna get a true Irish coffee at one point, maybe a point again. A source medics you see, I’m sorry, I’m not yeah, you’re all gonna hate me but I’m not into the beers, I just, I’ll check out your societal of cider alright. What’s an apple tree so it’s the new one that’s on the market.

Interviewer: What’s that apple tree apple tree I’ll check it out, but anyway, one of the questions I’d like to ask would be you’re well-known for your voice acting skills, which would you prefer, they’ve got a choice like for would you like to provide a voice for the gaming or for the computer games or just for the animators?

D.C. Douglas: Oh, I would because my true love is on-camera acting, but I don’t get much of that work, so when it comes to voiceover, I just love voicings whether it’s video games or anime. There’s different you know there are as a crossover in fandoms and people, but they also have their own you know a core base of fans that are just randomly just for video games, so I like to kind of bounce back and forth between both of them. The thing is, people don’t realize is that on the business side of it, anime voice-over is probably the lowest paying of all the jobs that one can get, but the trade-off is that you get to be part of these really wonderful, at least in the States, good to be part of these really wonderful Japanese animations and then you also get the treat of meeting all these fans going to the conventions because we’ve got so many anime conventions in the States. So then traveling from state to state, city to city and meeting those fans, so that is the reason why I love doing anime because one, the stuff is great, and two, the fans are great as well. So, but if I only did that, I would also probably have a survival job and, you know, I’d be a greeter at Walmart or something. So put the video game side and the commercials and all that other stuff that I do, that’s what helps pay the bills and stuff. So you know, if you get a nice big role in a video game then it’s like thank goodness, so now I’m gonna have you know anywhere between 4 and 15 sessions that’ll help me make my wills. Because if people forget, is that actors, we’re only making money when we’re doing those jobs and there’s more time when we’re not doing anything than when we are, so we’re always unemployed, we’re always going, we’re always looking for our next job.

Interviewer: And so yeah, so people would you be willing to do a voice and I’ll just yes whatever you’re about to say yes yes it will I just need work yes, I’m just, just for the providing the voice like would you say that provide a voice for like a Western stateside animated show is easier than like…

D.C. Douglas: Well yes, because there’s a technical difference. So with anime, it’s already been done, and their lip flaps were meant for Japanese, so they have to first translate the line so that they still fit the style of what the show was and also fit the lip flaps. And then as voiceover actors, we have to sometimes take what might be like a slightly awkward dialogue or awkward only because it has to match those lip flaps and just make it sound natural. So, it’s a much more technical laborious process whereas I was Chase in Transformers Rescue Bots, yes as a stateside cartoon, and that was, you know, they hadn’t drawn anything we just do I mean we knew what our characters look like and that was it. And we get to record together we’re with anime you’re never recording with anybody else because they’re literally it’s three beeps that one line the next time three beeps that one line so you’re alone doing anime but with the cartoon and not always but usually with cartoon most of you will be in the room with your music stands in your and you can play off each other and you’ll get to run the scene a couple times and then they’ll then they may go line by line by line but again even then there’s no timing issues to match yeah so it’s so there’s a lot more creative freedom with those kinds of things so and also a lot more money I didn’t know myself until those look will be O’Boyle but I’m you did voice for a character of armload orphans for the Gundam series yeah it was jazz Lee yeah Dominic oh yeah yeah he was and know people do not like him I got it’s so funny because I he’s a nice little arc and but then when it aired all of a sudden I was getting some really mean tweets like people were like like I’m glad you’re dead and you know we’re very polarized politically in the States right now and so there was some like Trump supporters who I guess also like anime which always blows my mind but anyway they feel like saw and they liked going you’re uh you know bleep bleep bleep and you played up bleep bleep leave so that makes sense just funny,

Interviewer: Yeah you have a new show the notorious show for notorious show for a cosplay oh the thing I’m doing tomorrow night.

D.C. Douglas: Yeah oh yeah it’s Saturday night 8 o’clock tomorrow night I’m doing a thing called the notorious erotic zone the notorious Zombie related erotic fan fiction yeah and yeah it’s I I can’t really see what goes on in it cuz no but it’s it’s yes it is more it’s not really apparently it’s a show I’ve got lighting and music and there’s some video but I’m also bringing volunteers up from the audience that help me perform it and and it’s but it is an evening that was inspired by fans and most of the material was contributed by some fans I’ve obviously rewritten it a bit to make it you know staged friendly those staged friendly yeah yeah yeah and also not to be I mean obviously it’s you know it’s it’s a rated R of ratings here and then yeah yeah so is do you have rated R no boy it’s like 18 plus all those over there yes so it’s definitely 18 plus material but it’s not offensive 18 plus material I mean unless I mean if you go to an 18 plus show and you get offended then you you obviously orokin flick person so but yes no it’s very fun and very naughty but there’s more laughter than squirmish nasai would say okay you’re like I’m done talking about your money.