Sean Schemmel


Sean Schemmel is an American voice actor, ADR director, and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. Since 1999, he has served as the adult voice for Son Goku in the English 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. 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 and most Dragon Ball animated movies and video games, as well as other characters such as King Kai and Goku Black.
Besides voicing Goku, Schemmel has lent his voice to several other anime characters including Amidamaru in Shaman King , 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 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 in 1998. The marriage ended nearly three years later. In a 2018 interview, Schemmel mentioned that he is on the autism spectrum.

Filmography

Anime

YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2006Padre PioPrefect
2014Time of EveKatoran
2014Dragon Ball Z: Battle of GodsGoku, King KaiLimited U.S. theatrical release
2015Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'GokuLimited U.S. theatrical release
2019Dragon Ball Super: BrolyGoku, GogetaLimited U.S. theatrical release
Gogeta shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2022Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroGokuLimited U.S. theatrical release

YearTitleRoleCrew Role, Notes
2001Dragon Ball Z: Lord SlugGoku, King KaiFunimation dub
2002Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's RevengeGokuFunimation dub
2002Dragon Ball Z: The Return of CoolerGokuFunimation dub
2003Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!GokuFunimation dub
2003Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super SaiyanGoku, King KaiFunimation dub
2003The Weathering ContinentGuard 2ADR voice director
2004Blue Gender: The WarriorRickCompilation film
2004Dragon Ball Z: Bojack UnboundGoku, King KaiFunimation dub
2005Kakurenbo: Hide & SeekNoshiga
2005Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second ComingGoku
2005Dragon Ball Z: Bio-BrolyGoku
2005Dragon Ball Z: Dead ZoneGokuFunimation redub
2006Negadon: The Monster from MarsRyuichi Narasaki
2006Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of MewLucario
2006Dragon Ball Z: Fusion RebornGoku, King Kai, GogetaGogeta shared w/ Christopher Sabat
2006Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the DragonGoku
2006Dragon Ball Z: The World's StrongestGokuFunimation redub
2006Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of MightGoku, King KaiFunimation redub
2011Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond TimeParadox
2011Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of IllusionsGrings Kodai
2012Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I – The Egg of the KingGaston, General Gien
2013Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II – The Battle for DoldreyGaston
2013One Piece Film: Strong WorldDr. Indigo
2014Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The AdventGaston, Conrad-

Animation

YearTitleRoleCrew Role, Notes
2006Impy's IslandKing Pumponell the 55th
2009TMNT: Turtles ForeverRaphael 84
2010Animals UnitedBiggie the Rhinoceros
2011A Car's Life 2Fender
2013A Car's Life 3: The Royal HeistFender, Otto, Pinion
2015A Car's Life 4: Junkyard BluesFender, Otto
2016DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the YearDark Opal
2017Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryMr. Salt, Mr. Turkentine