Summary
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Voice acting for anime characters is a talent few have and utilize well. Most of the time, this skill is taught through vocal lessons and acting classes, and requires you to blend techniques from both to pull off the characters with the authenticity the director is looking for in any given piece. While most voice actors get started in voice acting through voice acting alone, a fascinating case has risen in former Disney Channel actor and current Smosh starDamien Haas, who has found himself in the world of voicing popular anime protagonists.
He’s voicedthe knowledgeable and reserved Laios ToudeninDelicious in Dungeonand Kiyoka Kudou, the regal main male love interest inMy Happy Marriageanime, among many other main and side character roles throughout both anime and video games. This article is going to cover his career, to show how he transitioned from a canceled Disney Channel show in 2011, to becoming a main cast member in Smosh, to eventually voicing the anime and video game protagonists he’s known for today.
His Early Career on Disney and YouTube’s Smosh
The Sketch Comedy That Showed Off His Range Early On
Damien Haas garnered his first acting role in the Disney Channel show,So Random,in 2011. Similarly to SNL, the show had a recurring set of actors that would act outvarious comedy and musical sketches. The show was based on the sketch showing the main characters ofSonny With A Chance, starring Demi Lovato as the titular character; notably, Demi Lovato was absent as she was secretly in rehab due to substance abuse. The lack of the main character played by Lovato, and disinterest in sketch comedy with Disney Channel’s audience at the time, led to its cancelation after one season.
“I don’t think going back to Sonny would be healthy for my recovery. Being in front of a camera would make me nervous.”
The Transition to Voice Acting
FromFire EmblemtoDelicious in Dungeon, And Everything In-Between
While his first credited voice acting role was a few minor characters in the Cartoon Network showClarence,he began breaking into voice acting for a few video games. his first major role was as theFire Emblemcharacter Shez, in bothFire Emblem HeroesandFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. To commemorate this, he dyed his hair tomatch the character’s hair color, which is a habit he’s maintained for his major voice-acting roles since. He’s also voiced four different characters inFortnite, and a character in the 2022 game Triangle Strategy.
His anime voice acting career started with a minor role inOoku: The Inner Chambersin 2023. He quickly found himself voicing his very first anime protagonist, the main male love interest inMy Happy Marriage,Kiyoka Kudou. The anime follows Miyo Saimori, a young woman betrothed to someone she doesn’t know, and Kiyoka, who isa feared commanderwho hides a soft and loving personality underneath the rumors of his cold-hearted nature. The anime has gone on to be nominated for 11 awards and won 3 others across various anime award shows and programs. The anime has also been confirmed to be getting a second season, with Damien Haas set to reprise his role as Kiyoka Kudou.
Over the next year, he picked up a few more voice acting roles, but his biggest commercial success as an anime voice actor at the publishing of this article is his role as the main character Laios Touden in the animeDelicious in Dungeon. In this anime, a group of adventurerscan’t afford the rations they needto survive, so they turn to cooking the monsters they kill on their way to save the protagonist’s siblings. This anime has also been nominated and won multiple awards over its first season, as well as a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a second season on the way as well.
What Is He Doing Now?
Ranma 1/2, More Smosh, And Other Projects
The most recently released anime he’s acted in at the publishing of this article is the reboot ofRanma 1/2, in which he plays Ryoga,who is Ranma’s own rival. Damien Haas has also voiced characters in a few more anime-style games, including the protagonist role of Van Arkride inThe Legends of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak, its sequel that is coming out next year, and a few characters fromUnicorn Overlord.He also still appears in variety and comedy content on Smosh videos across the channels, with his latest appearances around as recently as December.
Delicious in Dungeon
Cast
Based on the manga series, Delicious in Dungeon is a comedic fantasy series with a cooking emphasis. The series follows the exploits of a guild leader named Laios as he heads into a massive dungeon that contains a sunken kingdom, lured by the promise of untold treasure if he can slay the magician that caused it all. When a dragon takes his sister captive, Laios partners up with a new group of adventures and finds themselves cooking monsters to keep themselves filled as they seek to stop the dragon and save his sister.
