Vic Mignogna
American voice actor (born 1962)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victor Joseph Mignogna (/mɪnˈjɒnə/ min-YO-nuh; born August 27, 1962)[1][2] is an American voice actor and musician known primarily for his extensive contributions to the English dubbing of Japanese anime series and video games, including Edward Elric in the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, which earned him the American Anime Award for Best Actor in 2007. He has voiced characters in over 100 anime and video game titles, including Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Code Geass, Shin-chan, and Hell Girl.
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August 27, 1962
- Voice actor
- musician
Vic Mignogna | |
|---|---|
Mignogna in 2020 | |
| Born | Victor Joseph Mignogna August 27, 1962 Greensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouses | Seliece Womble
(m. 1995; div. 2002)Dominique Sachse (m. 2024) |
| Partner | Michele Specht (2006–2018) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1989–present[a] |
| Website | www |
Other animation roles include Broly from the Dragon Ball films, Tamaki Suoh in Ouran High School Host Club, Fai D. Flowright in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Dark in D.N.Angel, Kurz Weber in the Full Metal Panic! series, Zero and Ichiru Kiryu in the Vampire Knight series, Christopher Aonuma in Digimon Fusion, Nagato and Obito Uchiha in Naruto Shippuden, Kougaiji in Saiyuki, Ikkaku Madarame in Bleach, Rohan Kishibe in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, Hideki Kurohagi in Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Qrow Branwen in RWBY, and Matt Ishida in Digimon Adventure tri. In video games, he has voiced E-123 Omega in the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Junpei Iori from Persona 3. In live-action work, he has participated in several Star Trek fan productions, including Star Trek Continues, as Captain James T. Kirk. In music, he has released eight studio albums and eight audio recordings.
In early 2019, following allegations of sexual harassment from both fans and fellow voice actors amid the #MeToo movement, Mignogna was dismissed from Funimation[3] and Rooster Teeth; Mignogna has denied the accusations.[4][5] Mignogna unsuccessfully pursued defamation cases against Funimation and his accusers.[6] Despite a reduction in public appearances following the harassment allegations, Mignogna has continued to participate in conventions and events.[7][5]
Early life
Mignogna was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to Barb Myers.[8][9] He grew up watching cartoons on television. One of his favorites was Speed Racer, a cult classic animated show based on a Japanese comic strip by Tatsuo Yoshida.[10] He was also a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series.[11]
He graduated from Liberty University with a degree in television and film production,[12][13] and taught English and speech at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida.[14] He was a summer seasonal officer with the Ocean City Police Department.[12] In 1990, Mignogna moved to Houston, Texas, where he was a film and video production instructor at The Art Institute of Houston.[15]
Career
Voice acting
Vic Mignogna has voiced characters in over 100 anime and video game titles, including Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Code Geass, Shin-chan, and Hell Girl.[16]
While working in video production with John Gremillion in Houston, Mignogna got involved in voice acting at ADV Films.[9][15] He debuted as Vega in the video game-based anime series Street Fighter II V.[17][9][18][19][20] Mignogna started attending anime conventions, where he contacted Funimation and landed the voice role of Broly in the Dragon Ball Z movies, as well as Dragon Ball Super: Broly.[9][18]
In 2007, the American Anime Awards presented Mignogna with an award for Best Actor for his work on Fullmetal Alchemist.[21][22][23] He often gains attention for his role in Alchemist, and at one point attended between 15 and 25 conventions per year.[17][24] One of Mignogna's career goals was "to record at all of the major places where dubbing is done."[25] He said he was "the first ADV voice actor to record at Funimation in Dallas and then I was the first to go to New York."[25] He has also recorded in Los Angeles; he tried out for Bleach and received the part of Ikkaku Madarame.[26][27] In non-anime productions, he voiced Qrow Branwen in Rooster Teeth's web series RWBY.[28]
Mignogna appeared in several fan productions, including Fullmetal Fantasy[25] and Star Trek: Phase II. In the latter series, he co-directed the episode "Enemy: Starfleet" and played the Andorian Captain. He directed "KITUMBA" and played Malkthon the Klingon, and was slated to direct the episode "Mindsifter."[17][20][29] In 2012, Mignogna worked with the Starship Farragut production group. He directed and starred as Captain James T. Kirk in their web series Star Trek Continues.[30][31][32][33] Mignogna has received positive reviews for writing, directing, executive-producing, and starring in Star Trek Continues, especially for his portrayal of the character of Kirk, using William Shatner's unique mannerisms and cadence.[34][35]
In 2021, he founded his own dubbing studio with convention Anime Matsuri in partnership.[36]
In 2024, Mignogna announced he has partnered with UK talent agency 'Davidson & Co. Talent Agents.'[37]
Music
Mignogna has been involved in music, sound, and video production. As of 2024, he has released eight studio albums and eight audio recordings.[38][39] He has produced hundreds of jingles for commercials,[25] and he was a worship leader with Houston's First Baptist Church.[40][15] He helped produce and arrange some of the songs on DC Talk's eponymous first album, released in 1989.[9][12][15] In 1993, he was a contestant on the American television talent show Star Search, on which he sang "Worth Waiting For."[citation needed] Mignogna has sung the U.S. national anthem at several Houston Astros baseball games.[15] As a musician, he has released several albums, some of which feature English cover versions of anime songs from shows, including the Funimation dub of One Piece and the Dragon Ball series. He also handled some of the ADR direction for the English dub of Claymore, in which he voices Rigaldo.
Personal life
Relationships
Mignogna was previously married to Seliece Womble from 1995 to 2002,[41] and was in a relationship with actress Michele Specht from 2006 to May 2018.[8] On July 24, 2024, during one of his weekly livestreams on Twitch, he announced to his fans that he had gotten married a few weeks prior.[42] On August 15, 2024, it was later revealed that Mignogna had married television personality Dominique Sachse, whom he had first met in their 20s and had reconnected with in 2023.[43] They share a residence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.[5]
Legal battles and sexual harassment allegations
In January 2019, allegations of homophobia and sexual harassment against Mignogna emerged on Twitter via the MeToo movement, coinciding with the English release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which features his voice work.[44][4] The claims, some dating to his 1989 career start, alleged nonconsensual hugging and kissing of fans, including minors.[45][46][47] Voice actresses Monica Rial and Jamie Marchi accused him of harassing them.[1][48][49] Mignogna denied the allegations and expressed regret for any discomfort from his interactions.[4][47][50]
On January 22, 2019, Tammi Denbow, executive director of employee relations at Sony Pictures, started an internal investigation based on reports from Rial, two female fans, and a former Funimation employee.[44] The investigation ended a week later with Mignogna's dismissal, and Funimation announced it would not hire Mignogna for future productions.[44] On February 5, Rooster Teeth cut ties with him.[47][50] On February 11, Funimation recast his role as the Executive in The Morose Mononokean.[51][52][3] Multiple anime conventions removed him from their guest lists.[47][50]
At Bak-Anime 2019 and in a Twitter post, Mignogna expressed regret for unintended discomfort and denied malicious intent.[53] His supporters started a crowdfunding campaign called “Vic Kicks Back,” which raised over $262,000 for his legal defense.[1][54] On Twitter, Mignogna confirmed retaining a law firm for legal action and stated surplus funds would go to the Salvation Army Dallas Domestic Violence Abuse Shelters.[55] Mignogna filed a million-dollar lawsuit for defamation, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy against Funimation, Rial, Marchi, and Rial’s fiancé Ron Toye in Tarrant County District Court.[4][56] Funimation denied Mignogna's allegations in a June 12, 2019, response.[57]
Mignogna was deposed on June 26, 2019.[1] In his deposition, he denied kissing Rial or inappropriate behavior, stating interactions were consensual and misinterpreted.[58] On July 1, 2019, Funimation filed an anti-SLAPP motion under the Texas Citizens Participation Act to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming protected free speech.[59] Rial, Marchi, and Toye filed anti-SLAPP motions on July 19, supported by affidavits from voice actress Kara Edwards, Michele Specht,[14][1] and claims of harassing Mari Iijima.[60] On July 30, an affidavit from the two fans in Funimation's investigation was submitted.[1]
On September 6, 2019, State District Judge John Chupp dismissed 7 of 12 claims under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, ordering Mignogna to pay Marchi's legal fees as protected speech.[61][62] On October 4, 2019, the court dismissed the remaining claims under the act's free speech protection.[63] Mignogna appealed on October 24, with a hearing on November 21.[64] The judge ruled Mignogna must pay defendants' attorney fees of $238,042.42, including $15,000 in sanctions.[65]
In a January 2020 livestream, Mignogna reiterated his innocence and denied forced advances.[66] In February 2022, Rial and Marchi hosted a podcast on the case.[67]
On August 18, 2022, the Texas Second Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal and increased attorneys’ fees to Rial and Toye to $282,953.80 from $100,000.[68] The court denied Mignogna's appeal in September 2022.[69] On November 14, 2022, Mignogna filed a petition for review in the Supreme Court of Texas, which denied it on December 30, 2022.[70][71]
Filmography
Anime
Animation
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Rock 'N Learn series | Bill, Marko the Pencil, others | [205][206] | |
| 2009–10 | Starship Farragut: The Animated Episodes | Shealar, Medical Assistant #1 | Ep. "The Needs of the Many", "Power Source" | [207][208] |
| 2009 | Star Trek: Enterprise - "Crossroads" | James T. Kirk | English dub of German stop-motion fan film | [209][210] |
| 2011 | The Lion of Judah | Raven 1 | [211] | |
| 2015–19 | RWBY | Qrow Branwen | Volumes 3–6 | [28][212] |
| 2017–18 | RWBY Chibi | Qrow Branwen | Season 2-3 | |
| 2024 | Cosmic Dawn | Old Man |
Films
Video games
Live action
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Holly's Story: A Journey to Freedom and Hope | Jim Hudson | [238][239] | |
| 2011 | Fallout: Nuka Break | Merchant/Narrator | [240][241] | |
| 2012–17 | Star Trek Continues | Captain Kirk | Developer, writer, director | [30][33][35] |
| 2012 | Todd of the Rings | Vodo | [242] | |
| 2013 | Star Trek: New Voyages | Andorian Captain, Klingon Commander Malkthon | ||
| 2015 | Star Trek: Renegades | Garis | [243] | |
| 2016 | Fan-O-Rama: A Futurama Fan Film | Zapp Brannigan | [244] | |
| 2017 | Altered Spirits | Skip | aka Broken Spirits | [245] |
Documentary
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Adventures in Voice Acting | Himself | [246] |
Discography
Studio albums
- If These Walls Could Talk (1992)
- Selah – Music for the Quiet Time (2004–2005)
- Metafiction (2006)
- Christmas (2008)
- Selah II (2009)
- Revix (2010) – a remix album of some of his earlier singles
- The Music Of Vic Mignogna (2023)[247]
- Up There Down Here (2024)
Audio recordings
- Gospel of John
- A Howl at the Moon (2014) – audiobook narrator[248]
- In Plain Sight (2020) – audiobook narrator[249]
- The Crimson Spark, Vagabond Legacy, Book 1 (2020) – audiobook narrator[250]
- These Are the Voyages (2021) – audiobook narrator[251]
- Paper Doll (2022) – audiobook narrator[252]
- The Nova Quadrant (2023) – audiobook narrator[253]
- The Opal Embers, Vagabond Legacy, Book 2 (2024) – audiobook narrator[254]
Notes
- 1999 was the year that Mignogna began voice acting for anime dubs for television shows and videos. He has been composing and producing music since DC Talk's album in 1989 and appeared on television in 1993 as a contestant on Star Search.
- The closing credits or manual does not list the voice actors involved.
