One Piece first aired in 1999, with the manga beginning in 1997. During that time, nobody thought it was going to be the highest-selling manga and most-watched anime of all time. With One Piece Live Action making its debut, it became the most-watched series on the first day of its release. It was streamed in more than 84 countries.
The One Piece anime is full of surprises. The fans love every element of it. But the surprise is not only for the fans. One of the main character’s English voice actors was surprised when she was called for the audition. The voice actor is none other than Colleen Clinkenbeard. As a woman, she thought she would audition for Nami or Robin. But she was told to audition for Monkey D. Luffy.
Colleen Clinkenbeard Voiced Monkey D. Luffy
Colleen Clinkenbeard was born on 13th April 1980 in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. She is a professional voice actor, line producer, and writer working for the anime-dubbing company Funimation and ADR Director. But among all these, the best thing in Colleen Clinkenbeard’s resume is giving voice to the main character of One Piece anime, Monkey D. Luffy. She has given voice to Monkey D. Luffy for more than 15 years.
Also Read: Every Pirate We Want in Netflix’s One Piece Season 2, Ranked
During an interview, Clinkenbeard revealed that even she did not know who she was going to give voice to. After Mike McFarland called her for the audition, she thought it was going to be Nami or Nico Robin. Nonetheless, she was excited because these were great characters. Later, she was asked to voice Monkey D. Luffy, which caused her heart to beat faster.
Colleen Clinkenbeard said,
“Oh my goodness, [that’s] so specific for 15, 16 years ago. The audition process was a little bit different than it had been since I’d gotten to Funimation. We knew a little bit more about the show. There was buzz. Everybody knew that this was supposed to be somewhat bigger than the things that we had done before.”
She added,
“When Mike called me in to audition — Mike McFarland was the director — called me in to audition, and I assumed that I was auditioning for Robin and Nami. So that’s what I concentrated on reading. And then he actually asked me to read for Luffy, which sent my heart right through the roof, and I went away to practice those lines more. I have no idea what lines they were, and I was not yet very comfortable with a boy voice.”
“It wasn’t something that I’d done a ton before, but I had just recently done my first boy voice for a lead for a different studio. I guess he got the idea from that, that I was able to do it, so he auditioned me. And I could tell that he was actually considering it just because he asked me specifically to read that role. So yeah, I don’t think my heart rate went down until I found out.”
Despite the initial hesitation, the voice actor managed to do a great job voicing Luffy, and fans cannot imagine a different voice for Luffy apart from Clinkenbeard’s
Colleen Clinkenbeard On One Piece World
One Piece Film: Red is the latest One Piece movie to hit the big screen. During Clinkenbeard’s interview, she said that the movie is deep since it goes to Monkey D. Luffy’s roots. After such a long journey, looking back to the past is an experience. She believes that Going Merry’s death was the darkest point in Luffy’s journey.
Even though she is officially a Straw Hat, she was more into Ninja stuff. The Pirate stuff eventually grew on her. Colleen Clinkenbeard is loved worldwide for her voice. But it is incredible to think that the character that gave her recognition isn’t the one she prepared for.
Source: Slash Film
