Kazuya Nakai

Kazuya Nakai, born in Kobe, Japan, didn’t exactly roll out of bed as a superstar. Actually, the guy was working a regular ol’ job as a civil servant in a tech gig until he hit 25 and thought, “Yeah, this isn’t it.” So, on his days off, he hustled over to voice acting school, grinding through weekends because—why not chase the dream, right? Fun fact: he actually started out narrating before the whole anime world even knew his name. Then, boom, things changed big time when he landed the role of Roronoa Zoro in One Piece. That was the game-changer. Like, talk about leveling up—he absolutely wanted that part and nailed it. Since then, he’s been the voice behind all sorts of legends: Toshiro Hijikata from Gintama, Date Masamune from Sengoku Basara, the wild Mugen in Samurai Champloo, and even Jin Sakai in the Japanese dub of Ghost of Tsushima. The man’s got range, no joke. But he’s not just about the mic. When he’s not slaying it at the studio, Nakai’s out driving, practicing archery, or just chilling with his dog and cat. Honestly, he comes off like someone who figured out how to blend having a blast with totally owning his craft. Not every day you hear about a guy jumping from government work to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in anime, but hey, Nakai made it look easy.