Steve Blum | |
|---|---|
 Blum at the 2023WonderCon | |
| Born | Steven Jay Blum (1960-04-29)April 29, 1960 (age 64) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | steveblumvoices |
Steven Jay Blum (/bluːm/; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his roles includeSpike Spiegel from theanime seriesCowboy Bebop;Amon fromThe Legend of Korra; Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and Vilgax fromBen 10;Garazeb Orrelios fromStar Wars Rebels;Starscream fromTransformers: Prime;Sub-Zero from theMortal Kombat franchise; Tank Dempsey from theCall of Duty Zombies franchise; Ares inGod of War,God of War: Ghost of Sparta, andGod of War: Ascension; andWolverine fromMarvel'sWolverine and the X-Men,Marvel Anime: X-Men, and various other projects featuring the character.
He is sometimes credited as David Lucas, Richard Cardona, Roger Canfield, Tom Baron, and Daniel Andrews in various anime and other live-action appearances.
Steven Jay Blum was born on April 29, 1960, to aJewish family inSanta Monica, California.[1][2][3][4] As a child, Blum was overweight and bullied. To cope with these struggles, he would often draw, sculpt and create music. He would also often go outside and observe nature, marveling at sounds, shapes, and colors. When he was 12 years old, Blum worked at the comic section of his grandfather’s book store inHollywood, California where he would sort and catalogue titles. He was a huge fan of cartoons and would often do impressions. Blum started doing impressions by request after leaving a voicemail with the voice ofGoofy.[5]
Blum started his career working at the mail room of film studioEmpire International Pictures. The head of the mailroom offered him a job on a “Japananimation” project since he had the deepest voice. Blum would eventually become head of marketing at a studio while doing voice acting on the side before deciding to become a voice actor full time.[6][7] His credits include the voice ofSpike Spiegel inCowboy Bebop, Zeb Orrelios inStar Wars Rebels, Mugen inSamurai Champloo,Roger Smith fromThe Big O,Orochimaru, and Zabuza Momochi inNaruto andWolverine in multipleMarvel productions. In video games, he provided the voice of main protagonist Jack Cayman inMadWorld, Captain Foley and Tank Dempsey in theCall of Duty series, Professor Galvez inMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Ares inGod of War, andGod of War: Ascension, main protagonist Grayson Hunt inBulletstorm, Brimstone inValorant, Zoltun Kulle inDiablo III,Sub-Zero inMortal Kombat X and11,Hal Jordan / Green Lantern inInjustice 2, Rytlock Brimstone inGuild Wars 2, and main protagonist Capt. Devin Ross inClive Barker's Jericho.
In September 2000, Blum voiced TOM, the robotic host ofCartoon Network'sToonami programming block. He replacedSonny Strait in the character's subsequent appearances, until the cancellation of Toonami in 2008. When Toonami was revived on March 31, 2012, he returned as the voice of TOM. He is also the announcer for7-Eleven's "Oh Thank Heaven" television and radio advertisements and partnered withVic Mignogna in the seriesReal Fans of Genius (a parody ofAnheuser-Busch'sReal Men of Genius radio ad campaign).
In animation, he is the voice of Heatblast, Ghostfreak and Vilgax in theBen 10 franchise;Garazeb Orrelios inStar Wars Rebels;Count Vertigo inDC Showcase: Green Arrow andYoung Justice;Wolverine,Red Skull, andBeta Ray Bill inWolverine and the X-Men andThe Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes;Starscream inTransformers: Prime; Heatwave inTransformers: Rescue Bots; andAmon inthe first season of the Nickelodeon animated seriesThe Legend of Korra.
On June 5, 2012, he was awarded aGuinness World Record for being the most prolific video game voice actor, having 261 credited appearances as of May 10, 2012.[8][9]
Blum married voice actressMary Elizabeth McGlynn in 2017.[10] He has three sons from a prior relationship.[11] One of them, Brandon, is also an actor,[12] while another, Jeremy, is a teacher.[13] Blum enjoys collecting reptiles, fish and birds.
| Preceded by | Voice ofStarscream 2010–present | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | English voice ofCrash Bandicoot 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Actor portrayed/voicedWolverine 2008–present | Succeeded by |
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