Yuri Lowenthal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yuri Lowenthal
Lowenthal at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1971-03-05) March 5, 1971 (age 54) Alliance, Ohio, U.S.
Other names	Sean Roberts Jimmy Benedict
Education	College of William and Mary (BA) New York University
Occupation	Voice actor producer screenwriter
Years active	1995–present
Works	Full list
Spouse(s)	Tara Platt ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	1

Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971) is an American voice actor. He is famous for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. He has voiced many popular characters that you might know.

Some of his well-known video game roles include Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel's Spider-Man series. He also voiced The Prince in Prince of Persia and The Protagonist in Persona 3. Other roles include Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4 and Dainsleif in Genshin Impact.

In animation and anime, he is known as Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto. He also voiced teenage Ben Tennyson in Ben 10. Other major roles include Jinnosuke in Afro Samurai, Simon in Gurren Lagann, and Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass.

Yuri Lowenthal also has a production company called Monkey Kingdom Productions with his wife, Tara Platt. They have made several films and a web series. He also helped write a book called Voice-Over Voice Actor.

Early Life and Education

Yuri Lowenthal was born in Alliance, Ohio, on March 5, 1971. He grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and later moved to Northern Virginia. His father worked for the United States Agency for International Development. Because of this, Yuri spent two years living in Niger, Africa.

He did not act much until his last year of high school. He tried a drama class and became very interested in acting. His first experiences with anime were shows like Speed Racer and Star Blazers.

He went to The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. There, he took theater classes but studied East Asian cultures. During his third year, he studied abroad in Osaka, Japan. After college, he worked in Japan for two years, helping foreign English teachers. He continued acting in plays there.

After returning, he moved to New York City to pursue acting full-time. He spent six years acting in plays and independent films in New York.

Voice-Over Career Highlights

Yuri Lowenthal moved to Los Angeles to continue acting. He and his wife, Tara Platt, took a voice-over class. This led to his first anime voice role in SD Gundam Force. Soon, he started getting many other voice-over jobs in cartoons, commercials, and video games.

Voicing the Prince in Video Games

His first big video game role was as the Prince in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. He felt very lucky to get this role because it became a very popular game. He said he felt like he "originated" the character.

He did not voice the Prince in the next game, Warrior Within. However, fans wanted him back, so he returned for The Two Thrones. He also voiced the Prince again in The Forgotten Sands. This role became one of his favorites.

Anime and Cartoon Roles

Lowenthal continued to voice characters in many anime shows. He was the main character Haru Glory in Rave Master. He also voiced characters in Zatch Bell! and Girls Bravo.

One of his most famous anime roles is Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto. He tried out for several roles in Naruto and was called back for Sasuke. He said that playing Sasuke allowed him to explore "dark places" as the story continued, making the character more interesting and fun to play. Naruto became very popular in the U.S.

In 2007, he voiced Jinnosuke, also known as "Kuma," in the anime movie Afro Samurai. Kuma is a warrior with a teddy bear head. Lowenthal enjoyed playing Jinno because the character changes a lot and is a "twin-sword-wielding insane cyborg death machine." He also voiced Jinno again in the 2009 movie Afro Samurai: Resurrection.

Other important anime roles include Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass and Simon in Gurren Lagann.

Becoming Superman and Ben Tennyson

In 2006, Lowenthal was chosen to voice Superman in the animated series Legion of Super Heroes. He originally auditioned for other characters but was asked to read for Superman. He got the main role.

In 2008, he became the voice of 15-year-old Ben Tennyson in Ben 10: Alien Force. This show was set five years after the original Ben 10 series. The show was very successful and led to more series like Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse. In Ultimate Alien, Ben's age increased to 16. Lowenthal realized how popular Ben 10 was worldwide when he saw kids wearing merchandise in other countries.

Lowenthal at the Phoenix Comicon in 2013

More Video Game Success

Lowenthal has voiced many characters in video games. He voiced Zane in Lego Ninjago: Nindroids in 2014. He also voiced the protagonist in Persona 3 and Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4.

He is also the voice of Cecil Harvey in the Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy IV. In the Dead or Alive series, he voices Hayate / Ein. He also voiced Matt Miller in Saints Row: The Third and its sequel.

Since 2020, he has voiced Dainsleif in Genshin Impact. He also voiced Lorath Nahr in Diablo III.

One of his most recognized roles is Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the Marvel's Spider-Man series for PlayStation. He first voiced Spider-Man in 2018 and continued the role in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023). He had also voiced Spider-Man in earlier mobile games.

In 2023, Lowenthal voiced Benni Baro in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Later that year, he voiced Tomas Vrbada / Smoke in Mortal Kombat 1. In early 2024, he was one of the voices for the "Default Helldiver Voice 2" in Helldivers 2.

Acting and Production Work

Yuri Lowenthal and his wife Tara Platt have worked on several live-action projects through their company, Monkey Kingdom Productions. They produced a film called Tumbling After. In 2011, they created Shelf Life, a web series where they play action figures in a world similar to Toy Story. They also made a short film called Topsy McGee vs. the Sky Pirates.

He is also a key voice in the horror podcast Old Gods of Appalachia, where he voices The Railroad Man.

In 2010, Lowenthal starred as the main character in Van Von Hunter. This was a live-action mockumentary based on a comic book. He played a barbarian from a fantasy world who ends up on Earth.

He also helped write the script for The Arcadian, a science fiction film. In 2015, he joined Wil Wheaton's web series Titansgrave, where he played a character named S'Lethkk. In 2016, he starred in the film The Phoenix Incident, about people who encounter aliens.

He and Tara Platt co-wrote a book called Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind the Mic, released in 2010.

Personal Life

Lowenthal and his wife Tara Platt in 2016

Yuri Lowenthal met actress Tara Platt while working on a film project. They played a couple in a romantic comedy. Six months later, he proposed to her, and they got married in Las Vegas in 2001. They started their company, Monkey Kingdom Productions, in 2004. Their son was born in 2016.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Yuri Lowenthal para niños