David Kaye is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known for animation roles such as two versions of Megatron throughout five of the Transformers series (Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron), Optimus Prime in Transformers: Animated, Professor X in X-Men: Evolution, Cronus in Class of the Titans, Khyber in Ben 10: Omniverse, several characters in Avengers Assemble, and Duckworth in the reboot of DuckTales. He is also known for anime roles including Sesshōmaru in Inuyasha and Treize Khushrenada in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and video game roles such as Clank in the Ratchet & Clank series, Nathan Hale in the Resistance series, and Ford Cruller in the Psychonauts series. He is also the announcer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO and voiced the Celestial Arishem in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals. He did voice work for various other studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for many years while occasionally doing voice work in Los Angeles, California, US, before fully relocating there in 2007.
Early life During the 1980s, Kaye moved to Vancouver to work in radio. He also did theatre, playing George in a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Elwood P. Dowd in a production of Harvey.069 – David Kaye on Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen – Weekly Voice Acting and Voice Over Tips . techjives.net. December 7, 2012
Career
Kaye's voice acting career began in 1989 with General Hawk in the DiC animated series G.I. Joe. Working as an on-air talent for radio station CKLG (LG73), he quickly became less interested as both on-camera and voice roles started taking up more of his time. On-camera opportunities came in the form of guest roles on TV series and movies such as The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, and Happy Gilmore. During this time, he was cast in several animation shows and video games, including a role as Megatron in Beast Wars. This began a decades-long relationship with the Transformers franchise. In 2007, Kaye became the first and (as of 2021) only actor in the franchise to play both Megatron and Optimus Prime in regular roles, voicing the latter for Cartoon Network's Transformers: Animated. He also lent his voice to the later series Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
In anime, Kaye has been the voice behind Sesshomaru in the English dubbed Inuyasha series, Treize Khushrenada in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Recoome in Dragon Ball Z (1996–98) and as Soun Tendo in Ranma ½. His involvement in anime has led to several appearances at conventions. Kaye later moved to Los Angeles and has since worked on Ben 10: Omniverse as the villain Khyber, on Regular Show as Reginald, and on Xiaolin Chronicles as Clay Bailey, F-Bot, and Chase Young. He has voiced several characters on the Avengers Assemble animated series and Max Tennyson in the reboot of Ben 10. He shared the role of the Stretch Monster with Miguel Ferrer in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, and also succeeded Ferrer as Vandal Savage in Young Justice: Outsiders following his death.
Kaye also narrates film trailers and network promos for ABC, Fox, The CW, National Geographic, TLC, FX, and others.
Personal life Kaye and his wife, Maria Hope, have a daughter named Tianna.
Filmography Animation YearTitleRoleNotes1996–1999Beast Wars: TransformersMegatron1997Kleo the Misfit UnicornVarious voices A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.Mummies Alive!Talos3 episodesReBootHead SpectralEpisode: "Where No Sprite Has Gone Before"1998Fat Dog MendozaVarious voices1999–2000Beast Machines: TransformersMegatron, Noble2000–2001D'Myna LeaguesBarry, Dave Maven2000–2003X-Men: EvolutionProfessor X, ApocalypseMain role2000–2004Yvon of the YukonVarious voices2000–2006Kong: The Animated SeriesRamon de la Porta, Lex, News Anchor2003Harvey Birdman, Attorney at LawOfficers, Police GuardEpisode: "Deadomutt"2005 The Cramp TwinsNewscaster, ManEpisode: "News Whale"Stroker & HoopAnsel, AnnouncerEpisode: "Just Voodoo It"Being IanJousting AnnouncerEpisode: "Joust Kidding Around"2005–2006Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island!Bunga Berry, various voices 2006Tom and Jerry TalesMauricioEpisode: "Feeding Time"2006–2008Class of the TitansChronos, Arges, Logus, various voices2007Fantastic Four: World's Greatest HeroesIron ManEpisode: "Shell Games"2007–2009Transformers: AnimatedOptimus Prime, Lugnut, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, various voices2009Iron Man: Armored AdventuresFin Fang FoomEpisode: "Tales of Suspense"2009–2010The Twisted Whiskers ShowDander2010 The Marvelous Misadventures of FlapjackCaptain SantiagoEpisode: "These Boots Were Made for Walking (On Your Face)"DC Super FriendsSuperman, Hawkman2010–2017Regular ShowVarious voices2011Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes UnitedShocksquatchTelevision film2012Star Wars: The Clone WarsGeneral Tandin2 episodesTransformers: PrimeHardshell, Trooper The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest HeroesSupreme IntelligenceEpisode: "Live Kree or Die"2012–2014Ben 10: OmniverseKhyber, Shocksquatch, Cannonbolt, Gravattack, Heatblast, Swampfire, Skurd, Lord Transyl, Sunder, Frankenstrike, Joseph Chadwick, Gar Red Wind, Exo-Skull, Mole-Stache, Mallice, Thumbskull, Deefus Veeblepister, George Washington2012–2019Avengers AssembleVision, J.A.R.V.I.S., Baron Zemo, Corvus Glaive, Space Phantom, Blood Brother #1, additional voices2013–2014Xiaolin ChroniclesClay Bailey, Chase Young, various voicesDC Nation ShortsShazam, Bizarro, Ibac2014Ultimate Spider-ManJ.A.R.V.I.S.Episode: "The Avenging Spider-Man"2014–2024Teen Titans Go!Death, Ferryman, Whimsy Robin, Whimsy Cyborg, Dragon, Wizard of Weakness, Abraham Lincoln, Superman, various voices 2015–2016TripTankPolice Dispatcher, Pilot, Interrogator2 episodesBe Cool, Scooby-Doo!Various voices2015–2017Transformers: Robots in DisguiseSlashmark, Hammerstrike, Race AnnouncerGuardians of the GalaxyCorvus Glaive, Nova Corps Controller2015–2019We Bare BearsVarious voices2016–2021Ben 10Max Tennyson, Lord Decibel, LaGrange, Shock-O, Shock Rock, Humungousaur, various voices 2017–2018Stretch Armstrong and the Flex FightersStretch Monster, Epsilon Interviewer3 episodes2018Legend of the Three CaballerosVarious voices2018–2019Trolls: The Beat Goes On!King Peppy, various voices2018–2021DuckTalesDuckworth, Rhutt Betlam2019–2022Young JusticeVandal Savage, Elongated Man, Arion, Ryus Nereus, Steve Lombard, Kirby JacobsGreen Eggs and HamVarious voices2020–2022Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?Various voices2021–2022He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseCringer / Battle Cat2024Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission DemolitionVision, Hot Dog Suit VendorDisney+ Television SpecialWhat If...?Arishem the JudgeEpisode: "What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?"2025Iron Man and His Awesome FriendsVision
Anime YearTitleRoleNotes1986–1987Maison IkkokuSoichiro Otonashi1988–1989Ronin WarriorsNarrator, Ancient One1989–1991Ranma ½Soun Tendo1993Fatal Fury 2: The New BattleKim Kaphwan1994–1997Key the Metal IdolTomoyo Wakagi1995–1996Mobile Suit Gundam WingTreize Khushrenada1997Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' RevengePyron1997–2001Dragon Ball ZRecoomeOcean Productions dub1998Eat-ManBolt CrankEpisode: "Bye Bye Aimie"1999–2001Monster RancherMonol, Captain Clay, Celius, End Bringer, Moo2000–2004InuyashaSesshōmaru2002Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone ComplexBatouTokyo UndergroundPairon, Narrator2002–2004MegaMan NT WarriorProtoMan.EXE2003–2004Transformers: ArmadaMegatron, Galvatron2004Transformers: EnergonMegatron, Galvatron2005–2006Transformers: CybertronMegatron, Galvatron2020–2021YashahimeSesshōmaru
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2014–presentLast Week Tonight with John OliverAnnouncerVoice Film YearTitleRoleNotes1994Fatal Fury: The Motion PictureKim Kaphwan1996Super KidRockpileEnglish dubAdventures of MowgliAkelaEnglish dub1998Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The MovieCupid2000Casper's Haunted ChristmasNarrator2002Barbie as RapunzelHugo, General2004Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across TimeSesshomaru2005Hot Wheels: AcceleRacersDeezel "Pork Chop" Riggs2006 The Ant BullySleeping Ant, Guard Ant, Wrangler AntInuyasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic IslandSesshomaruBarbie in the 12 Dancing PrincessesRoyal Doctor, SentryKong: Return to the JungleRamon de la Porta2007Barbie as the Island PrincessGuardMax Steel: Dark RivalWarren Hunter2008Barbie: MariposaRoyal Guard 2009UpNewsreel AnnouncerSing Along with BarbieAdditional voices2011Night of the Living CarrotsThe Missing Link2013Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes UnitedJ.A.R.V.I.S.2014Edge of TomorrowUDF Commercial Iron Man & Captain America: Heroes UnitedJ.A.R.V.I.S., Computer Voice The Hero of Color CityBlack, King Scrawl2015Scooby-Doo! and the Beach BeastieGrafton Blackstone2016Ratchet & ClankClank Shooting an Elephant Narrator Short film2018Teen Titans Go! To the MoviesAnnouncer, Trailer VoiceScooby-Doo! and the Gourmet GhostHenry Metcalf, Edward Du Flay2020Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The MovieAzmuth2021EternalsArishem the JudgeDC Showcase: Blue BeetleQuestion2024Justice League: Crisis on Infinite EarthsQuestion, Satellite, Cardonian Lantern
Video games YearTitleRoleNotes1997JumpStart 1st Grade MathCaptain Hop, Spider Maestro2002Ratchet & ClankClank, Bob, Blarg Scientist, Scrap Merchant2003Impossible CreaturesUpton Julius, HenchmanRatchet & Clank: Going CommandoClank, Hypnotist Head, EmployeeMobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in SpaceSoldiers, Pilots2004Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance IIHabdazar Doomwing, Artemis, Dorn RedbearPitfall: The Lost ExpeditionJonathan St. Claire, GrahamTransformersMegatronHot Shots Golf Fore!ClankRatchet & Clank: Up Your ArsenalInuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed MaskSesshomaru2005PsychonautsFord Cruller, Hulking Lungfish, Captain O'LungfishInuyasha: Feudal CombatSesshomaruRatchet: DeadlockedClank, Robot C2007Ratchet & Clank: Size MattersClankRatchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction2009Terminator SalvationO'Grady, Resistance Helicopter PilotWhere the Wild Things AreCarolRatchet & Clank Future: A Crack in TimeClank2010Spider-Man: Shattered DimensionsMysterio2011PlayStation Move HeroesClankDead IslandLogan CarterRatchet & Clank: All 4 OneClankBatman: Arkham CityCommissioner Jim Gordon2012Ben 10: OmniverseKhyber, Heatblast, Cannonbolt, Gravattack, Shocksquatch, ArachnoidPlayStation All-Stars Battle RoyaleClankRatchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault2013 The CaveWeight Guesser, Roulette Barker, MagicianDead Island: RiptideLogan CarterFuseLyndon Burgess, Scientist, Pilot The Wolf Among UsDr. SwineheartBen 10: Omniverse 2Cannonbolt, Gravattack, SwampfireRatchet & Clank: Into the NexusClank, Stone Stonefield2014Disney Infinity 2.0J.A.R.V.I.S., Mysterio2015Disney Infinity 3.0Vision2016AdriftSamuel HockingRatchet & ClankClank, Dallas Wannamaker, Announcer, Warbot2017Super Bomberman RClankLawBreakersAEGISMarvel vs. Capcom: InfiniteJedah2019Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black OrderCorvus Glaive, Vision, Mysterio2021Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartClankPsychonauts 2Ford Cruller, Ride Operator, Strawberry, AudienceNickelodeon All-Star BrawlPowdered Toast Man2022Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime SpeedwayStar Ocean: The Divine ForceRemington Kurtzman2023Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2Powdered Toast ManCookie Run: The Darkest NightDarkest Lord Cookie, Elder Gnome
References
External links
Interview with David Kaye – Jan 2004