For decades, voice actor Rob Paulsen has been known as one of the most prominent voice actors in animation. Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will recognize him as Raphael from the 1980s series and Donatello in the 2012 animation.
When the hero is out of his half-shell, he's still voicing majorly influential characters throughout the animation universe. Most popularly, the actor voices Yakko in Animaniacs and Pinky from Pinky and the Brain. Rob believes in using his prominence in the voice acting world to bring people joy. His recent book, Voice Lessons, goes into detail about many life experiences that helped him realize how much power there is in the characters he portrays.
He also makes sure to be his best self in his day-to-day life no matter how he feels because he understands that the characters are bigger than him and believes it is his obligation - if not his pleasure - to do his best to make every fan smile. Rob celebrates his voice acting adventures on his current podcast, Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen, featuring guests such as Billy West, John DiMaggio, and of course, The Brain, himself.
You may have caught our last chat with him earlier in the year when he helped us make a special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover video which consisted of Paulsen voicing Raphael to deliver a pizza order to Tohoru Masamune, the actor who played the live-action version of Shredder in the 2014 Michael Bay film. Hilariously, Tohoru actually followed up and ate the pizza - marshmallows, hot fudge, Doritos, and tuna fish all included, which you can see for yourself below.
He still steadily signs merchandise for fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it's not just the turtles that Rob honors, however, as he has recently reprised the roles of both Yakko and Pinky in Animaniacs 2020 and is gearing up to deliver his performance live with Animaniacs In Concert, which kicks off in August.
We spoke with Rob exclusively and will have a very lengthy interview coming your way, but for now, we want to share a special clip showcasing exactly how far Rob is willing to go for his fans. When chatting, we asked a few fan questions, and during one particular shout-out, the legend went into full character as Yakko and sang the updated verse of his famous song Yakko's World.
Check it out below and if you dig hearing Rob/Yakko/Pinky sing, then be sure to catch Animaniacs In Concert when the tour kicks off this august. Be sure to share your thoughts on Rob's shout-out in the usual spot!
The incredible Rob Paulsen sings in the voice of Yakko for a friend of mine, Renee! Renee was hoping to hear him say her name in Yakko's voice, but as the legend always does, he went above and beyond. Performing in character, Rob sang Yakko's World for Renee, and it's something you've got to see for yourself. We'll have the full video interview up soon!
Animaniacs In Concert 2021 will kick off in Phoenix, AZ, on August 28th.