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Steve Blum

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"Steven Blum" redirects here. For other people, see Steven Blum (disambiguation).
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Steve Blum
Blum at the 2023 WonderCon
Born
Steven Jay Blum

(1960-04-29) April 29, 1960 (age 64)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names
OccupationVoice actor
Years active1992–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2017)​
Children3
Websitesteveblumvoices.com

Steven Jay Blum (/bluːm/; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series Cowboy Bebop; Amon from The Legend of Korra; Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and Vilgax from Ben 10; Garazeb Orrelios from Star Wars Rebels; Starscream from Transformers: Prime; Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat franchise; Tank Dempsey from the Call of Duty Zombies franchise; Ares in God of War, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and God of War: Ascension; and Wolverine from Marvel's Wolverine 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.

Early life

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Steven Jay Blum was born on April 29, 1960, to a Jewish family in Santa Monica, California.[2][3][4][5] 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 in Hollywood, 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 of Goofy.[6]

Career

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Blum started his career working at the mail room of film studio Empire 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.[7][8] His credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Zeb Orrelios in Star Wars Rebels, Mugen in Samurai Champloo, Roger Smith from The Big O, Orochimaru, and Zabuza Momochi in Naruto and Wolverine in multiple Marvel productions. In video games, he provided the voice of main protagonist Jack Cayman in MadWorld, Captain Foley and Tank Dempsey in the Call of Duty series, Professor Galvez in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Ares in God of War, and God of War: Ascension, main protagonist Grayson Hunt in Bulletstorm, Brimstone in Valorant, Zoltun Kulle in Diablo III, Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat X and 11, Hal Jordan / Green Lantern in Injustice 2, Rytlock Brimstone in Guild Wars 2, and main protagonist Capt. Devin Ross in Clive Barker's Jericho.

In September 2000, Blum voiced TOM, the robotic host of Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block. He replaced Sonny 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 for 7-Eleven's "Oh Thank Heaven" television and radio advertisements and partnered with Vic Mignogna in the series Real Fans of Genius (a parody of Anheuser-Busch's Real Men of Genius radio ad campaign).

In animation, he is the voice of Heatblast, Ghostfreak and Vilgax in the Ben 10 franchise; Garazeb Orrelios in Star Wars Rebels; Count Vertigo in DC Showcase: Green Arrow and Young Justice; Wolverine, Red Skull, and Beta Ray Bill in Wolverine and the X-Men and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes; Starscream in Transformers: Prime; Heatwave in Transformers: Rescue Bots; and Amon in the first season of the Nickelodeon animated series The Legend of Korra.

On June 5, 2012, he was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the most prolific video game voice actor, having 261 credited appearances as of May 10, 2012.[9][10]

Personal life

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Blum married voice actress Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in 2017.[11] He has three sons from a prior relationship.[12] One of them, Brandon, is also an actor,[13] while another, Jeremy, is a teacher.[14] Blum enjoys collecting reptiles, fish and birds.

Filmography

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Main article: List of Steve Blum performances

References

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  1. ^ "Important words from David Lucas". The Jazz Messengers: A viewer's guide to Cowboy Bebop. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2021. David Lucas explains the reasons for being a separate identity from Steve Blum.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. ^ @blumspew (August 31, 2020). "@XenogearsFei @ToonamiNews I'm Jewish. I've had my life threatened many times because of that. But most people who…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Blum, Steve [@blumspew] (April 28, 2017). "Wow everybody! Thanks for all the amazing BD wishes! Technically not till tomorrow, but now I get to celebrate twice! Love you all!!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 4, 2017 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Talking Toons With Rob Paulsen: Episode 53 with Guest: Steve Blum". Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen. August 10, 2012. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020. Timestamps: (00:59:19) Blum states that he is 52 at the time of the podcast airing.
  5. ^ Blum, Steve [@blumspew] (August 7, 2012). "@BrettAnthony2 Yes, why? Is my kreplach showing?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Steve's Personal Story". February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Steve Blum - from Out of the Mailroom". November 4, 2016. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Crystal Acids Steve Blum Page". Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  9. ^ Ransom, Ko (June 7, 2012). "Voice Actor Steven Blum Receives Guinness Record for Game Roles". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  10. ^ "'Legend of Korra' Voice Actor Steve Blum Sets Guinness Record for Most Game VO Roles". MTV Geek. Viacom. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  11. ^ "Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Series Finale Q & A with Dave Filoni & Cast". youtube.com. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "Steve Blum – My Life of Dad". lifeofdad.com. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  13. ^ @blumspew (March 11, 2019). "Hey everybody! My son, Brandon Blum is a part of this wonderful production. Saw the stage read. It's hilarious, ins…" (Tweet). Retrieved October 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ @blumspew (May 8, 2018). "My son Jeremy Blum chose to become a full time teacher and I know the educational ripples he's creating will affect…" (Tweet). Retrieved October 19, 2019 – via Twitter.

Books cited

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Blum.
Preceded by Voice of Starscream
2010–present 		Succeeded by
Preceded by English voice of Crash Bandicoot
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Actor portrayed/voiced Wolverine
2008–present 		Succeeded by
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