With more and more conventions transitioning from in-person to online, Crunchyroll unveiled their Virtual Crunchyroll Expo (VCRX) that will be hosted from September 4th- 6th, 2020. One of their special guests is voice-actor, script adaptor, and director Patrick Seitz. You can recognize his voice work from hit English dubs of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, One Piece, and My Hero Academia. His panel will be called “A Conversation with Patrick Seitz” with host, Mario Bueno. Bueno is a vocalist, actor, producer, and founder of Digital Era Entertainment.
Seitz has been working in the industry since as early as 2000 and has worked everything from anime to video games. Some of his most notable video game voice acting is Dracula (Castlevania), Jeritza (Fire Emblem Three Houses), and Scorpion (Mortal Kombat). He has, also, lent his talents across so many other popular anime such as Ouran High School Host Club, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Dragon Ball Super. But the voice that stands out for me is Dio Brando.
I am personally a huge JJBA fan and Dio Brando is one of my favorite characters. Despite Dio being one of the main antagonists of the series, Dio is written so well that fans, like myself, love to hate him/hate to love him. I usually watch anime with subs however, Seitz’s Dio Brando is harsh, unhinged, and energetic that I have to watch the dub. He embodies the essence of greed, charisma, and jealously in part 3. Within this interview, he goes over his favorite characteristic of Dio, how he prepared for the role, and how he felt doing it.
Ahead of his VCRX panel, we spoke with Seitz via email about his voice work in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and how it feels to bring someone so bad to life.
But Why Tho: You bring such an amazing and intimidating energy to Dio Brando as a character. How do you prepare yourself to embody his sheer evil in Part 3?
Patrick Seitz: Thankfully, Dio spends so much of Part 3 sitting in the dark, reading books and talking crap about his henchmen. He’s saving his energy for the last two episodes, where he decides to go out and deal with the Joestars himself—in huge, overblown Dio style. Going into a session like that, you make peace with the fact that whatever energy you’ve brought to the table is about to get used up in its entirety. There’s no holding back when it’s time to voice Dio…!
But Why Tho: With JJBA being a quick cult classic, what drew you to the role of Dio and how did it feel taking on such an iconic role?
Patrick Seitz: He’s so delicious and broad and villainous! That’s actor catnip right there! It felt great to get to play him. 🙂
But Why Tho: Dio Brando is a beloved villain within the anime community because of his charm and cruelty, what is your favorite character trait of his?
Patrick Seitz: I think his singularity of focus is my favorite trait. His jealousy and envy are so petty and unwarranted, but the fact that he doubles down and pursues his vendetta so wholeheartedly almost makes it noble. He could do pretty much anything in the world, with all the brains and ambition he brings to the table, but he pisses away his gifts for something so venal. Short of my schedule opening up in a major way and my having the time to do theater again, Dio is probably the closest I’ll come to getting to play Iago from “Othello”.
“A Conversation with Patrick Seitz” convention panel will have Patrick Seitz discuss his life and work while exploring his connections with anime. He will discuss his involvement with voice-acting over the past 20 years. Not only does he do voice-work, but he will be going over his script-adapting and directing. Some of his prominent screen-adapting credits are for the English dubs of Summer Wars, Aggretsuko, and Wolf Children. There are also many Japanese Role Playing Games that he has directed.
“A Conversation with Patrick Seitz” will take place Friday, September 4th from 12:30 – 1:15 PST on the Hiam Stage. Be sure to grab your free passes to VCRX by heading to Crunchyroll’s Expo page here.
