Liam Christopher O'Brien (born May 28, 1976) is an American voice actor, writer, and director. He is a regular cast member of the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' actual play series ''

Critical Role ''Critical Role'' is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The show started streaming partway through the cast's first campaign in March 2015. Campaign one ended in October 2017 after ...

,'' playing Vax'ildan ("Vax"), Caleb Widogast, and Orym. He has been involved in many video games, cartoons, and English-language adaptations of Japanese anime. His major anime roles include

Gaara is a character in the ''Naruto'' manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Originally debuting as an antagonist, Gaara is a shinobi affiliated with Sunagakure and is the son of Sunagakure's leader, the Fourth Kazekage. He was born a ...

in ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'', Vincent Law in ''

Ergo Proxy ''Ergo Proxy'' is a Japanese cyberpunk anime television series, produced by Manglobe, directed by Shūkō Murase and written by Dai Satō. The series ran for 23 episodes from February to August 2006 on the Wowow satellite network. It is set ...

'', Captain

Jushiro Ukitake This is a list of featured in the manga and anime series ''Bleach'', created by Tite Kubo. Soul Reapers are a fictional race of spirits who govern the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife realm called the ''Soul Society''. The ...

in ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

'', Lloyd in ''

Code Geass , often referred to simply as ''Code Geass'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. Set ...

'',

Kenzo Tenma The manga series ''Monster'' features a cast of characters created by Naoki Urasawa. The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Germany whose life enters turmoil after getting himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of h ...

in '' Monster'', Akihiko Sanada in ''

Persona 3 released outside Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3'', is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. Atlus orig ...

'', and Nephrite in the

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

dub of ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

''. In cartoons, O'Brien has voiced characters in shows such as ''

Star Wars Rebels ''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D animation, 3D animated science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation and set in the ''Star Wars'' universe. It takes place over a decade after ''Episode ...

'', '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise'', '' Avengers Assemble'', '' Wolverine and the X-Men'', and ''

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. ''Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' is an American animated television series based on the superhero character by Marvel Comics. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on Disney XD as part of the ''Marvel Universe'' block, and ended on June 2 ...

''. In video games, he voiced

Gollum Gollum is a fictional Tolkien's monsters, character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 Fantasy (genre), fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gol ...

in '' Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor'' and '' its sequel'', Caius Ballad in ''

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in 2011 in Japan and 2012 in North America and PAL regions, and was ported to Microsoft Windows in 2014 and iOS and Android ...

'' and '' Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII'', War in ''

Darksiders ''Darksiders'' is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mank ...

'', Asura in ''

Asura's Wrath is an action video game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Capcom. It was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 2010, and was released worldwide in February 2012. The game was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game follo ...

'',

Ieyasu Tokugawa was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

in '' Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes'',

Illidan Stormrage Illidan Stormrage is a fictional character who appears in the ''Warcraft'' series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Born a night elf and sorcerer, his pursuit of power led him to commit several horrific acts against his own people, which ...

in ''

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...

'' and ''

Heroes of the Storm ''Heroes of the Storm'' is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS on June 2, 2015. The game features various characters from Bli ...

'', Yasuo in ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'', Grimoire Weiss in ''

NieR ''Nier'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April 2010. In Japan, the game was released as for the PlayStation 3 with a younger main character, while an ...

'' and '' Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...'', the Warden in ''

For Honor ''For Honor'' is an action game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game allows players to play the roles of historical forms of soldiers and warriors such as knights, samurai, vikings, controlled using a third-person perspective. The game ...

'', and Barker in ''

Titanfall 2 ''Titanfall 2'' is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. A sequel to 2014's '' Titanfall'', the game was released worldwide on October 28, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and ...

''. He is an automated dialog replacement writer for anime and has provided voice direction for over 300 episodes of anime such as ''

''. He has also voice directed for video games such as ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel (The Last of Us), Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (The Last of Us), Ell ...

'', '' Evolve'', ''

Resident Evil 5 ''Resident Evil 5'' is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor ''Resident Evil 4'' was released. ' ...

'', and ''

Resident Evil 6 ''Resident Evil 6'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. A major installment in the '' Resident Evil'' series, ''Resident Evil 6'' was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2012, and for ...

''.http://www.sacanime.com/?page_id=4445

Early life

Liam Christopher O'Brien was born in

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...

, on May 28, 1976. His mother, Lois Wiltse O'Brien, worked as an educator as well as a quality assurance trainer and consultant. He has a sister named Cara. His family were Reformed Christians, and he was "raised by a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

mother and attended 15 years of Christian schooling", but would later describe himself as

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

. He began acting in high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to attend the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ar ...

, he worked in theater on various productions around the country. He met

Crispin Freeman Crispin Freeman is an American voice actor, voice director, and screenwriter who is best known for voicing characters in English-language dubs of Japanese anime, animation, and video games. Some of his prominent anime roles include Zelgadis Grayw ...

while working on a production of ''

Romeo & Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, which helped him get voice-over work back in New York.

Career

O'Brien affirms that he often plays characters that are insane or evil geniuses, although he has also voiced comedic characters such as Fukuyama in ''

Girls Bravo is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mario Kaneda and serialized from 2000 to 2005 in '' Shōnen Ace'' by Kadokawa Shoten. The story focuses on a high school boy who is allergic to girls who is transported to a mysterious w ...

''. He describes Cumore from ''

Tales of Vesperia is an action role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio. The tenth mainline entry in the '' Tales'' series, it was released for the Xbox 360 and published in Japan and North America by Namco Bandai Games in 2008, and in European territor ...

'' as "slightly unhinged". In ''

'', he voices the lead character War, one of the

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

. He describes his voicing as deeper than his usual voice, and that he portrayed War as a fairly old soul who isn't surprised at the events around him. In the video game-based film '' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'', he voiced

Red XIII ''Final Fantasy VII'', a role-playing video game developed by Square (now Square Enix) and originally released in 1997, features many fictional characters in both major and minor roles. ''VII'' has been followed by multiple sequels and prequels ...

. In addition to voice acting, he has worked as a voice director and writer on various video games and anime shows. He is also a cast member of the popular web series ''

'', in which he and other voice actors play ''

''. ''Critical Role'' was both the Webby Winner and the People's Voice Winner in the "Games (Video Series & Channels)" category at the 2019

Webby Awards The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...

; the show was also both a Finalist and the Audience Honor Winner at the 2019

Shorty Awards The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...

. After becoming hugely successful, the ''Critical Role'' cast left the Geek & Sundry network in early 2019 and set up their own production company, Critical Role Productions. Soon after, they aimed to raise $750,000 on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

to create an animated series of their first campaign, but ended up raising over $11 million. In November 2019,

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

announced that they had acquired the streaming rights to this animated series, now titled ''

The Legend of Vox Machina ''The Legend of Vox Machina'' is an American adult animated fantasy television series produced by Critical Role Productions, Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022. It is based on camp ...

;'' O'Brien reprised his role as Vax'ildan. In June 2021, O'Brien was added to the cast of ''

Exandria Unlimited ''Exandria Unlimited'' (''ExU'') is an American actual play anthology web series where the cast plays ''Dungeons & Dragons'' using the fifth edition ruleset. It is set in the Exandria campaign setting and is a spin-off of the web series ''Critica ...

'', a spinoff of ''Critical Role''. O'Brien is also one of the narrators for the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

edition of the novel '' Critical Role: Vox Machina – Kith & Kin'' (2021).

Personal life

O'Brien married voice actress Amy Kincaid in 2002. The couple have two children: a daughter and a son. They live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He suffers from

hyperacusis Hyperacusis is the increased sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise. Definitions of hyperacusis can vary significantly; it can refer to normal noises being perceived as: loud, annoying, painful, fear-inducing, or a combina ...

, a hearing disorder that makes him unusually sensitive to everyday noises.

Filmography

Anime

Animation

Film

Other dubbing

Video games

Live action

References

External links

* *
Liam O'Brien
at Crystal Acids Voice Actor Database *
Between the Sheets: Liam O'Brien
– 2018 video interview by ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Liam 1976 births American agnostics American male screenwriters American male video game actors American male voice actors American male web series actors American television writers Living people American male television writers People from Weehawken, New Jersey Tisch School of the Arts alumni American voice directors 21st-century American male actors

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

Anime

Animation

Film

Other dubbing

Video games

Live action

References

Further reading

External links