Jordan Nagai (born February 5, 2000) is an American student and former child

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

. He is best known for his voice role as Russell in '' Up''.

Career

Jordan's older brother Hunter originally auditioned for Russell in '' Up''. Director Pete Docter has said, "As soon as Jordan's voice came on we started smiling because he is appealing and innocent and cute and different from what I was initially thinking." About four hundred children had shown up for the auditions, but Nagai stood out because he wouldn't stop talking the whole time. Nevertheless, he was sometimes very shy, and Docter found it difficult getting him to recite all of his lines. Nagai's character in ''Up'' is the first Asian American figure in a movie by

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

. He also lent his voice to an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' called " O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" as the voice of Charlie, an orphan who befriends

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

in his quest for a baby brother. The program aired on December 13, 2009. Nagai has not acted in anything since; instead, opting to pursue a career in biology and healthcare management.

Personal life

Nagai has studied

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

since the age of 5, and in 2017, at the age of 17, he achieved a Black Belt. He attends

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and is in the Class of 2022.

Filmography

Films

* '' Up'' (2009) – Russell (voice) * '' Dug's Special Mission'' (2009) – Russell (voice)

Television

* '' Schoolhouse Rock!: Earth'' – Additional Voices (voice) * ''

'' (episode " O Brother, Where Bart Thou?") – Charlie (voice) * ''

Dug Days ''Dug Days'' (also known as ''Up: Dug Days'') is an American computer-animated streaming television series of shorts produced by Pixar Animation Studios for the Disney+ streaming service. The series is set immediately after the 2009 3D CGI fil ...

'' - Russell (voice; archive recordings)

Video games

* '' Up'' (2009) – Russell (voice)

Awards and nominations

*2010 Breakout Performance Award, from the

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give v ...

References

External links

* American male voice actors American male child actors Living people American people of Japanese descent American male film actors American male television actors American male actors of Japanese descent American film actors of Asian descent Male actors from Los Angeles 21st-century American male actors 2000 births Washington University in St. Louis alumni {{US-voice-actor-stub