Who is Eric Vale?
Eric Johnson, known better as Eric Vale, was born in Grand Prairie, Texas USA, on 28 April 1974 – his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality. He’s a voice actor and a writer, who has provided the voice to characters in more than 300 movies and TV series, while he’s perhaps still known best for his voicing of Tomura Shigaraki, in the English version of the hit animated action adventure series “My Hero Academia”. The original Japanese version stars Daiki Yamashita, Nobuhiko Okamoto and Ayane Sakura, and the series follows a boy who wants to attend a hero academy, even though he has no superpowers; it’s been airing since 2016, and has won 20 of the 38 awards for which it’s been nominated.
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Early life, family and education
Eric was raised in Grand Prairie by his parents, about whom little is known, as they prefer to be left out of media – it’s said that his father was a police officer, and that his mother was a nurse. Eric hasn’t mentioned having any siblings, so most of his fans believe him to be an only child.
Eric became interested in voicing characters at a very early age, mostly while watching TV with his parents late at night. After noticing his talent, his parents took him to an audition, and the result was that Eric was 12 years old when cast to voice several characters in the animated action adventure series “Dragon Ball”, in 1986 and 1987.
He attended a local high school, at which he was mostly interested in acting with the school’s drama club, and playing sports. Upon matriculating in 1992, he focused on his career, and didn’t enroll at college.
Voice acting in movies
In 1992 and 1993, Eric voiced Trunks in the English versions of several “Dragon Ball Z” movies, including “Super Android 13”, “The History of Trunks” and “The Legendary Super Saiyan”.
His most notable performance in the ‘90s was perhaps his voicing of several characters in the English version of the critically acclaimed Japanese animated action adventure “Lupin the Third: The Legend of Twilight Gemini”. It was directed by Gisaburo Sugii, starred Kan’ichi Kurita, Kiyoshi Kobayashi and Eiko Masuyama, and follows Lupin who has half of a diamond which reveals a treasure map, and is thus searching for its other half.
In 2001, Eric voiced lead and supporting characters in several popular animated films, including the romantic action “Initial D: Third Stage”, the mystery crime thriller “Hall of Mirrors”, and the crime action “Detective Conan: Countdown to Heaven”.
The year 2005 heard him voice Sanji in the English version of the Japanese animated action comedy “One Piece Jidaigeki Special: Luffy Oyabun Torimonocho”, which follows several people who are living in Japan during the Feudal Era. A couple of Eric’s other notable performances in the 2000s were in the animated adventure drama “Origin: Spirits of the Past”, the animated action adventure “Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection”, and the animated action “Basilisk: The Beginning”.
In 2011, he voiced Maeda Keiji in the English version of the Japanese action adventure “Gekijouban Sengoku Basara: The Last Party”, and the following year heard Eric voice various characters in the animated action adventure “Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker”. It was directed by Fumihiko Sori, starred J. Michael Tatum, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Chuck Huber, and follows the heroine Cassandra, who’s trying to save the land of Orlais from enemies; the film was nominated for two awards.
Three of Eric’s most recent roles in movies have been in the English versions of the 2018 animated action adventure “One Piece: Episode of Skypeia”, the 2019 animated action “My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising”, and the 2021 action adventure drama “Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I – The Final”.
Voice acting in series
Eric gained recognition in 1992, when cast to voice Sakyo and Shorin in the popular animated action adventure “Yu Yu Yakusho: Ghost Files”, created by Yoshihiro Togashi, and which starred Nozomu Sasaki, Justin Cook and Christopher Sabat. The series follows the 14-year-old boy Yusuke Urameshi, who has died trying to save a child from being hit by a car, and has now been resurrected as a Spirit Detective.
Some of Eric’s other notable performances in the ‘90s were in the animated action “Escaflowne”, the animated adventure “B’T X Neo” and the animated crime comedy “Detective Conan”.
In 2001, he voiced the lead character Yukki Sohma in the English version of the hit animated comedy “Fruits Basket”; it also starred Laura Bailey and Yu Horie, and follows Tohru Honda whose mother has just died, while she’s now living with members of the Sohma family, who turn into animals whenever hugged by someone of the opposite sex; the series won two awards. In 2003 and 2004, Eric voiced Jean in the animated action drama “Gunslinger”, and he then voiced Zolf J. Kimbley in the hit animated action adventure “Fullmetal Alchemist”, which won three awards. A couple of his other notable performances during the decade were in the animated musical drama “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad”, the animated action adventure “Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls” and the animated action “Genesis of Aquarion”.
Between 2011 and 2014, Eric voiced the supporting character Akaya Kodai in the animated action “Maken-Ki! Battling Venus”, which starred Monica Rial, Ian Sinclair and Tia Lyn Ballard, and follows Takeru Ohyama who’s attending a local school of magic.
Three of Eric’s most recent roles in series have been in the animated comedy mini-series “Hetalia: World Stars”, the animated adventure comedy “How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord” and the animated comedy “Uramichi Oniisan”.
Voice roles in video games
Eric voiced his first video game character in the 2002 game “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai”, while he then voiced the same character in several other “Dragon Ball Z” games, including “Budokai 2” in 2003, “Budokai 3” in 2004, and “Sagas” in 2005.
He voiced several characters in the 2005 video game “Spikeout: Battle Street”, and in 2007, Eric voiced Sanji in “One Piece: Unlimited Adventure”; by the end of the decade, he’d also voiced characters in the video games “Lux-Pain”, “Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World” and “Dragon Ball: Raging Blast”.
At 6pm this Wednesday I'll be @ZobieProd in #Houston, y'all! Come on by and look at me awkwardly! Also I'll sign things! #anime #shigaraki #trunks #MyHeroAcademia #DragonBallZ pic.twitter.com/9fBRvT6Bu2
— Eric Vale (@ericvale) November 1, 2021
In 2011, he voiced a couple of characters in the video game “The Gunstringer”, while a few of his following voice roles were in “Tribes: Ascend”, “Borderlands 2” and “Tales of Xillia”, all released in 2012.
Three of Eric’s most recent voice roles in video games have been in the 2020 “My Hero: One’s Justice 2”, “Terrain of Magical Expertise” and the “Tales of Luminaria” both in 2021.
Other credits
Eric has 30 writing, five producing and one directing credit. He made his writing debut with various episodes of the series “Dragon Ball Z” in 1989, and in 1994 and 1995, Eric wrote several episodes of the series “Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files”. In 1998, he wrote 13 episodes of the series “Initial D”, and in 2002, Eric produced the short film “Indefinitely”.
The year 2004 saw him write and produce the short movie “Interstate”, while he then wrote several episodes of the series “Ouran High School Host Club” and “Shigurui; Death Frenzy”.
In 2008, Eric wrote, produced and directed the short movie “Opal White”.
Some of his most recent writing credits include the 2018 short thriller film “The Only Flight”, the 2020 short comedy movie “The Meeting”, and the 2021 short drama film “The Bar”.
Eric has also been featured in a couple of short documentary videos, including “Legacy of Goku II: Voice Actor Interview” and “Chariot: Making a Dream Fly”.
Awards and nominations
Eric has won two of the 17 Behind the Voice Actors (BTVA) Awards for which he’s been nominated. In 2012, he won a BTVA Anime Voice Acting Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Title, for his and his colleagues’ performance in “Dragon Ball Kai: Doragon Boru Kai”. In 2017, Eric won a BTVA People’s Choice Voice Acting Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Television Series/OVA, for his and his colleagues’ performance in “Boku no Hiro Akademia”.
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He was also nominated for a 2002 Microcinema Fest Rewind Movie Award for Actor of the Year, for his performance in “Hall of Mirrors”.
Love life and wife
Eric prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, but has still allowed his fans to have a glimpse into it. On 26 July 2003, he exchanged vows with Alesa Watson, a popular American voice actress, who’s probably still known best for having lent her voice to Claes in the animated action series “Gunslinger Girl”, which aired in 2003 and 2004.
The two met each other in high school, and on 14 June 1992 when Eric was just 18 years old, Alesa gave birth to their son Quinn Angell, who has today also become a popular voice actor, film writer and director.
Eric and Alesa have another child together, but prefer to keep him/her away from media.
As of November 2021, Eric’s married to Alesa Watson, and has two children with her.
Hobbies and other interests
Eric is quite active on Instagram, and seems to be enjoying the attention which he’s receiving from his more than 10,000 followers; he has uploaded close to 1,000 pictures onto the network, most of which feature him and his pets.
He’s a huge lover of animals, and has a pet dog and a pet cat.
Eric loves to travel, and his career has taken him all around the world; he’s been to more than 20 US states, and various European and Asian countries, while his dream travel destination is Tokyo in Japan.
He has his own favorite animes, some of which are “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, “Death Note” and “Digimon Adventure”. Eric also likes to watch Hollywood movies in his spare time – ahis favorite actor and actress are Leonardo DiCaprio and Helena Bonham Carter, while a couple of his favorite movies include “Catch Me If You Can”, “Shutter Island” and “Fight Club”.
Age, height and net worth
Eric’s age is 47. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, his height is 5ft 10ins (1.8m) and he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
As of November 2021, Eric’s net worth has been estimated at over $2 million.
