Abby Trott is an actor/singer who is best known for for their work voicing Momo in the English dub of Dan Da Dan, Nezuko in the English dub of Demon Slayer, Magik in Marvel Rivals, and singing the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate theme, “Lifelight.” We caught up with them to find out more.
How did you end up working on Demon Slayer?
I auditioned! I believe they were casting the main four characters first, which is why I only auditioned for Nezuko, even though I really wanted to try out for Inosuke. There were two scenes: the moment before Tanjiro heads off to the village and the struggle between Nezuko and Tanjiro as she wakes up as a demon and attacks him. Half of my audition was growling.
How different is the role of Nezuko from Dan Da Dan‘s Momo?
Nezuko and Momo are similar in many ways. Including their desire to protect and fight for those they love. Nezuko, however, has more of a maternal quality, whereas Momo has a similar “auntie” energy to her grandmother, Seiko. Momo can be pretty goofy, too.
What’s the most challenging part of your day-to-day voice acting work?
Maintaining your vocal health can be difficult. Personally, I deal with allergies, and they can really make things challenging. It’s also important to make sure you have adequate vocal rest when overextending your voice, which isn’t always possible when scheduling and trying to meet deadlines.
How do you ‘get into’ the role? How does that work with video game work?
I always try to learn as much about the character and the project as I can from whatever materials I’m provided (or that I can glean from the internet). That being said, sometimes video games can be extremely secretive, and we’re not always provided a lot of info. I’ll try to fill in the gaps and have a general worldview going into the session. For example, are they an optimist or pessimist? Are they confident? Anxious? Are they masking their true feelings about someone or something, etc. From there, the director will steer the ship to make sure we’re honoring the writers’ intentions.
How do you describe your job to someone who has never heard of the word ‘anime’?
I first ask them how in the world they’ve never heard of anime. Seriously though, it seems that anime has become so mainstream—it has come a long way since I was a kid. Most people have probably seen anime even if they don’t know what it’s called. I’d describe dubbing anime as “providing English voiceover for Japanese cartoons—you know, the ones where they have big beautiful eyes and perfect geometric hair.”
Dan Da Dan and Demon Slayer are both huge. How have you found the surge in interest?
It’s been pretty surreal to watch the Demon Slayer fandom grow worldwide over the past 6+ years. Dan Da Dan has been even more shocking, as it seemed to explode almost overnight. (I think the killer opening theme helped). It has been so much fun to meet fans at conventions and share the excitement and passion for these projects. We are in the golden age of anime!
A lot of voice actors seem to be doing podcasts and actual play TTRPGs like Critical Role these days, does that appeal to you at all? Why?
I love playing games with friends off-camera, but that isn’t to say I’m not open to streaming or recording gameplay…with the right crowd. In fact, I recently did a one-shot TTRPG for Little Nightmares, and you can watch it on YouTube! It was super fun.
What’s your favourite thing about meeting fans?
I love hearing stories of how certain shows, games, or characters have impacted their lives. Demon Slayer was hugely impactful during the pandemic as it deals with themes of family, loss, and overcoming seemingly impossible odds. So many people relate to these themes, and they were living through them at that time. Lots of fans have told me how certain games and shows helped them get through tough times. It feels good to be part of something that has such an impact.
What non-voice acting media roles would you do? What would your dream project be?
I love hearing stories of how certain shows, games, or characters have impacted their lives. Demon Slayer was hugely impactful during the pandemic as it deals with themes of family, loss, and overcoming seemingly impossible odds. So many people relate to these themes, and they were living through them at that time. A lot of fans have told me how certain games and shows helped them get through tough times. It feels good to be part of something that has such an impact.
What’s next?
More video games! More anime! More cartoons! More… singing? Stay tuned!
Ghosts or Aliens?
Aliens. You listening, E.T.’s? Take me to your planet, pleeeaase!
Vampires or Werewolves?
Vampires, but only if I get to be one.
Truth or Beauty?
Truth. The truth is beautiful.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba is available on CrunchyRoll as is Dan Da Dan. You can learn more about Abby Trott via their website, www.abbytrott.com .
Photo Credits -
Photographer: Lindsey Ruth Photography @lindsphoto
Hair: Mika Fowler @mikahairstylist
Makeup: Anton Khachaturian @antonmakeup
Stylist: Alex Clough @alexcloughstyle
