Norio Wakamoto

Norio Wakamoto (若本 規夫) is a Japanese actor and voice actor notable for voicing DIO in the Stardust Crusaders Drama CD and Hol Horse in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2000 OVA.

Norio's most popular character he has voiced is Cell from the series. He is also known for voicing Vicious in, Katakuriko Matsudaira in , Mujuro Utsutsu in , Charles zi Britannia in , Goro Otaki in , Oskar von Reuenthal in , Chu in , Oda Nobunaga in , and Shuren in.

Biography
Norio Wakamoto was born on October 18, 1945 in. After graduating from Kansai University Daiichi High School, Wakamoto graduated from Waseda University Faculty of Law but failed his bar exam and started his career as a policeman. After working at the Nakano Police Academy of the Metropolitan Police Department, he worked for the Metropolitan Police Department riot police for two years. During the 1968 Shinjuku riot, he participated in the offense and defense at the forefront as a MTF member. After retiring from the police, Wakamoto worked as a founding member of the Consumers Union of Japan secretariat, but was dismissed after hitting his boss while being drunk. On the train, a newspaper advertising Ryo Kurosawa's voice-over school interested him. Wakamoto says that he knew he didn't fit into organisations and thus needed a job where he could work on his own. Although the school only took 20 candidates and he was among the later 300th candidates, Wakamoto was accepted. After working at Ryo Kurosawa's voice-over classroom, he became a voice actor.

Wakamoto's debut role was in the 1977 anime Glacier Warrior Gaislugger as Onoriki. He would continue his career as a voice actor in anime, live-action television narration, tokusatsus, video games and dubbing foreign actors.

He has the qualifications of Shorinji Kempo 3rd Dan and All Japan Kendo Federation 3rd Dan, and also has one side of being one of the industry's leading "martial arts groups". In addition to martial arts, he has a qualification for Shinto, the Misogi Ko-Shintō Shinto Shinto Association.

Wakamoto's voice is known for both its astringency and sharpness. As a result he is typically cast as evil characters, the boss of an evil organization, villainous or powerful people. Since Wakamoto was raised in Sakai City, he sometimes handles the ad lib of Senshu dialect.