Interview Archive
An interview with Billy Kametz conducted by ANIME Impulse discussing his various voice roles, including his role as Josuke Higashikata. It was posted on their YouTube channel on September 15, 2018.
Interview
Hi, my name is Billy Kametz, and I am here with ANIME Impulse.
How did you go from Aladdin to Josuke?
I got the job of Aladdin in the Aladdin musical spectacular. I booked that when I was in New York. I was an east-coaster. I wasn't really feeling New York. I was there for about a year and a half, and then I get a call from my agent, who's like, "Hey, you're in final consideration. Would you consider moving to California if you got the role?" And I was just like, "Yes. Yes, I would. Absolutely." So I was like, "Okay. As soon as I get out to California, I'll start hitting that up really hard." I did Aladdin for about a year, and that was the most fun ever. And then once that closed down, I just started hitting it hard and taking as many classes as I could. And then I found my way into anime, and one thing led to another, and now I have the extreme pleasure of being Josuke.
Funny moments in the studio
I've had some fun moments with JoJo's in particular, because every once in a while... We always save Shining Diamond to the end of the sessions, because it's a lot of just straight-up yelling. You don't want to do that at the beginning of the session, because you might blow your voice out. So there's been times where I've had another session for a different show, and then I'd come in later and I'd do maybe a four-hour session for JoJo's. And at the very end of that, after a long day of dubbing, it's just, "Okay, let's do 20 lines of just straight-up shouting, sometimes for just 15 seconds straight, of just 'Dorararararara!'" And that is really, really hard sometimes. And there was one time in particular where I had to do one for 12 seconds or something like that, and my voice just kept cracking a lot of times. So it took about five tries, and I was just like, "Please! Please just make it through! Please! I don't want to do this again!" And then Tony would be like, "Alright, let's do that again and just take out the puberty, and we'll be good." So I would say that was one of the funnier moments.
Favorite games at the moment?
Maybe a couple. Of all time: Big fan of Final Fantasy X. Kingdom Hearts, big fan. Already pre-ordered III. Come on now. Super Smash Bros., pre-ordered as well.
Main in Smash?
So, coming from the Melee days, Fox and Marth were my two go-tos. We won't talk about Brawl. The new one: I didn't get the Wii U, so I play on occasion. Robin's awesome, Marth is still great. Fox is no longer good, sadly, for me. And Peach is just, weirdly... People get angry when you use Peach, which is funny for me, so that's a good time. I cannot wait for this next one to come out. I'm super, super pumped to have everybody back.
Most significant reaction when casted?
I remember, I did that audition for Josuke, and I was just... It was one of those ones I just really clicked with. I really loved playing his highs and lows, and I really got into it. And I remember it was just, that one was just... It stuck with me. It was just, like, in the back of my head. And a lot of times, when you do an audition, they send you an email just saying, like, "Hey! Confirmed! Uh... We got it... Thank you!" And then, I remember, I didn't get one, and it was a couple days later. And I emailed the guy again, and I was like, "Hey, did you guys get my audition for Josuke?" And then, a couple days later, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got it." I was like, "Okay. Just checking, guys." Then a couple of days, weeks later... Yeah, a couple of weeks later. I got an email that was like, "Congratulations! You're gonna be Josuke!" And I danced. I danced for joy in my room, and it was awesome, and I'm so happy that I get to do it.
Most shocking scenes?
The cooking episode, when they're just trying to get some lunch. And I love that episode so much, and I was cracking up the entire time, because it keeps ramping up to this most ridiculous thing of, "This guy is evil! He's gonna kill—He killed this puppy!" There's all these moments that it just keeps ramping up. And it always just turns out that he's just this super genuine, awesome dude, and it always turns out for the best. Man, that one threw me. I wasn't seeing any of this coming, but it was really fun to watch, so...
Favorite line you voiced so far?
There's a lot. I don't have a specific favorite. I love acting for Josuke because he goes, just... He's got so many levels of just... He's this sometimes shy, goofy freshman. The one thing that I was really laughing about at the beginning, when we started recording: Tony Oliver, the director, was like, "Okay, that's Koichi, and there's Josuke. The two of them are the same age." And I was just like, "Okay, that's very informative to the character. That's how I'm gonna play it." So it's kind of fun to play it like that, a very kind-of innocent high school freshman, and then, "You and your prissy-ass hair!" He's like, "Oh!" And then you just get to that super-hot, "What did you just say about my—" That's so fun, to play the hot and cold of this goofy weird kid, and then this badass. Just this, like, "Do not. Don't you say a word about my hair," kind of guy. I love just doing all this.
What's it like being featured on Toonami?
Honestly, it's a little surreal, because just knowing the kind of stuff that came up on there, and just knowing that it's on that platform, it's a very big stage. I didn't know that it was gonna be on Toonami when we started, and then when they were like, "Ah, yeah, it's gonna be on Toonami at 12:30," I was like, "Ah, okay." And then that just kind of added a whole new level of nerves that I'm just trying to not worry about. But it's really, really cool. It's really cool to be able to say that to friends and family, and know that they can just pop that on, and actually see it and hear me. Which is crazy, but really, really cool.
Any hobbies outside of VA & Acting?
I am an avid video gamer. I've been growing up on that since I was very young, since the NES days. Yeah, all about the video games. Super excited for some stuff to come out. Hiking; California's a great place for all that kind of stuff. Big craft beer fan, so yeah. Checking out all these different breweries and stuff in California. It's pretty awesome as well.
Favorite thing about voice acting?
It's just so much fun. For me it's the most comfortable level of acting. It is very tough, coming from stage, not doing a whole lot of on-camera stuff. I love being able to kind of be in my own space and just do a performance, and not have to worry about, like, "What am I—I'm standing still too long. Like, what should I—Should I be doing this with my hands? Is it weird?" There's none of that, so it's nice. It's very comfortable for me, to just be in the booth with a couple people and just have us all bouncing ideas off each other to make something great. And you laugh a lot. Most of the day is just you laughing a lot, over either what you're doing or the conversations that you're having in between takes. And that's usually the best, when you're making other people laugh. You're just like, "Okay, we know that's a good take. That's good." So that's my favorite thing about voice acting.
Show or game that you would want to be in?
Being a part of something like Final Fantasy seems like an unbelievable dream. Or Super Smash Bros., or one of the Tales games. I love all that stuff. In terms of shows, I was a big Nicktoons fan growing up as a '90s kid. So, you know, a part in something like Rocko, or Angry Beavers, or Ren & Stimpy, or Doug, or something like that, would be amazing. Also a big Disney fan, but... Just something from '90s childhood that would make me be like, "I can't believe I'm a part of this." Those are the big "vision board" ultimate dreams.
How was it like being debuted at AX?
The expo was nuts. That was my first convention. It was really hard to walk around. There were so many people, and not many were there so many people, there were so many people wearing amazing, amazing cosplays that are massive. So everybody trying to get around each other was... It was a sight to see. The panel was so awesome. I remember walking into the room where we were going to present, and it was just unbelievably huge. I think there were 3,300 seats, and I was like, "Are we gonna fill this out?" They were like, "Oh yeah. This is gonna get filled out." So that was very nerve-wracking, but just the energy of the fans, of everybody... The pose-off was unbelievable, and I got to judge it, which was really, really cool. It was just really fun. It was so cool to be a part of that energy. It was kind of a wake-up call, like, "Yo, do a good job on this. There's a lot of people that are really kinda hoping you do a good job at this. So let's give them a good show."
Show us your best JoJo pose!
I did this one at Anime Expo, just because I was put on the spot, and I didn't know what to do. And I guess this is just now the Billy Kametz JoJo pose, right? Here we go...