David Kaye is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known for animation roles such as

Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villaino ...

in five of the ''Transformers'' series (''

Beast Wars Beast most often refers to: * Animal, a multicellular, eukaryotic organism in the biological kingdom Animalia * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation * Monster, a type of creature found in fiction, folk ...

'', ''

Beast Machines ''Beast Machines: Transformers'' is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment as part of the Transformers franchise. Hasbro has full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to '' Beast Wars'', ...

'', '' Armada'', '' Energon'', and ''

Cybertron Cybertron may refer to: *A fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers and the planet form of their creator Primus *The English dub name for "Tobikage", a small robotic ninja in the TV series '' Ninja Senshi Tobikage'' *The Japanese name fo ...

''),

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Transformers'' franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight ag ...

in '' Transformers: Animated'',

Professor X Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...

in '' X-Men: Evolution'',

Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

in ''

Class of the Titans ''Class of the Titans'' is a Canadian animated television series produced by Studio B Productions and Nelvana Limited. It premiered on December 31, 2005, at 5 pm ET/PT, on Teletoon with a special 90-minute presentation of the first three e ...

'', Khyber in '' Ben 10: Omniverse'', several characters in '' Avengers Assemble'', and Duckworth in the reboot of ''

DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...

''. He is also known for anime roles including Sesshōmaru in '' Inuyasha'' and Treize Khushrenada in ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'', also known in Japan as , is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the '' Gundam'' franchise, taking place in the "Afte ...

'', and video game roles such as Clank in the ''

Ratchet & Clank ''Ratchet & Clank'' is a series of Action-adventure game, action-adventure Platform game, platform and third-person shooter video games created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. High Impact Games ...

'' series and Nathan Hale in the '' Resistance'' series. He is also the announcer for ''

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American news satire late-night talk show hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently has ...

'' on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

and voiced the Celestial Arishem in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

film '' Eternals.'' He did voice work for various other studios in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for many years while occasionally doing voice work in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, US, before fully relocating there in 2007.

Early life

During the 1980s, Kaye moved to

to work in radio. He also did theatre, playing George in a production of ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...

'' and Elwood P. Dowd in a production of '' Harvey''.

Career

Kaye's voice acting career began in 1989 with

General Hawk Hawk is a fictional character from the ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. ...

in the DiC animated series ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...

''. Working as an on-air talent for radio station CKLG ( LG73), he quickly became less interested as both on-camera and voice roles started taking up more of his time. On-camera opportunities came in the form of guest roles on TV series and movies such as ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'', and ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Robert Simonds, and starring Adam Sandler in the title role, with Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Carl Weathers. The film follows the namesak ...

''. During this time, he was cast in several animation shows and video games, including a role as

in ''

''. This began a decades-long relationship with the ''Transformers'' franchise. In 2007, Kaye become the first and (as of 2021) only actor in the franchise to play both Megatron and

in regular roles, voicing the latter for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's '' Transformers: Animated''. He also lent his voice to the later series '' Transformers: Prime'' and '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise''. In

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, Kaye has been the voice behind Sesshomaru in the English dubbed '' InuYasha'' series, Treize Khushrenada in ''

'', Recoome in ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...

'' (1996–98) and as Soun Tendo in ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...

''. His involvement in anime has led to several appearances at

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law ** Convention (political norm), uncodified legal or political tradition * Convention (meeting) ...

. Kaye later moved to

and has since worked on '' Ben 10: Omniverse'' as the villain Khyber, on ''

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its Regular Show season 8, eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the cours ...

'' as Reginald, and on ''

Xiaolin Chronicles ''Xiaolin Chronicles'' (笑林傳記) is an animated/CG television series presented as a continuation of ''Xiaolin Showdown''. The series premiered on August 26, 2013, with three back-to-back episodes serving as a preview. The full series premier ...

'' as Clay Bailey, F-Bot, and Chase Young. He has voiced several characters on the '' Avengers Assemble'' animated series and

Max Tennyson This is a list of characters in the universe of Cartoon Network's ''Ben 10'' franchise. Overview Television series * This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise. * A dark grey cell ...

in the reboot of ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

''. He shared the role of the Stretch Monster with

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Harbinger in '' Hot Shots! Part Deux'' (1993), Quigley in '' Blank ...

in ''

Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters ''Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters'' is an American animated television series produced by Hasbro Studios and distributed by Netflix. It is based on the 1970s action figure Stretch Armstrong. The Netflix series features a brand new superhe ...

'', and also succeeded Ferrer as

Vandal Savage Vandal Savage (Vandar Adg) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encountering a strange meteorite during prehis ...

in '' Young Justice: Outsiders'' following his death. Kaye also narrates film trailers and network promos for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, FX, and others.

Personal life

Kaye and his wife, Maria Hope, have a daughter named Tianna.

Filmography

Animation

Anime

Film

Video games

References

External links

* * *
Interview with David Kaye – Jan 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, David Living people Audiobook narrators Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States Canadian male film actors Canadian male radio actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male video game actors Canadian male voice actors Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Male actors from Ontario Male actors from Vancouver Male actors from Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors