Mike Pollock (voice Actor)

Michael B. Pollock (born March 9, 1965) is an American voice actor, best known for being the voice of Doctor Eggman and Gerald Robotnik (among other characters) in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise since 2003. He has voiced numerous characters in various anime English dubs, video games, and other animated works as a freelancer.

His other notable roles include the narrator, Raoul Contesta and Drayden in the ''Pokémon'' series, Adon Coborlwitz from ''Berserk'', Meat from ''Ultimate Muscle'', Langston Lickatoad from ''Viva Piñata'', Suikyou from the ''Ikki Tousen'' series, Beast in the motion comic adaptation of ''Astonishing X-Men'' and multiple characters in '' Kirby: Right Back at Ya!''.

Early life

Michael B. Pollock was born on March 9, 1965, the son of Herb Lawrence Pollock. He is Jewish and has described himself as "secular but religious aware". He is sometimes credited with his father's name in tribute. He graduated from Roslyn High School in 1983, where he was involved with their theater program, called the Royal Crown Players. He worked in radio in Upstate New York in the 1980s.

Career

When he returned to New York City in the 1990s, he was booked into some children's videos, anime and an episode of ''Pokémon''. Pollock recalls it was director Eric Stuart who brought him in as a guest spot for ''Pokémon'' and he then got recommended for roles in '' Kirby: Right Back at Ya!'', ''Ultimate Muscle'' and the FoxBox promotion announcer. His first major anime role was Meat in ''Ultimate Muscle''.

Pollock first took the role of Doctor Eggman in the English dub of ''Sonic X'', in which he also portrayed Professor Gerald Robotnik. Pollock assumed the role of Eggman in the video game series beginning with the 2005 games ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' and '' Sonic Rush'', as part of an initiative by SEGA to maintain vocal consistency between the concurrent video game/TV portrayals of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise.

Several anime websites, anime conventions, podcasters and interviewers have commented on Pollock's performance as Dr. Eggman in numerous video games and animated series within the Sonic franchise. His performance as Dr. Eggman has become identified with the character.

On July 15, 2010, Sega announced that the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise would undergo a re-casting, with a new set of voice actors based in Los Angeles, California, assuming the roles of each character. Despite this, Pollock continued to voice Dr. Eggman. According to Pollock himself, none of the actors who auditioned fit the role well.

Pollock reprised his role of Dr. Eggman on the TV series ''Sonic Boom'', which premiered on November 8, 2014. Pollock has currently held the role for longer than any other English-speaking actor.

For Teleflora's Mother's Day campaign in 2016, Pollock narrated Vince Lombardi's "What It Takes to Be Number One" speech in a commercial video called "One Tough Mother".

From 2020 to 2021, he reprised his role as Dr. Eggman in the unofficial YouTube audio drama series, ''Sonic and Tails R''.

Personal life

His brother, Bill Pollock, is the director of a publishing house No Starch Press.

Filmography

Anime

Animation

Film

Video games

Radio

Web

Other roles

Awards and nominations

References

Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Mike
1965 births
Living people
American male voice actors
American male video game actors
Male actors from New York (state)
Sega people
People from Roslyn Heights, New York
Roslyn High School alumni
American secular Jews
Jewish American male actors