Charles Forrest "Spike" Spencer (born December 21, 1968) is an American

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

and columnist best known for

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

Japanese

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 ...

films. He is known for his roles in

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

dubs of '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'' as Shinji Ikari, '' Martian Successor Nadesico'' as Akito Tenkawa, and ''

Excel Saga is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Young King OURs'' from 1996 to 2011, and its individual chapters were collected and published in 27 ...

'' as Gojo Shioji. He has also performed voice acting for

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

, especially commercials. His anime character voices tend to be either for timid, shy, or weak characters, or for eccentric and comical ones.

Career

Spencer attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

for four years. After doing a number of

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

s, he met Amanda Winn-Lee, who suggested he audition for anime English dubbing at

. Spencer first landed a supporting role of Prime Minister Mikoshiba in ''Super Atragon'', then a leading role of Takateru in ''Suikoden Demon Century.'' In August 1996, Spencer was cast as the lead role of Shinji Ikari in '' Neon Genesis Evangelion''. After

' collapse,

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

acquired the rights to the '' Rebuild of Evangelion'' movies. As part of Funimation's goal to get the service of the original voice actors from shows and movies they acquired distributing rights for, Spencer reprised Shinji in the movies. Spencer has done commercials for Houston Cellular, Applebee's,

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

, and Subway. Spencer has done additional acting in live-action films and in TV series such as ''The Big Easy''. Spencer also travels the world with his panel, Don't Kill Your Date (and Other Cooking Tips), which teaches Spencer's trademark "food game," giving dating advice for men, cooking tips, and easy dinner recipes. Spencer's dating tips have been featured in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...

''. He also frequently writes dating tips for

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss (born March 9, 1969), also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author and journalist. His book ''The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', describes his experiences in the seducti ...

, Carlos Xuma, and Singles Warehouse.

Personal life

Spencer was once married to Kendra Benham, who worked alongside him in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' as Maya Ibuki. Spencer holds a brown belt in

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

and a 2nd-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Spencer is married to an entrepreneur, Kim MacKenzie, as of October 4, 2014. He is a

foodie A foodie is a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food, and who eats food not only out of hunger but also as a hobby. The related terms "gastronome" and "gourmet" define roughly the same thing, i.e. a person who enjoys food for pleasur ...

and has a website called
DontKillYourDate.com
'' Spike and Kim have two sons, one named Declan, who was born on July 29, 2017, and another named Colton Christopher, who was born on February 4, 2021, in Australia.

Filmography

Anime dubbing

Animation

Internet appearances

Film

Video games

References

External links

Official website
* * *
Spike Spencer
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Spike Spencer
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

*
Don't Kill Your Date (and Other Cooking Tips)Don't Kill Your Date (and Other Cooking Tips)
on

Don't Kill Your Date (and Other Cooking Tips)
on

Spike Spencer on Voice123
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Spike Living people Male actors from Houston American male film actors American male voice actors 20th-century American male actors Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American male actors American male video game actors Male actors from Los Angeles University of Houston alumni American male television actors 1968 births