Actor Who Voiced Robert Downey Jr In Japanese Avengers And Iron Man Movies Dies Aged 55

Keiji Fujiwara, a Japanese actor who became the voice of Robert Downey Jr. to the Japanese language audience has died at the age of 55 after reportedly suffering from cancer.

Fujiwara was a prolific voice actor within the world of anime and video games, but also voiced many of RDJ's films in Japanese, too.

That means that if you've ever watched an Iron Man film, or seen Sherlock Holmes, with the Japanese audio on - admittedly not that likely, unless you're a native Japanese speaker - then you'll have heard his voice.

In fact, Fujiwara voiced Iron Man on ten separate occasions, which is every single time he appeared on screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On top of that, he also provided Downey Jr.'s voice for Johnny Be Good, The Judge, The Soloist, Due Date, and- as we've mentioned - the Sherlock Holmes franchise.

However, it was in the world of anime and video gaming that he really made his name. Unless you're a huge fan of that particular style of animation, you might never have come across Crayon Shin-chan or Full metal Alchemist, but you'll have to take our word for it - they're really popular.

In the world of video games, he took on voice acting roles in huge franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, and Assassin's Creed.

Fujiwara was born in Tokyo but spent his childhood in Iwate Prefecture at the north of Japan. He began his acting career in theatre before discovering voice acting.

From that stage he didn't look back, quickly landing a breakout role as Hiroshi Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan in the 1990s.

By 2006, he'd become one of the best known and most successful artists in the voice acting community. He founded an acting agency, Air Agency, that year. Air Agency not only managed talent, but also published their own dramas and CDs, as well as live events.

In 2016 he announced that he was to step back from the agency due to an unspecified illness. However, he did return to acting work in 2017, before his sad death on April 12 2020.

Featured Image Credit: Air Agency

Topics: Entertainment News, TV and Film, US Entertainment

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

@TPWagwim