My Hero Academia Voice Actor Christopher Sabat Explains How He Found His All Might Voice
All Might, the now-retired number one hero, is one of the most emblematic characters in the "My Hero Academia" franchise. Not only did he use to be the most powerful and admired hero in Japan before losing his powers fighting All for One, but he's also served as protagonist Izuku Midoriya's (aka Deku) mentor since the very beginning of the show, having passed on his extremely powerful One for All Quirk to the previously Quirkless freckled teenager after he proved his bravery.
All Might, real name Toshinori Yagi, is voiced in the original Japanese by Kenta Miyake and in the English dub by Christopher Sabat – who is also known for voicing Roronoa Zoro from "One Piece" and Vegeta from "Dragon Ball". At the "My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising" world movie premiere, Sabat revealed when interviewed that at the time when he first started voice acting, with one of his first roles being in "Dragon Ball", he hadn't expected to be doing this kind of work for decades to come. Thankfully he continued on this career path as it is hard to imagine anyone else but Miyake and Sabat enthusiastically bringing to life the former Number 1 hero on the screen. In fact, Sabat has even revealed that when he was cast as All Might it felt as if he had been training his whole life to play the beloved character.
Sabat looked to both Japanese and American influences to find his voice
In an official Reddit thread started by Funimation, fans had the opportunity to ask some questions to three "My Hero Academia" English voice actors: Sabat, Justin Briner who voices Deku, and Clifford Chapin who voices Katsuki Bakugo.
Addressing Sabat, u/firered23ful inquired about how the actor came up with his voice for All Might. In his answer, the voice actor explained: "When I auditioned, I channeled a lot from All Might's very US comic book, superhero appearance. We then referenced the original Japanese and made sure we kept the same spirit." He then jokingly added, "Colleen [Clickenbeard] also whipped me nearly to death until I got it exactly right."
Colleen Clinkenbeard, as mentioned by her co-star, not only voiced Momo Yaoyorozu but also served as a co-ADR (automated dialogue replacement) director for the series. She is also the voice actor behind Monkey D. Luffy from "One Piece" and Riza Hawkeye from "Fullmetal Alchemist."
Although All Might is no longer able to be an active participant in most of the fights and action sequences, the relevance of his role in the series is unquestionable. Not only is he an admired figure but he's also a dedicated teacher and a mentor who's been there for Deku every step of the way in his journey to learn how to control his inherited Quirk.
To Sabat, "Plus Ultra" means to push yourself "beyond pushing yourself the way you'd normally push yourself. Even more than that" (via Funimation/Twitter). Lending his voice to the heroic tutor, the actor has proved to fans that he understands the true meaning of the memorable catchphrase.