Manar Elbaz

DUBAI: Amanda Celine Miller, the American voice actress who voiced the English version of Boruto Uzumaki in Boruto, sat down with Arab News Japan to discuss her voice acting journey and give advice to young people who want to join the industry.

The 36-year-old visited the United Arab Emirates for the first time this December to have her first meet and greet in the GCC region at Speedy Comics.

Miller, who majored in theatre, took a voiceover class 13 years ago that made her completely fall in love with it. She moved to Los Angeles shortly after, did an internship at a voice-acting company, and eventually started auditioning for big roles.

She booked the voice of Boruto through the same studio that recorded Sailor Moon. “When Boruto came around, they had me audition since they already knew me,” she told Arab News Japan. She got an email two weeks after saying she got the role and that she is tomorrow, which she shared was exciting and scary.

“We did the video game first, then the movie, and then a year and a half later we started doing the TV show. We just did the first part, and we will have the next one soon,” she added.

Miller did not expect the role to be this successful or to resonate with a Middle Eastern audience. “When you are an actor, they always tell you (that) nobody makes it, so you never expect to book a legacy character,” she said. “I never expected to be part of a franchise. It’s nerve-wracking a little bit.” 

Besides Boruto, the voice actress voiced a variety of iconic anime characters, such as Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon and Menchi from Hunter x Hunter. She also participated in animated series such as Netflix’s Kid Cosmic, which she cites as her favorite. “My favorite role is a character called Jo (from Kid Cosmic). It’s really cool to be the main character of a show that’s funny, good, and well-written,” she shared.

Miller also did the English voice acting for the Japanese video game franchise Danganronpa, where she played the main antagonist Junko Enoshima as well as Toko Fukawa. “Junko from Danganronpa is my favorite (video game character),” she said. “They let me stretch my range, so I had fun with the voices.”

She hopes to inspire upcoming young actors in the industry, adding that Arabs have an advantage in the industry because they can authentically represent characters similar to them.

“In America, it is a big asset,” she tells Arab News Japan. “If you speak a foreign language, whether it is Arabic or something else, you could put that on a resume, and an agent would probably take you because that is something that not a lot of people have.”

“Take classes. Learn how to act because you are trying to convey a character through your voice. Take improv classes and singing lessons because that will help you use your voice as an instrument,” she added. 

Alongside the second part of Boruto, Miller has an upcoming big project that she has booked and looks forward to sharing soon. She thanks her Arab fans for sticking by her side. “Voice actors like me would not be where they are if it were not for you, so thank you.”