Takayuki Sugō

Takayuki Sugō (菅生 隆之, Sugou Takayuki, born August 1, 1952 in Iioka, Chiba) is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Fukuda & Co. A former member of Bungakuza, he left the theater company in June 1, 2017. He is married to a non-celebrity and has two grandchildren.

A graduate of Chiba Reimei High School, Sugō used to be one of the fastest runner of his track and field club. His interests later shifted towards guitar playing, though he felt he wasn't talented enough to be a proper musician after taking several classes. He later read an ad inviting young adults to enroll in a theater school and decided to take a look. There, he became acquainted with someone who would instruct him in acting and later serve as his director.

While Sugō was given the opportunity to perform with a theater group led by his instructor's acquaintance, he gradually became unmotivated as time passed. This led him to work part-time in a bid to distance himself from his peers and the world of acting. He might have given up theater altogether if not for his former instructor inviting him to join Bungakuza. The higher-ups allowed Sugō to be inducted in 1972 and made his membership official seven years later.

Soon enough, Sugō made his voice over debut doing broadcasting voices for multiple live-action dramas, many of which were either domestic or overseas. He personally considers dubbing similar to performing on stage in that the cast must be able to instill a sense of humanity to their respective roles for the audience. Despite his initial hesitance in doing anime-related roles, he slowly warmed up to them in the late 90s.

Sugō tends to voice fatherly figures, mentors, or even villains in many of his works. He is also active in overseas dubs, serving as the official Japanese voice of Jean Reno, Tommy Lee Jones, and other actors. When tasked with recording additional lines as a substitute, he personally thinks it's impossible to completely replicate someone else's acting, preferring to do a role in his own way instead. So far, he has voiced Rothbart in Barbie of Swan Lake, Goose Perkins in Baccano!, and Zoran Lazarević in the Uncharted series.

Works

 * Cardeas Vist - Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn; reprise of his original role in Gundam Unicorn
 * Andragoras III - Arslan: The Warriors of Legend
 * Boscogn - BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk
 * Mitsuhide Akechi, Tenkai Nankōbō - Nioh