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This article is about a real-life person.
Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series.

Ryan Drummond is an American actor, voice actor, singer and comedian, who has done voice work for the English dub of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is known for having voiced Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure to Sonic Advance 3.

History[]

In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment acquired the US dubbing rights for the anime series Sonic X. In the Japanese version of Sonic X, nearly all the video game voice actors reprised their roles. Instead of using the established US video game voice actors, 4Kids hired their own in-house actors to provide the voice over for Sonic X. After unprofessional and questionable lack of communication, Ryan was then contacted by 4Kids employee Michael Haigney who was the producer of Sonic X. He claimed 4Kids could not use Ryan and the other video game voice actors, because they did not live in New York where 4Kids is headquartered. Ryan replied that he would have gladly relocated to New York at his own expense.[1] Instead, Ryan was replaced by Jason Griffith who voiced Sonic in Sonic X. Despite this, Drummond continued to provide the voice of Sonic in the Sonic the Hedgehog series until 2004, when Sega replaced all their Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep Sonic's voice the same in all media forms.

Sega never made an official announcement about the voice actor change. Instead, Drummond had to contact Sega to inquire about the voiceover work for Shadow the Hedgehog. After hearing about his replacement, Ryan informed fans via e-mail. His e-mail states that Sega of Japan hired the 4Kids voice actors in secret.[2] Former Sega of America (SOA) president Simon Jeffery confirms Sega of Japan controls all voice actors including those in the US.[3]

During the development of Sonic Generations, Drummond was invited by Sega to re-audition as Sonic, as the voice cast was once again being replaced. Although Sega initially agreed to allow him to return, the pretenses were that Drummond would have to leave his union and to (according to Drummond) "do all kinds of work with zero compensation". As such, Drummond declined the offer.[4]

Credits[]

Voice acting[]

Trivia[]

  • Drummond was to voice Sonic in Sonic Rush before the cast switch. In fact, he only voiced him in the E3 demo.
  • He is good friends with David Humphrey, who was the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog. Drummond is even said to have helped Humphrey get the role.
  • Drummond has stated there is no tension between him and Jason Griffith or Roger Craig Smith, and he thinks that they are great guys.
  • His voice was used for Sonic in the Sonic Anniversary - Through the Ages trailer.
  • He said in an interview that Sonic Adventure is his favorite Sonic game.
  • Drummond used an alias called "Shawn Silver" for Knuckles in Sonic Shuffle as Sega at the time did not want one voice actor doing more than a character.[6]
  • Drummond briefly filled in for David Humphrey as Shadow the Hedgehog's voice in a few scenes of Sonic Adventure 2.[5]
  • He stated while he was auditioning for the role of Sonic, he also auditioned for every role in the game. Sega liked his interpretation for Big the Cat but the role was eventually given to Jon St. John.[7]
  • Drummond is currently the only Sonic voice actor to not have voiced Sonic in any animated television or film projects.
  • Although he doesn't voice the character anymore, he and other former voice actors, including some of the 4Kids Entertainment voice actors, reprised their roles for a fan series made by Emu Emi called "Sonic & Tails R".

References[]

  1. ryandrummond.com Current Events July 2003, pages 2-4
  2. Sonic voiceover cast replaced, Ryan’s e-mail
  3. Simon Jeffery interview, Jeffery’s 1st answer and closing statement
  4. Sonic the Hedgehog speaks! An interview with Ryan Drummond. The Gaming Liberty. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved on 26 April 2023.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Ryan Drummond on Twitter. Twitter (15 October 2020). Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  6. Ryan Drummond on Twitter. Twitter (15 October 2020). Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  7. Ryan Drummond on Twitter. Twitter (10 July 2020). Archived from the original on 10 July 2020.

External links[]

Navigation templates to Ryan Drummond


Voice actors of Sonic the Hedgehog


Main article · Scripts (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, Gamma, Super Sonic) · Story Screens (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, Gamma) · Credits · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (Limited Edition, DX Demo Version) · Re-releases (DX, 2010)

Main article · Scripts (Hero, Dark, Last) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (The Trial, Preview, TRIAL Version) · Re-releases (Battle, 2012)


Former English voice actors


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