“Demon Slayer” star Aleks Le, who has quickly become one of the most recognizable and popular voices in anime and gaming, opened up to TheWrap about his rise to fame in voice acting, the dream role he’s waiting on and how the past year starring in three of the most successful TV and film franchises has all been “surreal.”
From Mel Blanc, James Earl Jones, Cree Summer and more, it’s not easy becoming a well-known figure in Hollywood from your voice alone. But Le, who is widely celebrated for his emotional range and control over a diverse range of characters, he’s carving out his own lane on a global level.
Le has voiced several beloved animated characters, including Sung Jin-woo in “Solo Leveling,” Ao Bing in “Ne Zha” and Zenitsu Agatsuma in “Demon Slayer.” He’s cemented himself as a standout talent in the voice acting world who’s heavily sought after by productions around the world.
And he’s been awarded as such. Le took home a 2025 Astra TV award for Best Lead Voice-Over Performance for his role as Sung Jin-woo in “Solo Leveling” Season 2.
In conversation with TheWrap, Le shared the role that marked his big break in voice acting, how he protects his voice during challenging studio sessions, his thoughts on celebrities entering the anime voice-over arena and more.
You’ve swiftly become a recognizable and popular name in anime and video game voice acting. What first inspired you to pursue this career?
I’ve always been a big admirer of the animated medium. I wanted to be a cartoonist and graphic novel artist when I was younger, and while I didn’t have the time to pursue those, acting felt like the next best thing.
Was there a specific role or project that felt like your “big break”?
I’d have to say that Zenitsu from “Demon Slayer” was definitely my first-ever gigantic role in terms of status and scope!
Fans know you as Zenitsu (“Demon Slayer”), Sung Jin-woo (“Solo Leveling”), Mikey (“Tokyo Revengers”) and several others. How do you approach bringing such different personalities to life?
I think the best part about my job is that I get to portray so many different characters with a variety of attitudes. There’s a lot of research involved with every role, so it’s a combination of that and also just pushing my vocal range as far as I can go to make distinct and fun portrayals.
Which of your characters has been the most challenging to voice and why?
One of my favorite shows I’ve ever done is called “Dora Hedora,” where I voiced the lead, Kaiman. That was a very, very hard voice to do because at the time, my voice didn’t have that much depth or power behind it. And it’s basically a super gravelly and powerful, very shouty voice. It was a great learning experience, and I feel like it gave me a lot of experience and ability to further control my vocal range. So while it was definitely the hardest one, it’s one that helped me improve the most!
You’ve voiced in both anime and major video games. How does your preparation or performance differ between the two mediums?
With anime, sometimes the show or material exists before you’re in the booth, so you can at least do a lot of research about it. Or sometimes it’s based on a source material, which is a manga. So I always like to do my research. But with video games, it’s usually you find out what character you’re playing, or what the lines you’re going to say, on the day of. So it’s all about honing and refining your cold reading skills and your ability to adapt and just make the best decision and choices on the spot.
Voice acting often requires multiple takes of combat grunts, yells or variations. How do you protect your voice during these intense recording sessions?
The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to ask the production people to break your sessions up into two-hour chunks or just reallocate certain very intense yelling lines to the end of the session so that you could at least preserve most of your voice in the beginning. But honestly, there are safe ways to scream and there are also times where you can’t safely scream. So it really just depends on how you pace yourself, what you prioritize in your own personal performance and how much you know about your own voice and if you know enough to protect it.
The voice-acting industry has grown rapidly thanks to streaming and global fandoms. What changes have you noticed since you started?
I’ve definitely witnessed the industry blow up ever since streaming during the pandemic, and it’s been kind of surreal to see because something that used to be so niche is now super, super widespread! But it’s really lovely because I get comments and interactions with tons of families all the time saying they enjoy my work, and it’s not really something I ever thought would be like a family event, watching shows together.
If you could voice any dream role — anime, game or original animation — what would it be?
My favorite manga of all time is called “Real” and my second favorite manga is called “Vagabond” — both by the same author, Takehiko Inoue, who wrote and drew “Slam Dunk.” If they ever adapted those, I would love to play the leads in them, but for the most part, in terms of anime, that’s kind of the only dream project I really have left in my head. I feel that I’ve already done all I wanted to do with anime. And as for video games or TV, I definitely want to be a part of something new that’s never been heard of before. To originate an IP and be a part of the process from the very beginning is something I’ve always wanted to do. So that’s kind of what I’m aiming to do in the future.
You’re in huge franchises right now, “Ne Zha,” “Demon Slayer” and “Solo Leveling.” How does this all feel for you right now on a personal, emotional level?
To be honest, it’s all a bit surreal. But in terms of feeling, I’m not feeling … all that much as I’m very occupied all the time trying to just make it through my day-to-day. Things are very busy and I’m super grateful for that, so I don’t really ever get the time to stop, think, reflect or unfortunately, celebrate any of my past works. It’s kind of been like that for the last four to five years but honestly, I don’t mind it because the times that I care about the most and the times that I have fun with the most are whenever I’m working.
How important is it to have a big social following as a voice actor, and does that ever factor into how you get cast?
Social media followings are a huge part of big productions nowadays. I’ve personally been replaced on many projects, sometimes at the last minute because a celebrity, influencer or even a singer was brought in instead. It’s been frustrating when decisions are based more on numbers than on performance, because that can take away from the best possible result for the project. Personally, as an actor who really appreciates and loves the art, I have nothing against celebrities or influencers, or anybody if they, too, appreciate the art. I can hear that they’ve put in a lot of effort. I’ve worked with many who are incredibly talented and put a real effort into the craft. But when follower counts outweigh skill, it’s disappointing. If it were up to me, social media wouldn’t play such a big role, but the reality is that building a strong online presence has become an unavoidable part of my job. I do genuinely enjoy hearing from my fans and connecting with them, it’s just an added layer of work to stay visible to casting directors and executives.
