Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Georg Stegmair.
Hi Ben Georg, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started acting when I was in Middle School. Around that time, I became infatuated with Dragon Ball, as many pre-teens did. I regularly borrowed the original Dragon Ball manga from my friend, and I would rush home to watch new episodes of Dragon Ball Z: Kai with baited breath. Watching that show, it started to click in my head that… These characters are being performed by somebody. So, I hopped online to watch interviews from the cast and other silly or fun moments from conventions that fans would post online. Since Trunks was my favorite character, I watched a lot of Eric Vale’s interviews (Trunks’ English VA). In them, he would regularly say, “You don’t get into voiceover, you get into acting. Go to your local theatre, join your school theatre program, etc…” So, I did just that, and never looked back!
I continued to do theatre throughout the remainder of my scholastic experience. And, after graduating from Richland community college, I made my professional theatrical debut in 2019. Since then, I have been a part of 25+ professional stage productions, regularly working with theatres like Theatre Three, Shakespeare Dallas. Second Thought Theatre, Shakespeare Everywhere, and much more!
I fell madly in love with theatrical work, but my goal was always to be a voice actor. More specifically, to dub in anime. I started acting with Crunchyroll in 2022, and am most known for my role in the hit new shonen series Kaiju No. 8 as Iharu Furuhashi. However, after reading stories such as Vinland Saga and Mob Psycho, I realized that I didn’t just want to do voiceover, I wanted to dedicate a majority of my career to the art and storytelling of anime and manga. So, in addition to voiceover, I am also an assistant director at Crunchyroll, and have worked on huge show’s such as Black Butler and My Dress Up Darling. I am also learning to become a comic book writer and artist. One of my end goals is to start a company that creates comic books in the style of manga and anime with American authors and creatives.
So, in short, I love all that I do. I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and no. Theatrically, I feel I’ve been rather fortunate. My first job in town only happened because, by some strange coincidence, I was in the right place at the right time. That’s happened a couple of times. And I’ve regularly worked with the best performers, directors, crew and production teams this town has to offer. That’s something a lot of people could only dream of, so I’m very thankful!
My experience getting into Voice acting was a little different. While I was performing for some of the biggest theatres in Dallas, I was also unsuccessfully trying to become a voiceover artist at Funimation (Now Crunchyroll). It took me around 4 years to even step into the building and an additional year to get my first named role. I found myself running into two problems. I never had any money for classes or equipment, since I was too busy paying for college and other expenses. And I never really talked about my passion for voiceover to anyone. Which, looking back on, seems very silly. How was anyone supposed to know I wanted to do voice acting if I never told anyone?
I can’t really explain why I didn’t talk about voice acting with others. All I know is that I got nervous even mentioning it to anyone in the industry, and that could be for a multitude of reasons. But, it was thanks to my theatrical experiences that I met the people who gave me more confidence. Marcus Stimac really helped me break out of my shell, and through him, I met Shawn Gann and Caitlin Glass who have taught me basically all I know about the industry. All three of these people completely changed my life and I have no clue where I’d be without them. So once again, I’m very thankful!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As I said earlier, I am probably most well known for my role as Iharu Furuhashi in Kaiju No. 8, and I couldn’t be happier for it! From the voice acting, to the writing, to the animation, the show exudes quality from top to bottom. And not only that, working on this show has been the most fun I’ve ever had as an actor! Iharu is a over-the-top, passionate hothead, so the possibilities and character choices I’m able to make are seemingly endless, which has been super fun to play with.
Even though characters like Iharu can be very wacky, Kaiju No. 8 and Iharu as a character are a perfect example of why I love anime and manga. It’s stories with crazy, wacky and creative settings, told with characters and moments that are innately human. I believe our jobs as voice actors are to find the simplicity within the absurdity, and the moments I’ve gotten to find Iharu’s “simplicity”, have been the proudest moments of my acting career so far.
And there’ll be more in season 2, so I hop you’ll check it out!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Yes! For my theatrical experience, I’m always inspired after reading “The Year of The King” by Antony Sher. It’s just one of the most perfect written accounts on how to create a performance from your own unique experiences. Which is very important, especially with Shakespeare, which has been performed thousands of times for hundreds of years.
I am also a huge fan of K.M. Weiland’s book “Creating Character Arcs”. As a writer, it’s obvious to know why I use this as a resource, but even as an actor and director, the book explains the constructs of character writing and storytelling so well. It really helps you put the characters journey and story into perspective which is really helpful to know while tackling any form of performance art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.benstegmair.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steg.stagram
- Twitter: https://x.com/BStegmairVO
Image Credits
Jordan Fraker
