Abby Trott: The Multifaceted Voice Behind Nezuko, Momo Ayase, and Countless Iconic Roles

Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.

Hi! I’m Abby Trott, an actor/singer who has been working mainly in VoiceOver for the past 10 years. My career has taken me to Tokyo, New York City, and now Los Angeles, where I live with my partner and our two cat-children.

I’ve always been passionate about video games and animation from the fan-side of things, so to be able to work on them for a living is a literal dream come true.

What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry

I’m a morning person. NEXT QUESTION!

Seriously though, I think my experience with travel and living abroad have given me a different perspective on the world. I spent six years living in Japan, and can speak Japanese and a little Mandarin, which can sometimes help with localizing anime and video games.

I can sing and have a decent ear that lends itself to voice-matching. That being said, that’s kind of par-for-the-course in VO – most people in this industry have their own special talents, abilities, and history that they bring to their work, and I’m constantly being blown away by my peers. 

Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?

I’ve been a fan of cartoons and video games but didn’t realize Voiceover was an actual career until I was an adult. I was living in Japan at the time, gigging as an actor and auditioning for anything I could get. I found I was really drawn to the voiceover jobs, and made the very difficult decision to move back to the U.S. to pursue VO. I knew that I had to at least try that path, or I would never be able to forgive myself. 

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge was probably leaving Japan and starting at what felt like square one. I had no idea where to begin. I used all my connections and resources to talk to people in the industry and look for opportunities online, and slowly start snowballing some kind of a career.

I stumbled upon a voice acting contest on YouTube called “Perfect Idol,” hosted by Bang Zoom Studios and Star Child, and after much hemming and hawing I uploaded my audition. This was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, since I had no idea what I was doing or if I had any business doing it.

In the end, I won this contest and dubbed my first anime “Miss Monochrome,” and made some great friendships and relationships in the industry that helped me on my journey. 

You voice Momo Ayase in Dan Da Dan. What do you enjoy most about this role, and how has your experience been bringing her to life?

I love how dynamic Momo is. She can be so funny, but also has moments of deep sincerity, awkwardness, anger… everything! She is one of the most well-rounded characters I’ve been lucky enough to voice, and as an actor it’s such a joy to be able to live vicariously through her. I’m so lucky to be a part of this show, because we have such an amazing team. First of all, the source material, by Yukinobu Tatsu, is phenomenal. The direction and animation over at Science SARU is impeccable.

On the localization side, we have an incredible director/adapter, Alex von David, who pours blood, sweat and tears into his work and really spends time with us fine-tuning our performances. We have absolute wizards of sound engineering recording, editing, and mixing our performances. And then there’s the cast; I’m always being inspired by my castmates, whom I adore. I love our team.

Fans around the world know and love you as Nezuko in Demon Slayer, one of the most popular anime franchises of all time. With Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Infinity Castle in theaters now, what are you most looking forward to fans seeing in this new movie?

First of all, the animation is incredible. I also can’t wait for people to see more backstory to some of the other characters in the franchise. I know the movie is still fresh, so I don’t want to spoil anything for those who still need to watch!

Beyond anime, you’ve lent your voice to beloved games like Super Smash Bros., Fire Emblem, Persona 5 Royal, and  Fortnite. How does working in video games differ from anime, and do you approach the performances differently?

There are some similarities depending on the project. For example, when localizing a Japanese game like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, there can be cut scenes that involve ADR/Dubbing style recording. Usually though, for video games, we don’t have the luxury of getting to see finished animation to inspire our performances.

If we’re lucky, there might be some key art or character models, but we’re largely recording from just the words on the page in front of us. It helps to have a good director! And a good imagination…

You also performed the English version of “Lifelight” for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a song millions of fans around the world know. What was that experience like for you, and how did it impact your career?

I’ve been a Nintendo fan my entire life, so being chosen to sing “Lifelight” was truly special, and is still surreal to think about. I remember watching a video of the game being revealed in the Nintendo store, and “Lifelight” was being blasted over the speakers; my heart was beating so fast, and my palms were sweaty from anxiety over how fans would feel about my performance.

Despite these sentiments, at the time, most people didn’t know that it was me singing the song! Now that I’m a bit more widely known, it’s one of those fun facts I like to whip out of my back pocket every now and again. I tell people to imagine Momo or Nezuko singing it.

What would your dream voiceover role be?

I’m champing at the bit to do a performance capture role! Doing scene work with other actors and incorporating a full-body performance sounds like a dream. It would be so much fun! 

You’ve had the opportunity to work with many voice actors throughout your career. Is there anyone you haven’t crossed paths with yet that would be a dream for you to work with?

Although I’ve run into her a number of times, I haven’t had the chance to record with Grey DeLisle. That would be a dream! Also, the legendary Cree Summer and Eric Bauza. I would die!

Can you tell us about any other current projects our readers can look forward to?

Check out Sanda on Prime Video! I voice Ono. If you play Cookie Run Kingdom, you can hear me as Salt Cellar Cookie! More to come very soon!

List the direct links/URL to your social media profiles or website:

Twitter/Insta: @abbytrott 
TikTok: @abby.trott
Website: abbytrott.com