Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
Of course! My name is Jonah Scott, and I am a voice actor, VTuber, and streamer. In my five-year career, I’ve voiced characters in anime like One Piece, Attack on Titan, BEASTARS, Frieren, Blue Lock, and dozens more. I also work in games—I am the player character, Aiden Caldwell, in Dying Light 2 and its recent installments.
When I’m not in the booth, I stream as my alter ego, Alphonse MacKenzie, a wannabe cyberpunk rockstar who could be the best big brother you’ve ever had. He (me) is also the lead singer and drummer for the in-universe metal band Midnight Howl. We released a 10-song original album on Spotify last year, and I’m very proud of that!
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I like to make art as a collective. I don’t think reaching for celebrity is all that important. Being noticed is important, but that means it’s equally worthwhile to notice not just the actor—yes, hello, that’s me—but also the hundreds of other people who work on our art three to four times longer than any actor does.
Directors, producers, engineers, tech staff, unions and their organizers, writers, localizers, timecoders, even the person who signs you into the studio every session.
I approach the VO community the same way I approach the theatre community, because that’s where I cut my teeth. A show, game, radio play, or commercial simply cannot be made by one person alone. It is a “we, us, our” art.
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?
My grandmother and my mother. They knew about BEASTARS even on the drive home from the studio. They would listen to me whine, moan, and complain about not working, living in a master bedroom, auditioning forty times a day, and finding zero traction. I honestly didn’t think I could do it. I wasn’t enough of a fan, I didn’t want it hard enough, I wasn’t popular on social media—any number of excuses.
They just sat on the phone and listened. They gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received, as simple as it was: “Keep moving forward. You’ve got that voice. Someone is going to hear it.” If I stopped, that would have been on me. So I didn’t. I went harder. I kept reading, auditioning thirty or so times a day, streaming, creating, and acting. Eventually, I booked BEASTARS, my first major lead that would get a lot of attention.
And wouldn’t you know it; they weren’t around to see any of it. They both passed within a year of each other. But I wouldn’t have had the drive to continue without both of them in my life, encouraging me to keep moving forward.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
Probably battling severe depression and anxiety. I’ve gotten better recently at recognizing what triggers them. I’ve built a wonderful system of friends and peers who help when it gets bad and who I can lift up when they find themselves in a darker place. As an artist, our work often exists in peaks and valleys.
You might work all day for weeks or feel inspired for a stretch, and then the muses leave to check on another artist for a while, and you have to scrape together the motivation until the work picks back up or the muses return.
I’ve had to learn that we are all so much better than our overthinking. The artist brain that says, “I liked my audition, what did I do wrong?” or “I didn’t get sides for X property, they’ve forgotten about me” is so hard to shake. Loving distractions like friends, exercise, and video games never fail to elevate my mood. I also just got a puppy. He’s been a handful, but he’s more of a therapist than his tiny mind realizes.
With the final part of Season 3 of BEASTARS now streaming, how does it feel closing this chapter of Legoshi’s journey, and what has the character meant to you personally?
Over the five years this show has been building, Legoshi as a character has become such a part of me, my presence as an actor, and how welcomed I truly felt in a career I once thought was only a pipedream. Legoshi is coming of age throughout the story, learning to laugh, love, make friends, and deal with his instincts. In many ways, I was doing the same in a new place.
Legoshi helped me grieve the loss of my mother while the wound was still healing. He helped me find ways to make new friends and develop new ways of thinking for someone who is pretty socially awkward. He also introduced me to the often lampooned but incredibly open, kind, and charitable Furry Fandom.
I have made friends, built connections, and even got to tour Studio Orange in Tokyo, shout out to Nabe-san and Mami Okada. It was and still is the journey of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see where I’ll get to hang my hat next. Peaks and valleys, and the view from up here is breathtaking.
You star as Oliver Aiku in Blue Lock, a series that has taken the sports anime world by storm. What excites you most about playing Aiku, and what can fans look forward to with the evolving story in the new season returning this summer?
Oliver is one of the rare instances where I reached out to the director, Jonathan Rigg, and asked straight up if I could read. Crunchyroll in Texas is sparing in their use of out-of-town talent, so it was really a shot in the dark whether I would even get a reply. Within a day, Rigg got back to me and was excited to read me for it!
I knew the story and loved Aiku as a character, so I was confident in my performance, but I didn’t know what the outcome of this hail mary would be. I was immensely lucky to even get the chance to read. Oliver told part of his story in the last season—learning to use his gifts rather than forcing something to happen just because he wanted it. I think next season we’ll get to see more team dynamics, and hopefully we’ll dive deeper into Oliver’s story. There are still so many petals left to bloom for him.
What is your favorite video game franchise to be a part of and why?
Dying Light 2, hands down. The talented team at Techland were so generous with their creativity and really rolled the dice on me voicing this character, since at the time I was a relative unknown. Getting to work on the scratch vocals for the alpha really endeared me to the production, and we had a great time bringing Aiden to life.
I’m a huge fan of the original game and Roger Craig Smith’s performance as Kyle Crane, so getting to work on this title as such a young voice actor was a dream come true. They flew us to Poland to create content at their studio, gave me a tour of their campus, and really rolled out the red carpet. I still have the snapback signed by all the devs in a glass case. I can’t wait to see what a possible Dying Light 3 would have in store. The franchise is in a really strong position to launch something generational.
Is there a fan interaction from all your time at conventions that has really stuck with you? Tell us about it.
Anytime there is a fursuiter in my line, my eyes light up. Those folks put so much time and energy into their OCs and fursuits, and wearing them around a con is exhausting, so it means a lot when they wait in line to see me. On that note, anyone who waits in line to see me is doing something special in my eyes.
In a lot of ways, I’m just a kid from Cincinnati who lucked into this job and is still pinching himself every morning. What do you mean I have fans?!
What do you enjoy most about being part of the VTuber community?
The creativity of it all is what excites me. Animators, actors, singers, and artists all come together in VTubing, creating a little cottage industry for creatives that is amazing to be part of. For example, I am producing a full-color graphic novel about my VTuber, Alphonse MacKenzie, that explores AI, creativity, and what happens to your art once it’s posted online. Who truly owns it anymore?
The VTuber space has also been a great place to find friends and a tribe to exist in. I’ve met some of my most lifelong friends simply by playing a game with them or streaming our snack food tier list, haha.
Can you tell us about any other current projects our readers can look forward to?
Oh man! One just came out, Project Songbird from Connor Rush over at Fyre Games. It’s about a musician who retreats to the backwoods of West Virginia to compose a new album, and then the horror kicks in. Connor really knows what he’s doing in the games space and has a wide vision for immersive narrative. If he’s attached to something huge in the next five years, don’t be surprised. He’s right where he’s supposed to be. Wild Blue is another one.
I voice Bowie, a German Shepherd, in a spiritual successor to Starfox 64 made by a few of the same devs. I’m racking my brain now, but most, if not all, of the projects I’m currently working on have not even been announced yet. Follow my socials and you’ll be the first to know.
What is the career accomplishment you are most proud of thus far?
Finding a place where I truly feel needed and that I belong. I lived for so long in a pretty dark place, so it is amazing to be able to see a future. I love acting. I don’t think I can do anything else.
Where would you like to see your career in 5 years?
Ideally, I would love to try some motion, face, or performance capture. Maybe some stunt work in that same vein as well.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career to the next level. Who would those 3 people be?
Roger Craig Smith, for one. He has slowly become my favorite voice actor across the board, and I want to be like him when I grow up. Nolan North would be cool to meet just to say I did. Selfishly, I also want to meet Geddy Lee from Rush, not for career reasons, I just love the music. I like to let my work speak for itself, and if people want to work with me, shoot me the sides. I’m down!
List the direct links/URL to your social media profiles or website:
Twitch @alphaaniki
TikTok – @jonahscottva @alphaaniki
X – @ImMrTransistor @AlphaAniki
Instagram @jonahscottva @alphaanikivt