Zach Aguilar Interview – Iconic VA Talks Demon Slayer, Smash Bros & More

Leading the charge as Demon Slayer’s Tanjiro Kamado, Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Byleth, and other iconic characters, Professional Voice Actor Zach Aguilar can be heard in some of the greatest anime and video games ever made.

We recently spoke with Zach Aguilar about Demon Slayer, Smash Bros., and even his experiences as a cookie – learn more with our interview…

Zach Aguilar Interview – Iconic VA Talks Demon Slayer, Smash Bros & More 

Gamers Heroes

It’s a huge honor! Needless to say, your work needs no introduction.

Jumping right into it, I have to talk Demon Slayer. 

I actually just interviewed Jonah Scott [Demon Slayer’s Kokushibo] a few weeks ago, and I was singing his praises too! I was there for Infinity Castle, and have been watching Demon Slayer since the beginning.

A lot of people grew up with your work as Tanjiro –  you’ve touched a lot of lives! 

Throughout the Demon Slayer series, Tanjiro has gone through a lot. 

From The Entertainment District to Infinity Castle, what has been your favorite part voicing the character through these different arcs?

Zach Aguilar 

It’s so hard to say! 

Every single part feels like a part of me, now that I’ve gotten to go on this crazy journey with Tanjiro.

I’ve been doing this since 2019 – if I had to pick a favorite, it’d probably be The Entertainment District.

I love all the fight scenes, and I love the camaraderie between Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke.

I even like the comparison between Gyutaro and Daki and Tanjiro and Nezuko!

A lot of people at that point finally understood Tanjiro’s outlook, and the empathy he has for others – even for the demons he defeats. 

Gamers Heroes

That’s a great way to look at it. 

You definitely put a lot of passion into it, always working on that Total Concentration…

So doing a bit of homework here, I noticed on Twitter you said you wanted to manifest a deep voice. 

So I know all about NDAs – I’m under a few myself! – but how are you looking to channel that deep voice?

Are you going to do that signature epic movie voice – “In a world…” style – or something along those lines?

Zach Aguilar 

That’s a good question! 

I would love to play some kind of superhero or supervillain – just do something super fun and kind of different! 

Don’t get me wrong; it’s definitely a blessing to be cast as the main character and a bunch of different things to play the “nicest, bestest” boy in so many different franchises. 

But yeah, I would love to give myself a bit of a challenge in that way, doing a different type of character. 

I think the only thing that relates to what I’m talking about is kind of like playing a superhero or villain that’s just edgier, maybe more similar to David Martinez.

Something along that realm where I’m not just like a super nice boy, but just kind of edgy. 

Gamers Heroes

I like that!

Are there any types of anti-heroes or villains that you’re drawn to? Somebody like Homelander from The Boys?

Zach Aguilar 

I love The Boys – I love it so much! 

I’m watching all the new episodes as they’ve been coming out.

Gamers Heroes

Nothing but the best taste!

Zach Aguilar 

And Invincible too – I’ve been watching Invincible. 

Yeah, I would love to be a Marvel or DC-type of villain. 

I’m not entirely sure what I would play, but I think it’d be so cool. 

Gamers Heroes

I could absolutely see that – and I’m sure you got it! 

I’d also love to talk about your community stories…

I saw you’re going to be at FANEXPO Dallas – I’ve previously gone to the San Francisco one, and I have lots of great memories with great people.

I also saw your Valentine’s Day video!

On that note, what are some of your favorite community stories? 

As far as the fandom goes, I’m sure you’ve gotten a lot of great pieces of art, touching stories, and more…

Zach Aguilar 

You’re right – there are so many good stories!

It’s hard to kind of pick just one, but mostly meeting families. 

I love meeting just a whole family of people – they tell me how they bonded over Demon Slayer, and they’re all in cosplay! 

The dad is Rengoku, the mom is Shinobu, and the little kids are Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Inosuke.

I think that’s super cute! 

And as you’ve said, I’ve gotten fan art – I get so much fan art! I do always appreciate it – but I ask myself: “Where do I put this?”

I have bins full of different art, paper, and canvases! 

I have been gifted so many things – it’s such a blessing for people to put time and effort into something like that and share their work with me. 

It’s really special and cool, something I don’t take for granted at all.

I never thought that I would be doing something like this. Being that person one spends hours on a drawing for… 

I mean, what act of love from fans is greater than that?

Gamers Heroes

That’s a great way to describe it – “act of love!”

I’ve been to artist alleys and seen people wearing Demon Slayer garb – not to mention the art. I hear you loud and clear!

Like I said, you’ve touched a lot of lives – including mine.

Changing gears a little bit… 

I saw you did Super Battle Golf with the Genshin Impact stars! 

We’re talking about the fans, but you’ve also got great foils with all your cast members.

What are some of the standout moments when it comes to collaborating, whether it be the nonstop chaos of Super Battle Golf or anything else?

Zach Aguilar 

When it comes to streaming and interacting with people, the cast is awesome! We don’t always get to have those kinds of interactions. 

It’s funny, because some of them I haven’t had really in-depth conversations with – they just kind of just pop up and do something really fast. 

That stream for Super Battle Golf was actually way more chaotic than I thought it was going to be. I mean, it was non-stop talking. I don’t think we had a moment of silence! 

We have a great time, and it’s fun getting all the actors together. 

We all record in the same sort of way and work with the same team of people, so it’s nice that we can all kind of connect in that way. 

I’m glad that the fans also get something out of it! We’re doing it for the fans – we think that the fans would think that’s really cool to interact.

And sometimes, the voice of our character slips out! It’s kind of like the characters are unofficially talking to each other.

I’ve seen that in my chat all the time too. I’ll say something, and people will say that sounded just like Tanjiro, and I’ll say:

“What? That’s not intentional – that’s just my voice!”

Gamers Heroes

Definitely take pride in it! 

For people to remember that – that’s a lasting effect! 

So talking energy, I’ve got to talk CookieRun and your work as Espresso Cookie! 

I’ve immersed myself in all things CookieRun: Kingdom as of late; I know there’s a pop-up in New York, there’s the KPop Demon Hunters collaboration – and I love how you ate a cookie every time you didn’t get Espresso Cookie.

That spirit is just incredible!

That’s a great cast too – I’ll also co-sign Erik Braa, who’s Burning Spice Cookie. I’ve seen him at a couple of events, and he’s truly great as well!

What are some of your favorite moments throughout the CookieRun series?

Zach Aguilar 

CookieRun! 

Feels like I’ve been doing that game for a while now… 

I think the best part about working on that franchise is Devsisters being so freaking cool to work with. 

They’re so hip with the times and social media, and they want us to collaborate. 

That’s not always the case. Sometimes companies are very corporate, and say while we got you on that game, we’re going to be over here and you over there – don’t cross the threshold too much. 

But Devsisters has been one of those companies that’s amazing to work with! 

We all record individually, so meeting the actors and hearing their lines in the game or clips online, I see how much bravado some of those cookies have! 

And it’s just hilarious – the writing is incredible! 

I’ve worked on so much CookieRun dialog as Espresso Cookie, and I am never once not entertained by what they have written. 

It is just so fun, so lighthearted and comedic – even in very dark situations.

Because at the end of the day, they are just literally cookies!

Gamers Heroes

I just noticed there’s one in the background too – true to form!

Zach Aguilar 

I got that from Devsisters – they’ve seriously been amazing! They’ve gifted me all sorts of different stuff and merch.

I have merch of Espresso Cookie, I have shirts, I have hoodies – I have just so much stuff. 

I’m super thankful to them, and I’m glad they’ve asked me to be a part of the project. 

I’m looking forward to just continuing the relationship with those guys with some more CookieRun stuff to come.

Let’s continue the CookieVerse! 

Gamers Heroes

That’s the way the cookie crumbles, right? Sorry, I love my dad jokes… [laughs]

So changing gears a little bit, I’ve got to talk Super Smash Bros. 

I grew up playing the Nintendo 64 version – and you’re Byleth in Ultimate! 

I remember in 2020 when he was revealed – everything was just hinging on those trailers. 

And sure enough, you’ve got Abby Trott [Demon Slayer’s Nezuko Kamado] singing Ultimate’s main theme Lifelight!

I have to ask: What has it been like working on the Smash Bros. series and working with Sakurai?

Legends are working with legends here, creating one of the best games of all time – no joke!

Zach Aguilar 

Honestly, it was incredible! 

When I first went in to record on Smash Bros., they told me and my agent in the mass email thread that we usually have going on that it was for Fire Emblem: Three Houses DLC. 

I go to record, and I say a few lines, and then they show me a video where the Smash envelope is being delivered.

I have to match the timing to that as part of doing the voice,

And I see it, and I say: 

“Guys, what’s that? That’s not in Three Houses; that’s Smash!”

I mean, I had followed the Smash announcements for so long – I would talk a lot with my friends, asking: “Who do you think is going to be the next character on the roster? Who is it? Sora?”

Everybody was hoping for Sora; people were praying for Sora [we eventually got Sora]! 

And I look over to the Director, and he presses the intercom button so I can hear him through this giant wall of plexiglass. 

And he says:

 “Byleth is going to be in Smash.”

Gamers Heroes

There you go!

Zach Aguilar 

He said:

“I don’t know when it’s going to be announced. It could be three months, it could be a year. It could be even longer. 

Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone, or I will find you.

Do not tell a soul. I don’t want you to tell your mother, I don’t want you to tell your dog.

Don’t tell anyone.”

And that was probably the hardest secret I ever had to keep. All of my friends and I would go over to my buddy’s house, and we would all play Smash together.

They would talk about the next character, asking “Who do you think are the top five characters?” 

We just talked about that every single time I would go play Smash – and I’m a Jigglypuff main!

Gamers Heroes

Yeah, watch out for that “Rest” – I got you!

Zach Aguilar 

It was the craziest thing!

And then when Byleth came out, I got so many text messages congratulating me. 

Friends of mine were like: 

“What the heck – why didn’t you say anything?”

I couldn’t say anything – but I really, really wanted to! It was just kind of like a wave or rollercoaster, just going up and down. 

So many people on the internet were like: “We wanted Sora or somebody else – why another Fire Emblem character?” 

But then I got a ton of love too! 

Once people gave Byleth a chance, and MKLeo ended up naming Byleth as one of the best…

He’s one of the best Smash Bros. players in the world! I mean it – it was just so cool to be a part of.

For me, it was also really nostalgic. I played Melee on the GameCube all the time as a kid.

It really was a full circle moment, something I couldn’t even believe I had been a part of.

Gamers Heroes

It is incredible – and it’s a great part too. You’ve even got a stage in Ultimate! 

Leading up to his reveal, were you playing any other Fire Emblem characters like Marth or Roy?

Zach Aguilar 

I played some Lucina…

Jigglypuff is still my best, but my top two characters now are Jigglypuff and Byleth – because I have to, of course!

I was so bad with Byleth when he first came out, but I’ve gotten a lot better – way better.  

Gamers Heroes

That’s great! I’m still playing to this day – it’s a fantastic game.

I believe you got your start as a voice actor in 2014 – how would you say the landscape has changed in the past decade? 

Have you noticed any major trends or changes when it comes to delivery or anything else?

Zach Aguilar 

I think our process has stayed relatively the same when it comes to recording. 

But something I have noticed is voiceover feels to me a lot more competitive than it used to be – everybody wants to do voiceover work now and be in an anime because it’s super popular. 

I had a chat with a casting director – she was one of the people that she was one of the people that helped me get my start. 

Her name is Mami Okada – she told me that so many people and big agencies of celebrities have reached out to her trying to get them or their celebrities into anime.

These are agents that don’t know this realm or medium at all. 

They might think: “This anime gets hundreds of millions of views, I can get my client $200,000 an episode.”

Or something crazy – anime doesn’t pay you that. 

It’s still kind of this medium where it’s probably about to explode even more in terms of profitability when it comes to theatrical releases. 

I think that’s the next wave of anime, anime genres, and even Hollywood recognition.

As we’ve seen with Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man, all these great anime movies are coming to the big screen. It’s definitely changed in that regard.

I’ve learned so much throughout that that time span; just meeting people, networking, sending emails to studios. 

I didn’t even have an agent for a while – I would send my stuff to studios and say:

“Hey, I would love to audition for you guys.” 

And just pray for a response. 

And it worked a few times – compared to the few 100 times it did not work. So it’s definitely a changing industry. 

I’m excited to see where it goes from here, if it’s going to become more like Hollywood, more red carpet-y, more press, more promo-like. 

I think that one of the biggest things we’ve seen change with anime becoming popular are the conventions. 

I remember I would go to conventions in 2016 and 2017. People would show up, and it was pretty good. I would talk a maybe 20% filled whole panel room. 

Now, every single time I go to a convention and doing a panel on a stage – even if it’s just a Q&A –  hundreds of seats are all completely packed in there! 

We’ve seen the popularity of anime and how it kind of spread to the voice actors. 

People started recognizing voice actors, knowing their names, watching their streams, and following them online! 

It’s been very interesting!

I got into voiceover because I love anime – I watched Naruto, Death Note, DBZ, Your Lie in April…I was an avid anime watcher!

When Netflix started going digital, I watched everything on there at the time. 

It’s just been incredible to see just the explosion of anime, and I’m excited to see where it goes. 

I hope we get to see some Oscar-nominated anime – I think that’d be incredible!

Gamers Heroes

Absolutely, I can definitely see that! 

Talking about my experiences going to theaters around the San Francisco Bay Area, there were packed houses for Infinity Castle, Reze Arc, and other anime releases – I saw billboards everywhere too!

I’ll definitely co-sign that one.

Ending on a short and sweet note, what would you suggest to those looking to enter the voice acting space themselves? 

Going to events like FANEXPO, or even gaming events like the GDC Festival of Gaming or Summer Game Fest, people say they want to do voice acting work themselves.

I’ve asked this question to a number of voice actors – some mentioned you should go to iwanttobeavoiceactor.com, while others suggest you join clubs.

There’s not necessarily a wrong answer, but I’m always interested to see exactly what one suggests when looking to enter the space…

Zach Aguilar 

Both of those are great options! 

I think there are a lot of roads and a lot of doors somebody starting out need to try. You never know what path is going to be your “in” to the industry. 

I would say focus on your acting. Take theater classes, film and TV acting classes – voiceover classes, specifically – and just basically become an actor. 

Don’t worry about just voiceover; become an actor. 

Focus on your brand and do everything that you could imagine that that would entail.

Make a website, get a demo reel done, make sure you’re training consistently – constantly working on your craft, networking, and learning how to network.

At the end of the day, this is business. I do believe it’s really important to network with people and be able to separate your brain into two different spaces. 

One part of your brain is your creative space, where you focus purely on the craft you love, what you do. 

The second space is purely business and understanding. 

Why are you valuable to this agent, this studio, or someone else? What can you bring to the table that maybe other people can’t bring?

Is it your social media following? Is it maybe on-camera credits? Maybe you have something that ties into voiceover there. 

Maybe you can speak another language; maybe you can do accents really well; maybe you just have a really cool voice!

Or maybe you don’t have a cool voice. Maybe your voice is a little strange…use it to your advantage! 

Don’t try to hinder yourself, and don’t be something you’re not. 

When it comes to the industry casting, everybody sees that authenticity. 

So if you are authentic, you love the craft, and you are focused as a business person… 

You take acting classes, voice acting classes, you make that website, you get headshots done, and you promote yourself as a valuable brand… 

I think you will be successful!

Gamers Heroes

I think that’s a great combo! Being passionate, showing professionalism, and being genuine – it’s a winning formula. 

From the expert, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So on that note, I really appreciate the time! I hope to see you at a future event – we’ll have to get a picture.

Thank you so much!

Zach Aguilar 

Thank you so much Casey – appreciate you having me!

Gamers Heroes

Pleasure is all mine!

For those feeling social, be sure to follow Zach Aguilar on Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube social media channels.

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