Kyle Hebert’s Geek Talk

Voice actor panels have become a staple of any anime track or convention. Generally speaking, the voice actors sit at their table, answer questions from fans, and explain the mechanics of the voice acting industry. However, Kyle Hebert used his 2:30 panel in the Hyatt Centennial to try something a little different. Saturday’s “Geek Talk” panel was just that, a discussion of all things geek, giving the anime celebrity a chance to share his interests with the fans.

Largely due to the adjacent Arrow panel, the discussion opened with the topic of Arrow and other comic based movies and TV shows. Hebert revealed his interest in that show as well as the newest of the X-Men and Captain America movies. From there the fans moved to the best awful movies, such as Evil Dead 2, The Last Airbender, and The Room. The Dragon Ball Z voice actor even covered the phenomenon of “Abridged Series” where a few fans redub shortened anime episodes as parodies.

The famed voice actor talked about his favorite video games as well as his thoughts on the new gaming consoles. He shared his love for classic Atari games, like Castlevania and Galaga. Many gaming aficionados in the audience got to ask Hebert about his thoughts on some of their favorite games, like League of Legends and Super Smash Bros. The panel ultimately worked its way around to cosplay and convention stories.

No topic proved too off-beat or outlandish. Hebert, the voice of Ryu, even read a Street Fighter skit that one of the attendees had written. While voice acting did figure into the conversation, Hebert mostly focused on movies, video games and other stripes of fandom. The panel provided a rare chance for fans to share their interests, and talk with a favorite star as just another fan.

Author of the article

Gavin West is an Architecture Student at Tulane University and avid Anime/Manga Fan. He's been to DragonCon several years, generally in costume. He's from Charlotte NC and also attends several conventions in North Carolina.

close
Facebook Iconfacebook like buttonYouTube IconTwitter Icontwitter follow button