Voice actor Steve Blum is no stranger to the business. An auditory icon in anime and gaming communities everywhere, he’s used his talents to breathe life into characters for over 30 years.
In 1999, he boarded the spaceship Absolution as the voice of T.O.M., the host of Adult Swim’s anime programming block, Toonami; the block ran until September of 2008. In April of 2012, as part of an April Fools’ joke, Adult Swim revived Toonami for one night. Following the prank, they offered fans something more. “Want it back?” they teased. “Let us know.” The fans responded. By May 26, Toonami was back on air.
We talked with the voice of T.O.M. himself on life in the business and how it feels to return to the Absolution.
Paste: When Toonami originally went off air back in 2008, what were your thoughts? How did it feel to say goodbye?
Steve Blum: I had very little prior notice that it was shutting down, maybe a week or two. I think we could all feel the end coming, but at least I chose denial. I remember the last recording well. It physically hurt to say those words. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried in the studio. What happened a few months later was worse. I was a guest at an anime convention. Some of the fans literally cried in front of me. These sweet kids in elaborate cosplay costumes, literally mourning the death of their childhood—and all I could do was stand there in disbelief and empathy. Having recorded all those years in a padded room, over the phone, I never realized how many people Toonami touched until it was all over. I can’t tell you how many thousands of people have told me that I “raised” them. Those feelings of overwhelming responsibility and sadness and joy all at once were something I never expected from being the voice of an animated robot. It was, and still is, truly humbling.
Paste: When you returned to do voice acting for the April Fool’s re-airing of Toonami, did you know its real return was a possibility? How did it feel to slip back into the role of T.O.M., even for that short amount of time?
Blum: I had always believed it was a possibility. Elaborate Toonami tribute fansites were set up shortly after we shut down, were maintained all those years with amazing content—and drew continual heavy traffic. Every convention I attended [worldwide] drew enormous numbers of fans who were dedicated to keeping the spirit of Toonami alive. When I got the call to do the April Fool’s gig, I was ecstatic. I found out at that time that the plan was to bring it back in some capacity, but knew that funding was going to be extremely limited. I was dedicated to doing everything in my power to make April Fools great for the fans whether we could pull off a full comeback or not. Boarding the Absolution again was like coming home.
Paste: How did you originally land the role as Toonami’s host? Did you have any idea it would gain such a fan following back then?
Blum: Man, it was so long ago! Memory is not one of my super powers, so please forgive accuracy issues. As I recall, it started with a conversation with Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco—the creators of the block. I believe they were in town for Anime Expo? They tracked me down and told me they loved Cowboy Bebop and asked if I’d be interested in this show they were doing. I hadn’t watched Toonami at that point, but working in the anime community, I’d certainly heard the buzz they had created. I think we had a beer together, maybe I read some stuff for them, and they hired me. It was one of the few gigs I’ve ever landed where I didn’t go through the normal audition process. I was shocked that these crazy young geniuses wanted me to join them in the next phase of their incredible vision. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, and I certainly had no idea it would become such an iconic generational landmark.
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