Interview with Max Di Benedetto: dubbing director and voice of Yugi and Rock Lee
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How did you decide to become a voice actor?
Dubbing was a passion / curiosity that I cultivated since I was a child. As soon as I came of age, after finishing school and taking advantage of the following year that I would dedicate to civil service, I enrolled in the C.T.A. (Centro Teatro Attivo) in Milan. My teachers were actors who worked mainly in dubbing, as well as dedicating themselves to teaching and some to theater. In particular, I have to thank my dubbing course teacher, Donatella Fanfani, the voice of many protagonists of the 80s and 90s cartoons, who actively working as the dubbing director gave me the opportunity to start working as soon as the course was completed. It was 1999, there was a lot of work, the dubbing companies were looking for new people to be inserted and trained to increase the number of voices, at the time a little lacking in young voices.
You played many characters in your career ... Which are you most fond of?
I Am particularly fond of the one that gave me the most satisfaction, allowing me to learn and remember by fans of the sector! Yugi of Yu-Gi-Oh! of course! But also many others. I'm a grown-up with all the characters that I have dubbed, for several reasons. One of the anime which I enjoyed a lot is Zachbell! Other series that I remember with affection are the Lost Universe (my first nomination), Romeo X Juliet , the re-edition of the mystery of The blue stone , The long journey of Porfi , Stilly and the magic mirror (my first character fixed), Rossana , Gundam Wing , Naruto (in the role of Rock Lee ), Special A and many other. The nice thing is that almost every series is a group of friends and colleagues with whom I shared the shifts and about the joys (and pain..).
in Addition to voice you're also a dubbing director. Can you explain to us what is this type of work?
True, by a few years I also deal with the direction of the dubbing. I started to do that occasionally in the course of the years, when for reasons of urgency, was the need to work alongside the director and owner of the product in order to complete and deliver faster episodes. I always felt honored when I was asked, as it is a job of great responsibility, especially when it comes to co-directions. In specific, the dubbing director is entrusted with the product (anime, movie, TV series etc.) directly from the company dubbing. His task is to oversee the Italian edition, starting from the revision of the product and then go to the distribution of the actors-the voice actors on the various characters. We then move to the stage of dubbing in the room. In substance, the director of “the help” actors on the characters assigned to them, taking care of acting and giving back in our own language what was done in the original product.
Need some type of specific preparation?
Clearly there is sudden, you must have the desire to do so. It is not how to make a turn of dubbing where it comes from, double, disconnect the headset and go. A direction can last for many months, with shifts throughout the day, every day. It is not a walk in the park! And above all, according to me, you have to have the patience and the ability to be able to bring out the best from every person involved.
Better to do the voice actor or the director?
Personally goes to the stages of life! I spent more than twenty years to turn to the dubbing studios, dubbing the series and characters that have fascinated so many guys. At this time, while continuing to dub, I don't mind being used more frequently in the direction of the dubbing, an experience thanks to which I'm still learning so much, what for me is essential in this job.
