Alright!! Our next adventure awaits us so there's no time to waste! Yeah! We're SONIC HEROES! — Ryan's official words as Sonic [1]

Ryan Drummond (born January 10, 1973)^[2] is an American voice actor/entertainer who has voiced Sonic, as well as Metal Sonic and Knuckles in Sonic Shuffle. He was the voice for Sonic from Sonic Adventure to Sonic Advance 3.

Roles in the Sonic the Hedgehog seriesEdit

• Sonic Adventure - Sonic
• Sonic Shuffle - Sonic and Knuckles
• Sonic Adventure 2 - Sonic
• Sega Superstars - Sonic
• Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - Sonic
• Sonic Heroes - Sonic and Metal Sonic
• Sonic Battle - Sonic
• Sonic Advance 3 - Sonic

Voice Actor ControversyEdit

In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment acquired the US dubbing rights for the anime Sonic X. In the Japanese version of Sonic X, all the video game voice actors (Seiyū) reprised their roles. Instead of using the established US video game voice actors, 4Kids hired their own in-house actors to provide the voice over for Sonic X. After unprofessional and questionable lack of communication, Ryan was then contacted by 4Kids employee Michael Haigney who was the producer of Sonic X. He claimed 4Kids could not use Ryan and the other video game voice actors, because they did not live in New York where 4Kids is headquartered. Ryan replied that he would have gladly relocated to New York at his own expense.^[3] Instead, Ryan was replaced by Jason Griffith who voiced Sonic in Sonic X.

Sega never made an official announcement about the replacement. Instead, Drummond had to contact Sega to inquire about the voice over work for Shadow the Hedgehog. After hearing about his firing, Ryan informed fans via e-mail. His e-mail states that Sega of Japan hired the 4Kids voice actors in secret.^[4] Former Sega of America (SOA) president Simon Jeffery confirms Sega of Japan controls all voice actors including those in the US.^[5]

Adding to the controversy, Griffith's replacement in 2010, Roger Craig Smith, was simply offered the job by Sega^[6] while Ryan and Jason auditioned and earned the role of Sonic the Hedgehog.^[7][8] To this day, some fans are still angry about the voice actor change and want Ryan to voice Sonic again. Many fans still prefer Ryan’s more energetic style, as opposed to Jason’s calmer delivery and Roger’s older voice.

In an interview, Drummond states that Sega gave him another chance to re-audition the Sonic role during the development of Sonic Generations, but he was rejected the role because he wouldn't leave his talent union.

TriviaEdit

• He was to voice Sonic in Sonic Rush before the cast switch.
• Despite sharing the same last name, Drummond is not related to Brian Drummond, another voice actor who worked on Sonic Underground. Ryan Drummond has one brother, Aaron Drummond, who is a writer.^[9]
• Ryan is a member of the A.Y.U. Quartet.
• Ryan is good friends with David Humphrey, who was the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog. Ryan even said to have helped David get the role.
• Ryan has stated there is no tension between him and Jason Griffith, and he thinks that he's a great guy.
• Ryan Drummond's voice was used for Sonic in the Sonic Anniversary - Through the Ages trailer.
• Ryan said in an interview Sonic Adventure is his favorite Sonic game.
• Ryan is also a clown and a mime in San Francisco.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Sonic at the end of Sonic Heroes
2. ↑ Ryan Drummond at IMDb
3. ↑ ryandrummond.com Current Events July 2003, pages 2-4
4. ↑ Sonic voiceover cast replaced, Ryan’s e-mail
5. ↑ Simon Jeffery interview, Jeffery’s 1^st answer and closing statement
6. ↑ Roger at the London MCM expo, 3:10-3:25
7. ↑ Sonic-cult interview, Ryan’s 1^st answer
8. ↑ Jason Griffith's Panel @ Sonicon 2010 Part One
9. ↑ Ryan Drummond's bio at IMDb

External linksEdit

• Ryan Drummond at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Ryan Drummond at the Internet Movie Database
• Ryan Drummond at search.com/reference
• A.Y.U. Quartet at YouTube