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JB Blanc

French actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

JB Blanc
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Jean-Benoît "JB" Blanc is a French-born actor of film and television who has worked on animations and video games in Los Angeles,[1] coming from a drama education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art[2] and with an extensive background in British theatre.[3] He is most recognised for his recurring role on Breaking Bad and its spinoff, Better Call Saul as Gus Fring's Mexican cartel doctor, nicknamed unofficially "Dr. Barry Goodman",[4][5][a] as well as for lending his voice to Caustic in the long-running video game franchise, Apex Legends[6] and Vander/Warwick in the highly-acclaimed Netflix animated series, Arcane where both the production team and cast have garnered positive attention.[7][8][b] He made his voice directing debut on the English dub for L/R: Licensed by Royalty[9] as well as provided the voice of Rowe Rickenbacker[10] where he won a Performance of the Year Award by the Anime Dub Recognition Awards in 2004.[11] The same year, he took over the role of Joe Carpenter from Crispin Freeman[12] in the television series sequel to the OVA, R.O.D the TV,[13][14] for which he was awarded a second Anime Dub Recognition Award (in this case, for Actor of the Month).[15] He has interpreted the character of Enrico Maxwell in both Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate,[14] and has received recognition for his incarnation of Rubeus Hagrid in numerous Harry Potter video game adaptations. In 2023, he was awarded a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Video Game Character by the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences for his work in Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.[16]

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Early life

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Blanc was born in Paris, the son of an English mother and a French father.[1] "My mother met a Frenchman when she was working for BB [Balenciaga, a retail chain] in Paris," Blanc related in a 2017 podcast interview with VO Buzz Weekly. "He swept her off her feet, and then she realised that he was very French... and so, they divorced when I was very young." Following the separation, he moved to England with his mother at the age of five "about halfway between London and Scotland — a little more towards Scotland [...] in a tiny little village in Yorkshire with about four hundred people." The family's financial situation was tight, therefore, he and his mother lodged with an aunt. His mother eventually remarried and he was chiefly raised by her and his stepfather. Blanc wouldn't reconnect with his birth father until much later in his life when he was twenty-four.[17]

Although his parents would send him away to "a bit of a [boys only] posh private boarding school" when he was seven,[17] he came from a working-class background.[17][18] When his mother acquired a small inheritance, she was able to afford his schooling[17] where he was educated at Bramcote School in Scarborough and Sedbergh School in Sedbergh,[19][c][21][22][23][d] staying there until he turned 18. "When you're a kid, you're just, 'Get me out of here, please'," he said. "And when I looked at my seven-year-old kid, I was just — I cannot imagine sending her away. But it was a different time."[17]

Speaking of his childhood experiences, he has described that growing up French-speaking left him a social outcast in school.[18][24] Because he was "slightly darker than the average kid" and spoke in a heavy French accent, he faced bullying and racial slurs. He said: "Growing up in the '70s and being a French kid wasn't pleasant in England [...] but I had to learn English properly to go to school and so, in order to not be different, I kind of eliminated any kind of hint of French there might be. [Even now] I always sort of sound culturally English, but my blood is very French — very much French."[17] In 2007, when he was hired as a dialect coach for the American production of the English play, The History Boys, The Express found it bizarre that Blanc originated from Yorkshire, though also happened to be French.[25]

For The Live Life video game/voice artist U.K. publication in 2021, he remembered: "Being a little overweight gave me a lot of shit [too]."[18] To cope, he found escapism in drama and singing lessons,[18][21] becoming Head Chorister in his school's choir, learning to play instruments and training in opera.[17] He would add that "there weren't any performers or actors in my family." Despite this, he had his heart set on the performing arts, but in "the most impoverished kind in England."[18]

Apart from the bullying from his peers, he sought mentorship from his "little revolutionary English teachers" and performed in school plays, namely Gilbert and Sullivan musicals and an American work, The Zoo Story by Edward Albee. One supportive teacher encouraged him to audition for the National Youth Theatre in London which, to 16-year-old Blanc, was "another world for us [in Yorkshire]." His audition proved successful[17] and in 1987 at 18, he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the youngest person to do so that year.[1][18][26][27][e] The drama institution was where he first met Victoria Harwood[28] and he graduated in 1990.[2] After a short sabbatical travelling, he then made his debut in professional theatre.[3]

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Career

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1992–2002: Arts Threshold, National Theatre and The Count of Monte Cristo

Blanc began his professional stage career as a member of the Arts Threshold theatre company and worked mainly in the London fringe scene, collaborating with directors such as Rufus Norris,[29][f] Howard Davies[30][g] and Peter Hall at the Royal National Theatre.[1][24][18][31] As an inexperienced actor in London, he has credited Judi Dench with mentoring him during his stint with the Royal National Theatre.[18][h]

One of his first major credits was his portrayal of Mr Andrew Jackson Borden[32] and "the Watcher"[33] (later, he would alternate as Uncle J. Vinnicum Morse,[29] a key player in the Borden trials)[34] in the U.K productions and world tour of The Lizzie Play, based on Angela Carter's short story, "The Fall River Axe Murders". Written by Deirdre Strath, an American student of RADA, it was first produced in late 1992 to early 1993 by the Arts Threshold at the Gloucester Terrace in London[35] as well as Scotland's Edinburgh Fringe Festival and directed by Rufus Norris,[36] also a RADA alum.[35] A subsequent staging in June 1993 was held at the Theatr Clwyd in North East Wales. Playwright Strath has mused that as a native of New York, the play was the first she had successfully staged in the U.K. since leaving RADA, which performed to sold-out houses.[33] Actress Emma Thompson reported to the West Briton and Royal Cornwall Gazette that the play was "really gripping stuff" when she sat in the audience of one of the tour's Cornwall venues.[37] In a review for the South China Morning Post, theatre critic Zelda Cawthorne praised the production staged at Hong Kong's Fringe Club Theatre during its world tour, writing that Blanc and lead actress Nicola Blackwell (as Lizzie Borden) performed "in a near-faultless display of ensemble acting. Director Rufus Norris ensures that [the play is] not for the squeamish."[29]

Blanc received a taste for many Shakespearean plays, including 1992's The Comedy of Errors as Angelo — part of an ensemble that "aim[ed] to be a cut above the rest [and] put through their paces" under the direction of Renny Krupinski at the New Victoria Theatre[38] and "a modern dress" interpretation of Romeo and Juliet at the New End Theatre in Hampstead which was performed in winter 1996.[39] Directed by Simon Parry, Blanc portrayed the minor supporting role and friend to Romeo, Mercutio.[40] Rejecting period set dressings, video monitors stood in place of a traditional Chorus, which displayed "sound bites and television news flashes of civil strife." John Thaxter, writing for The Stage, noted that the modern dressings were distracting and the casting was uneven, though the play still managed to offer "some sharp characterisations." Matthew Lewis[i] and Joanne Mitchell were praised as the title leads while Blanc had "some of the best comic business" in his version of "a sophisticated bawd."[41] Kate Basset for The Times was also displeased by the modern interpretation as well as the inclusion of mugging on housing estates. Though she added: "Some of this young company show real promise. Jean-Benoit Blanc's albeit beefy Mercutio has unflagging boisterous drive. He just needs a decent director to check his hyperactivity."[42] Blanc recalled decades later: "I love that role [Mercutio]. Who doesn't like being killed at half-time? He's just really, really fun to play. Also, this was a role people didn't expect me to play, which was nice because often you don't get that challenge."[18]

Blanc then reunited with Lizzie Play director Rufus Norris and playwright Deirdre Strath for a modern re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, retitled Waking Beauty, which opened at the Arts Threshold in mid January 1995. Antonia Quirke, reviewing for The Stage, named the production "anarchic," commenting that "the action [of the story] was 'devised by the company'" within five weeks of rehearsals, even though Strath was credited for the writing. The cast replaced traditional fairytale dress with Reebok boots and hand-crafted wigs made of straw, which Quirke found "inspirational." The production was noteworthy, she added, for its "joyous exposure of the tricky little perversions frequently smudged in mainstream fairytales."[43] Blanc also appeared in Love for Love, directed by Jon Harris at the New End Theatre in August 1995. Critic Paul Taylor of The Independent was unimpressed with the small stage placed closely to the audience's seats, the casting, which he felt was uneven and lacking chemistry between scenes, or the quality of line deliveries, which he described as "screamingly high pitch[ed]." However, he was partial to some of the performances, namely the leads and Blanc, writing: "[T]here are some extremely enjoyable characterisations, particularly that of Jean-Benoit Blanc as Valentine's blunt sailor brother, a nautical image-addict. [...] Arriving in Act 3, he comes as a tonic after all the mincing landlubbers."[44]

In late 1996, he joined the Royal National Theatre company of Sir Peter Hall's self-prescribed "first thriller" Oedipus the King, called "the most influential play ever" by the Lincolnshire Echo, which premiered in Greece's Epidaurus Theatre before transferring to the Olivier Theatre. Re-adapted and translated by Ranjit Bolt, Hall's version had the cast wear masks and opted for "20th-century colloquialisms and irony [...] a very rich translation," quoted Hall, "which encourages the actors' intensity." The production was well-received and promoted nationally where it was revived with the original cast for Radio 4 in March 1997.[45] He would also feature in an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Duel at the Lyric Studio in May 1997, starring Paul McEwan as Layevsky who raged "virtually against everyone" in the ensemble, "even the wonderfully jolly and philanthropic Doctor Samolyenko" interpreted by Blanc.[46] The Times' James Christopher thought Blanc had "bluff appeal [as] a big-hearted army doctor who lets his alcoholic friend abuse his bar tab."[47] In autumn 1997, he would go on to work with Howard Davies in his National Theatre revival of Arnold Wesker's Chips with Everything as the Second Corporal and showcased his musical talents by alternating in the orchestra, performing guitars and vocals.[31][30][48][49] Variety, in a positive assessment, identified the cast as "a crackerjack [which] charge[d] ahead [...] even when the writing doesn't rise to the production," concluding: "Not since Noises Off has a cast's physical dexterity elicited such applause."[30]

Blanc would eventually make his foray into professional opera, appearing in director Sarah Alexander's Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Opera Holland Park Theatre in June 1998. Blanc's "well-rehearsed choral movement," said a review for The Stage, "provides a vivid impression of Sicilian village life," which played to a full house.[50]

For over a decade, he almost exclusively worked in theatre before he dropped acting temporarily. He mentioned that on stage work "is the 'real stuff' because it's the best job in town, but I could barely pay my bills."[18] For a time, he worked odd jobs, including construction work and in the sales department at a web design company to earn a stable income, where he recalled feeling miserable. "I was a part of this corporate world and it was horrible."[18] He later elaborated on why he quit acting: "Even when you're working in professional theatre and I worked in some great theatres, including The National Theatre, it's still hard to make money."[24] After being contacted by an agent he knew in the U.K. for a role in a Hollywood production, he left his corporate job and was cast as the Italian bandit, Luigi Vampa in The Count of Monte Cristo for Touchstone Pictures,[51] which he has named fondly as "the movie that brought me to America."[18] Reviews were generally positive. Critic Walter Chaw expressed that Blanc "as [the] insouciant pirate king" Vampa was "a character greatly expanded from the novel though still underused."[52] Roger Moore of Desert Dispatch felt that Blanc's performance was "droll in the extreme," calling his line deliveries "classic."[53]

2002–2013: Anime dubs, Western animation and American theatre

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Taliesin Jaffe (ADR director), Rachel Hirschfeld (Anita), Jessica D. Stone (Junior), Siobhan Flynn (Wendy) and JB Blanc (Joker) at the R.O.D the TV panel at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California (3 July 2005).

Since relocating to the United States in 2001, he entered voice acting through connections with his friend from RADA, Victoria Harwood. "[I] met [Victoria] twenty years ago [at RADA]," said Blanc in a 2006 interview included with the DVD extras of Hellsing Ultimate. "And I think I was genuinely eighteen — sweet and eighteen and very naïve," he continued. "And then she just took me under her wing and she was my greatest friend. [...] And then when I moved to L.A., she was the only person I knew here. [...] She's introduced me to the world of anime."[28] Harwood recommended Blanc to the staff at New Generation Pictures during their casting phase for Hellsing, and he was ultimately cast in the English dub.[24][18][28][54][55][56][j] According to ADR director and script adapter Taliesin Jaffe, Blanc was cast on the spot. He happened to be present at the studio for an entirely separate reason when the first session recordings were well underway. Blanc was immediately called into the room by Jaffe for a phone audition with the production team in Japan (a screening process that was agreed upon by both the Japanese and American productions in order to select the best fit for the characters' voices). "[It] was very strange," remembered Blanc. "And then, I just did [all of my scenes] in a day or two."[28] He filled a small role as "the Cheddar Priest" in Episode 1, returning in later segments as Enrico Maxwell, a member of the Vatican and rival of Sir Integra Hellsing.[57][58] He has said that the anime dubbing industry is "where I got to know Crispin Freeman, Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O'Brien, Sam Riegel and all those people from early anime gigs. It was a very fond time in my life."[24]

Blanc's relationship with New Generation Pictures led to a co-starring role in L/R: Licensed by Royalty and a main villain role, Joe "Joker" Carpenter in R.O.D the TV, which gained him some recognition in the anime community.[10][59][15][11][60] Zack Bertschy of Anime News Network said favourably of the English dub for L/R: "New Generation elected to find a completely British cast for this show and the results are astounding and refreshing."[10] Writing for Dub Review, Nathan Thorell said: "Rowe is able to handle anything coming his way, just like JB Blanc did in this role."[11] Though apart from voicing Rowe, Blanc worked behind the scenes as voice director. In an interview with Jonathan Klein, vice president of New Generation Pictures, he explained that the production team wanted to "add that sort of British flair to [the show]," based on the original source material. "We didn't just have a British cast this time," he continued, "we got a British director, too: J.B. Blanc, who's done a lot of excellent work both on-camera and off. He vocal coached the American actors we had, as well."[9] Blanc won two Anime Dub Recognition (ADR) Awards for his work on the show, including Actor of the Month (May 2004) and Performance of the Year by a Voice Actor (2004).[59][11]

According to the production extras that came with the American DVD release of R.O.D the TV, Blanc commented: "When [voice director Taliesin Jaffe] talked to me about the character of Joker in Read or Die [after working on L/R], I had to stop myself from saying 'yes!' before he'd finished the pitch. What actor wouldn't jump at the chance to play the gentleman villain?"[61] Behind the scenes, Blanc juggled his skills as an actor and teacher, working closely as an accent coach with some of the non-British cast, namely Jessica D. Stone who played Joker's youngest field agent, Junior, in order to perfect their dialects.[62][63] Blanc would interpret his character, Joker beyond an archetype for which he was given an Anime Dub Recognition (ADR) Award for the December 2004 release of Volume 4,[15] adding that "like most evil people, he sincerely believes in his cause and each action he takes seems to him to be the most natural thing in the world."[61] Due to this approach, Way Jeng of Mania emphasized that "Joker's cool demeanor is very natural" in an otherwise "fantastic [dub]."[64] He added that Blanc exhibited "one of the most appealing performances [of the show]. It's soft but carries a subtle edge" that wasn't afraid to delve into bitterness,[65] explaining that his "sinister side provides the most enjoyable moments."[66] By the finale, Jeng believed that "Joker's calm focus and unwavering vision [whenever his] obsession bubbles to the surface [...] have made him an extremely compelling villain" that avoided the trap of feeling "overplayed [...] which grounds the character."[67] Anime Insider expressed similar sentiments. "Joker [has a] vision of a future free from crime and suffering [...] at the cost of all other culture and even all individual thought, and [he] does not hesitate to kill, lie, steal, cheat and even burn books to get there... all with a smile on his lips."[60]

In 2005, Blanc appeared in a guest-starring role in Season 12 of NYPD Blue, portraying Alex Stratis, the son of a Greek immigrant and coffee shop owner who was murdered under mysterious circumstances. Amanda Wilson in a review admitted that episode fourteen was not "much to write home about," though the performances by the ensemble cast were singled out. "The story was crafted and acted well enough," she said, "prior to [the] revelation [about Alex's father] to make the moment something of a shocker."[68] Additionally, he was set to appear in the film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, though his scenes were ultimately cut.[68] The same year, his voice was featured in the Electronic Arts game, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love in the role of Pedro Armendáriz with a Turkish-Latin accent, which was released in November on PlayStation 2.[69]

He returned to the stage in L.A., appearing in the ensemble of the World War II drama, iWitness, presented by Center Theatre Group and directed by Barry Edelstein at the Mark Taper Forum in April 2006,[70][71][k][72][73] which is set in 1943 within the confines of a single set — a Berlin prison[74] — and was based on the final days and execution of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who was arrested and killed for refusing to support the Nazi Party; one "incriminating" act that he was accused of involved his defiance for not putting on their uniform.[75][76] Joshua Sobol, the playwright, composed the play in his native Israel during the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, drawing parallels to Jägerstätter and his comrades who wanted no part in the military occupation of Palestine.[77] The Hollywood Reporter lauded the production, naming Blanc's performance as Sgt. Bastian "first-rate."[78] Theatre critic Jeff Favre felt the opposite, writing that the acting was melodramatic and the tone too bleak for its nearly two-hour runtime, especially Blanc's prison guard stories of the guillotine told to the protagonist to dissuade him from his inevitable sentence.[77] He was also cast as the supporting character Leon in Tristan & Isolde, directed by Kevin Reynolds and released by 20th Century Fox in January 2006.[79]

In November 2007, due to his background living in North Yorkshire, he was brought on as a dialect coach for the American premiere of the English play, The History Boys, directed by Paul Miller at the Ahmanson Theatre,[23][80][81][l][82] which the Yorkshire Post noted would be "interesting to judge how successful he has been" once the play opened in the States, acknowledging Blanc's Yorkshire upbringing, though arguing that Yorkshire has a wide range of accents spread across a few miles, from Sheffiled to Holme Valley.[83] Blanc commented that the origin of an accent was the core to authenticity, not the sounds alone, which he instilled in the young American cast — all deriving from various backgrounds and U.S. states — in an intense rehearsal that lasted five weeks, plus a full reading that was scheduled at the Music Center in early October. As homework, Blanc produced a CD for the cast to practice vocal exercises when not in the rehearsal space as well as assigned viewings of such films as The Full Monty. Reportedly, some of his choices in exercises were less appropriate with a single goal in mind: "[W]ith a little practice you'll be able to say any word that rhymes with 'luck' like a dyed-in-the-wool Sheffielder," which the cast treated with humour, even when criticized profanely when blundering through their dialects repeatedly. Although he had originally signed onto the production for two weeks, his role as a coach was extended all the way through dress rehearsals.[84] The play opened on 14 November and ran until early December.[85] Later that month, he co-starred in the L.A. Theatre Works' production, Major Barbara, directed by Dakin Matthews at the Skirball Cultural Center.[86][87] He worked as a dialect coach once again for The Fountain Theatre's production of Victory, directed by Stephen Sachs,[88] opening in January[89] and closing on March 9, 2008,[90] which transferred to Los Angeles after well-received stagings in South Africa and the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, respectively in 2007.[91]

In 2009, an English dub licensed by Viz Media of mangaka Naoki Urasawa's critically-acclaimed Monster was set to air on Syfy's Ani-Mondays Block as well as the Chiller television network.[92] Later in the season, Blanc was featured as Roberto,[14] Johan Liebert's unhinged follower and survivor of the Cold War experiment, Kinderheim 511.[93] The themes and characters have been widely praised. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network positively received the "veracity" of the Japanese voice cast as well Viz's English version. "Viz goes for a similar level of anal fidelity," he said. "Their English adaptation is one of their most carefully cast and deliberately accurate in recent memory. [...] The performances range from good [...] to superb."[94] Writing for CBR, Daniella Fois interpreted of the series finale that "Roberto's sole anchor that keeps him from completely drowning in nihilism [is his childhood memory of hot cocoa]," thus, adding layers to his role as a secondary villain. However, she noted, Roberto's memory "is also the same reason that Johan deems him unworthy to see the scenery for a doomsday. Because Roberto, unlike Johan, is not truly empty. He only claims to be."[95] Blanc was also featured as the hero's deceased father, Alighiero in Visceral Games' Dante's Inferno, released by Electronic Arts in early 2010,[96] and joined the American production of The Train Driver, a play by South African writer Athol Fugard, as a dialect coach for the Africaans dialects, which was directed by Stephen Sachs at the Fountain Theatre from October through December 2010.[97]

In 2012, he starred as Al Capone in the 1920s short film, The Lift, directed by Lyndon Barrois.[98][99][100] At the 14th Annual Independent Filmmakers Showcase Film Festival held in Santa Monica, Blanc was awarded Best Actor for his performance.[101][102] He also joined the creative team of The Fountain Theatre, working as a dialect coach for the Los Angeles premiere of the play, In the Red and Brown Water.[103] The same year, he lent his voice to the English dub of the French animated film, A Cat in Paris, playing a low-time criminal, Victor Costa who is responsible for leaving the heroine fatherless. Writing for ScreenAnarchy, critic Jim Tudor called Blanc a "fiend [who] is an intrinsically watchable loon." He praised his take on a gangster, saying his performance "at least in spirit [hails] from the Joe Pesci/GOODFELLAS school of psycho mob nut with his own crazed obsession."[104] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times was notably mixed in her review, believing the film struggled in finding its tone, not knowing when to "be serious or silly," though went on to single out the animation and characterizations, which were boasted by recognizable performances.[105] Gil Mansergh, on the other hand, was left confused by Blanc's depiction, pointing out that Costa is, obviously, meant to be French — "albeit with a Cockney accent."[106]

He would return to the world of Hellsing with the release of the OVA, Hellsing Ultimate which aimed to readapt the manga faithfully (compared to the thirteen-episode television series), reprising his dual roles as the Cheddar Priest and Enrico Maxwell, respectively. The majority of the original cast and crew reunited for the Japanese production as well as the American team heading the translation. New Generation Pictures was again responsible for the English dub with Taliesin Jaffe serving as ADR director and Jonathan Klein producing. "It was the first voice gig I did in the U.S.," said Blanc on the DVD extras. "[Enrico is] slightly Italian, dangerous, fantastically fun to play, ingratiating while he's killing you, he's just a great character." Commenting on his return to the franchise, Blanc was quoted: "[Hellsing Ultimate is] bigger and camper [sic] and there's more of Enrico Maxwell which, you know, I'm always happy with. [...] It's good to come back to something that feels familiar, and yet it's having its boundaries pushed further and further."[28]

Though only ten episodes long, each episode held a one-hour runtime with a lengthy production period that spanned seven years, switching between several animation studios and two American distributors. The first set of episodes premiered in late 2006, dropping physically on DVD (though scheduled inconsistently) until it aired on Starz Edge in early 2008. The show later appeared on Adult Swim's Toonami block, which ran all segments until late 2014; the final two episodes were eventually given a DVD and Blu-Ray release the same year.[107][108] Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network felt that the OVA was "pretty incredible." However, he criticized the quality of the English dub, saying: "[F]ans were psyched that some of the British characters were recorded using British voice actors [in the original TV series] but that wasn't done across the board," emphasizing the weakness of K.T. Gray's South London dialect.[109] A British reviewer held a similar perception, commenting: "It doesn't matter when the majority of the main cast are of British origin when the voices are still filtered through a Hollywood mindset of what UK accents should be."[110] Despite the criticisms, Behind the Voice Actors would award the English dub with a Best Vocal Ensemble nod as well as individual nominations for some of the cast, including a Best Male Supporting Vocal Performance for Blanc in 2012.[111]

He would later portray Alfred Pennyworth in the Cartoon Network series, Beware the Batman, which was promoted at San Diego Comic-Con along with the game, Saints Row IV,[112] and aired from 2013 to 2014.[113] The show was praised for its "predictably solid" vocal performances as well as the individual personalities the cast embedded in their characters, reognised by the Pennsylvania publication, Reading Eagle.[114] As Deacon Frost in the anime adaptation of the Marvel Comics property Blade, Wichita Anime Examiner thought that Blanc "did a great job voicing him as he has this low growl of a voice."[115] While the majority of the performances for Marvel Anime's Iron Man title received criticism from the Chicago Geek Culture Examiner for the lack of believability, John Eric Bentley was noted for being "spot on" as Nick Fury as well as Blanc as Ezekiel Stane, who's performance was "properly creepy."[116] He had also aided the development of a sci-fi/action web series project, Subject 5 through the promotional "Subject Five Con," created by artist LaQuita Cleare.[117]

2014–present: Hollywood, Breaking Bad, Video games and Arcane

Blanc was cast in the Colombian-American joint produced indie film, Bastards y Diablos, directed by A.D. Freese, which was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2015. While Blanc never makes an appearance onscreen, he portrays the main characters' deceased father Gabriel, speaking to his sons through voiceover in fluent Spanish. Though the film was received favourably by Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter, she noted less enthusiastically: "The somewhat heavy-handed poeticism of Gabriel's voiceover commentary, delivered in the rich baritone of J.B. Blanc, takes some getting used to."[118] In March 2015, it was confirmed that Blanc had joined the cast of War Dogs (originally titled Arms and the Dudes), directed by Todd Phillips, playing an Albanian driver named Bashkim opposite Jonah Hill and Miles Teller.[119] In summer 2016, he lent his voice to the Academy Film Archive, under the aide of Audio Mechanics engineer, John Polito with the purpose of restoring damaged or missing sound reels recorded for classic pre-Code films, notably the Howard Hughes feature, Cock of the Air. Other actors of the preservationist project involved Martin Hinkle and Hamish Linklater.[120]

He has since appeared in television series such as Barry, which has earned praise,[121][m][122] Masters of Sex, Shameless, Nikita, Cold Case, CSI: New York, Raising the Bar, The Unit, Crash, Prison Break, Dr. Vegas and The Company.

Blanc has appeared in films, including The Incredible Hulk, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Moonlight Serenade. He has done voice-work for video games such as Minecraft: Story Mode, Dante's Inferno, Darksiders, Wildstar and James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, in which he played Turkish agent Kerim Bey. In 2013, he voiced Zinyak and Phillipe Loren in Saints Row IV. In 2014, he voiced Commander Kuben Blisk in Titanfall.

He made his debut in Breaking Bad as Gus Fring's Mexican cartel doctor in the third half of Season 4 and reprised his role in the spin-off, Better Call Saul, marking his debut in Episode 3 of Season 3. While the character was written into the show to serve as a plot device for Walter White's climax with Gus, thus functioning as a minor supporting role, Collider stated that Gus' Doctor was one of many underrated characters in Vince Gilligan's franchise. "Although Barry may be a convenient plot device on the surface, his rounded performance and dry humor give him and Gus' cartel overall a believability worthy of the world."[123]

In 2021, it was announced that Blanc had joined the voice cast of Arcane, based on the characters and lore of the game, League of Legends.[124] He filled the role of Vi and Powder's adoptive father, Vander, who meets a horrific end early in the series as he is betrayed by his "brother," Silco.[125] He would return in Season 2 as the voice of Warwick and a younger Vander in flashbacks.[7] Cameryn Barnett of Collider praised the writing and animation of Vander/Warwick, noting that his "beastly return [in Season 2] marks a tragic end for his character."[126]

He is currently voicing Caustic in Apex Legends.

Blanc is a leading voice director in video games and directs both live action performance capture[127] and voiceover on many of the top AAA titles.

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Personal life

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He lives in Los Angeles with his daughter, Malia[18] and was once married to author Cynthia Bond,[128] a relationship in which his friend, Victoria Harwood had encouraged. "She's responsible for most of the misery in my life," joked Blanc in a 2006 interview.[28] Though separated, Bond included him in the acknowledgements of her 2015 novel, Ruby, saying he had an "unyielding beacon" in the years she had known him.[129]

Blanc has been an avid participant in Los Angeles charity events. He was one of many voice actors signed with New Generation Pictures that auctioned several autographed items in September 2009 in order to raise funds for a seven-year-old boy who was severely injured in a traffic accident.[130][131] When the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused massive devastation in Japan, veterans of the anime voiceover industry, Blanc included among them, organised the "We Heart Japan" fundraiser in downtown Sunset Boulevard at Meltdown Comics,[132] sending all donations to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund for the victims.[133][134] "Like everyone, you know, around the world, we've all been very deeply affected by events in Japan over the last week," Blanc commented in a radio interview on 91.8 The Fan.[135][n]

In October 2016, Blanc, along with several voice actors under SAG-AFTRA, went on strike, protesting poor working conditions and inadequate pay. Blanc said: "They led off undervaluing what we provide to the video game industry."[136][137] He was further quoted: "My performance is an indelible print on the game. It's my gestures, my features. The intellectual property I'm putting into the game is the same as an actor on camera."[138][139]

In July 2024, Blanc stood his ground with a second actors' strike over the lack of protections against the rise of artificial intelligence in the industry, saying: "[AI] is the biggest existential threat I think we've ever faced as actors."[140][141]

Filmography

Theatre

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Voice over roles

Anime

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Animation

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Television

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Notes

  1. Television Academy, 2025. Alan Sepinwall: "Gus [Fring]'s doctor, the guy in Mexico [played by JB Blanc]. So, I'm going through my old show recaps, my old notes, and at a certain point, I realized — I should know this doctor's name. It's easier to refer to him that way. So I go to the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul Wiki pages, and he is listed as Barry Goodman. And I'm like, 'Wait, first of all, how is this a name for a Mexican doctor? And second of all, why would they name a character on a show with Saul Goodman on it Barry Goodman?' So, I reached out to one of the writers on the show. I said, without context, 'I'm curious where the name Barry Goodman came from?' And the writer writes back, 'Wait, who's Barry Goodman?' Then I explained who it was, and they're like, 'There is no way we named that guy Barry Goodman.' He guessed that maybe the [actor's] agent changed it on IMDb or something, because it's always — if you talk to character actors — it's much better if their character has a name than if they're referred to by their job, just in terms of getting other work, because it looks more impressive on your resume."
  2. The Art and Making of Arcane: League of Legends, 2024, p. 206. "When it came to voice talent, the Arcane actors were chosen because they could, first and foremost, bring their characters to life."
  3. Bramcote School merged with Scarborough College in 2012.[20]
  4. The Independent, 2007. "Mr Blanc, a coach, actor and director who grew up in rural North Yorkshire..."
  5. CCP News, 2013. Blanc: "I always loved being in plays at school, but I think I was 16 when I realized that I would never forgive myself if I didn't give it a shot... So I applied to RADA and got in somehow."
  6. South China Morning Post, 1994. "Arts Threshold, The Lizzie Play, Fringe Club Theatre, January 14-19. [...] Jon Benoit (J. Vinnicum Morse) join[s] [Nicola] Blackwell..."
  7. Variety, 1997. "Production: A Royal National Theater presentation of a play in two acts by Arnold Wesker. Directed by Howard Davies. Cast: Jean-Benoit Blanc..."
  8. The Live Life, 2021. Blanc: "At the National Theatre years ago, I was talking to Judi Dench and I said: 'Why do you always seem nervous about where you're next job is coming from? You seem to believe that you'll never work again.' She looked at me and said: 'You know JB, I think that's what keeps me honest.' It was then I learned that [acting] was a different energy..."
  9. No relation to the actor from Leeds.
  10. Hellsing Review, 2018: "Additional voice talents like JB Blanc... etc [sic] while their parts are changed compared to its original source material they each do a great job with the roles they are given..."
  11. Jewish Sightseeing, 2006. "Even the jail guard, played by J.B. Blanc, seeks to convince Franz to change his mind."
  12. Variety, 2007. "... in [the actors'] many group scenes, bolstered by JB Blanc's strong coaching in the difficult Northern England Sheffield dialect..."
  13. Vocal Media, 2022. "JB Blanc did a noteworthy job in the confrontation with Hank."
  14. 91.8 The Fan, 2011. Blanc: "We have a very special event in Los Angeles tomorrow night at 8 'o clock at Meltdown Comics..."
  15. The Blue Room Theatre Program, 2010. "... credits include: Theatre: Shining City, Coming Home, Photograph 51, Gem of the Ocean, Accomplices, Victory (Fountain Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest, Summer and Smoke, Major Barbara (LA Theaterworks), The History Boys, iwitness (Mark Taper Forum, CTG), The Oedipus Plays, Mary Stuart, Chips With Everything, Flight (Royal National Theatre, London), The Duel (Lyric, London), Romeo and Juliet, Love for Love (New End Theatre, London), The Lizzie Play (World Tour), The Taming of the Shrew, The Phantom Lady, Julius Caesar, The Love of a Good Man (Arts Threshold, London), A Comedy of Errors (New Victoria, Stoke)."
  16. Uncredited
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