Troy Baker may have voiced some of the most iconic names in pop culture – from Joker in Arkham Origins to The Last of Us' Joel Miller – but that didn't stop him getting his marching order much earlier in his career, all thanks to one difficult script cue.
"In Fullmetal Alchemist, the first incarnation of that show, I got brought in to play this character called Greed. And the first cue is 30 seconds of building maniacal laughter," Baker recalled in an interview with Party Chat.
"I found out very quickly the limits of my ability extend right up to 30 seconds of building maniacal laughter," Baker said. "And we tried for about 15 to 20 minutes on that one 'cause every time I laughed, it was awful. It was kind of like when you let air out of a balloon… it was not good."
Baker revealed he was "fired" from the project, with the role later going to voice actor Chris Patton.
"The director was like, 'Why don't you go and step out of the booth, man?' Well, I guess I could find what I can't do and I can't laugh. Which would be a lot of fun in a few years when I had to audition for another certain character that's known to laugh."
However, Baker managed to receive a do-over as Greed – in the form of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, a remake of the anime, complete with the manga's full ending intact.
While 2003's Fullmetal Alchemist was highly regarded in its own right, Brotherhood is widely considered one of the best anime of all time. As Baker explained, it probably helped his vocal chords too.
"I got to come back and my first question when we did Brotherhood was, 'Does he have to laugh?' [The director] goes, 'No maniacal laughter on this.'"
Fans of anime will be pleased to know there's plenty on the way this fall season. The new anime lineup includes The Apothecary Diaries season 3, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2, to name but a few.
For more, check out our picks for the best anime movies to watch right now.
