1. The Lengthy and Varied Career of Voice Actor James Arnold Taylor
Few people can boast a career that includes stints as a bow-and-arrow-wielding
crime fighter, a wise master of the force, the boy who never grew up, and a
malodorous mammal. Yet James Arnold Taylor has served in all these roles and
more. One of the most versatile and talented voice actors in Hollywood, Taylor has
been delighting audiences for decades as the voice of Green Arrow, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, Peter Pan, Skunk from Winnie the Pooh, and many others.
Early Life and Career
James Arnold Taylor was born on July 22, 1969, in Santa Barbara, California. At
an early age, Taylor displayed a love for entertaining people and a talent for
imitating and creating voices. This led to his first work as a voice actor at the
young age of fifteen. His first voice-acting role was Muzu in the English version of
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a Japanese manga film that was first released
in 1984. Although he would not voice any characters again until 1991’s Monkey
Island 2 video game, Taylor’s first role as Muzu was the first hint of a promising
c a re e r.
Later Career and Notable Roles
Taylor’s career really took off in the year 2000 when he voiced Dino Kenty in the
television series DinoZaurs. By that point, Taylor had done work for a variety of
different media productions, which would help him secure further voice-acting
jobs in movies, television, video games, and much more. From 2001 to 2006,
Taylor could be heard in many different roles. He voiced several background
characters in the popular children’s cartoon The Powerpuff Girls in 2003. That
same year he also voiced many characters that appeared in skits on The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno. He also achieved a high level of notoriety as the voice of Obi-
Wan Kenobi in the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars television series, and he also
voiced important characters in several video games and video game franchises.
The video games in which he had starring voice roles include The Punisher (2004),
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and 24: The Game (2006).
James Arnold Taylor is known to be an avid fan of comic books and Star Wars,
which helps to explain why he frequently voices comic book superheroes,
supervillains, and Star Wars’ characters. In 2009, he continued his work voicing
Star Wars characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Republic Heroes. In that
game, he provided the voices for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon, roles that he

2. reprised in the 2011 game Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Beginning in
2008, Taylor voiced those same characters, as well as Osi Sobeck, in the ongoing
Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Taylor’s affection for comic books is seen clearly in the many roles he has voiced
for properties based on superheroes. In 2011 alone, Taylor provided the voices for
Green Arrow and Guy Gardner in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoons,
various background characters in the animated program Young Justice, and Tomar-
Re in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.
Personal Life and Notoriety
In the official biography found on Taylor’s website, it is noted that one could play
the “Six Degrees of…” game with Taylor and be about one degree from nearly
every famous name working in Hollywood today. This is entirely due to his
extensive voice-acting work in the aforementioned projects. Furthermore, Taylor
has served as a voice double for many of today’s top actors. His skill has enabled
him to imitate the voices of Alec Baldwin, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Matthew
McConaughey, Shia LaBeouf, Christopher Walken, Robin Williams, and several
other leading men in Hollywood when these actors have each needed a voice
double for a movie or other program. Taylor has also served as a voice-over actor
in several television commercials and many other projects. Many people have
probably heard Taylor’s voice because of the vast body of work he has done, but
the behind-the-scenes nature of his work means that most people could probably
not identify his voice as the voice they have heard.
James Anderson Taylor is married to Allison Taylor, and the couple has one
daughter, Lydia Taylor. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. There is little doubt that
people everywhere will continue to hear James’ voice for many decades to come,
and there are many projects in which he will provide one voice or more that are
scheduled for release in the coming years.