Peace and Blessings! I had the privilege to interview the voice actor Jordan Dash Cruz! He’s known for his roles as Stark in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Qi Rong in Heaven Official’s Blessing, and Senta in Hell’s Paradise. You can find him @dashcruzva on Instagram. Now let’s head to the interview!

Sound recording:

Transcript:

Jordan: I’m ready for your questions.

Tobi: So, hey, thanks for being here and speaking with me. I’m from Religiously Nerdy, and we talk about all things nerdy, but also the spirituality in anime. 


Jordan: Yes. Let’s do it.

Tobi: So, how you liking Milwaukee? 


Jordan: I’m really enjoying Milwaukee. So this is my 2nd time here. I got a chance to do AMKE 2 years ago, and it was so much fun. It was actually right after Frieren season one had come out. So it hadn’t caught on just as much yet. But it was, it was a lot of fun. I had some of the cheese curds, and I was very thankful because they were very delicious. Um, but I’ve been enjoying it. This time, my wife has joined me as a guest as well. And we both had cheese curds, and they were also just as delicious. But no, it’s been really fun. The fans have been so, so kind and so generous and so friendly. 
A lot of them are coming up with smiles on their faces, just thrilled to say hello and to talk Frieren and talk just a bunch of different fun shows and it’s just, it’s a blessing for me to be able to sit down and talk to them and just have a good time. Because I’m a fan of anime myself. So, it’s cool to be able to see how these shows have impacted them and how it’s uh, influenced them for the better. 


Tobi: Great.

Jordan: So it’s been fun.

Tobi: I’m glad that you are having a fun time. 


Tobi: So, yeah, we are ReligiouslyNerdy, we want to ask you, what are you currently nerding out on?

Jordan: What am I currently nerding out on? Okay, so two things. One, I just bought Resident Evil 9 Requiem, and my wife, who is here in the audience, will nod her head because I cannot lie while I’m on this panel. I told her I was like, I’m going to need some time because I’ve been waiting for this game to come out for like six, seven months, and I want to play this. And she was like, okay, cool. I’ll give you a little bit of space. So I played it, and I beat it through 3 times already. I got the platinum trophy, and I really loved it. And Bill Butts, who’s here, um, he is a big Resident Evil nerd too, so we’ve just been like sending memes to each other about Resident Evil 9. Um, and then the 2nd thing that I’m nerding about is, I ended up playing a game called Clair Obscure Expedition.

Tobi: I was just at the panel. There’s a panel.

Jordan: Dude, that game, like, it easily became one of my top 5 games of all time, just playing through it once. I got the platinum trophy as well on that one because I’m a platinum trophy collector. And I love the soundtrack so much. I put it on my Spotify and like my wife, I will work out to the soundtrack. Dead, like dead serious. So, needless to say, I kind of have nerded out a little bit about both of those. And I definitely went down a rabbit hole for expedition 33, where, after I beat it, I’m just like, I gotta know the lore. I gotta know everything.

Tobi: You should have been to the panel today, it was all about the lore.

Jordan: I should have, yeah, you know what? I should have just crashed the panel, just been like, guys, I’m here. I love this. This is fantastic. But no, it’s a really fun game and one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Tobi: It’s good to hear that. So I love your voice for Stark.

Jordan: Thank you.

Tobi: And I wanted to ask, how did you prepare for this role? 


Jordan: How did I prepare for? Funny story. So I, um, excuse me. I didn’t. I literally got called in for a session for 15 minutes for Frieren. And I didn’t, I wasn’t told what I was doing. They were just like, “Hey, can you come in for 15 minutes?” I said, “Okay”. So I go in there, and Jade, who’s the director, goes, “Okay, so I’m casting you as Stark and Freiren”. I’m like, “I don’t know what that means, Jade. What do you like? Is that good? Like, does he die in the next episode?”. You know, because I was so used to like playing characters that die. Like, I was just like, yeah, you know, clearly it’s gonna die. Sowe do his line because in Frieren, every episode, there’s an ending sequence where we say at least one line from the next episode. So I say my one line and I go home, and then I’m just like, I tell my wife, I’m like, yes, “I had a session for Frieren today, and Jade said that she picked me for Stark, and I don’t know what that means.” And she’s like, “Jordan, that’s like the main male character of the show.” And I sit there, I kid you not. I go, no, he’s not. I’m like, no, he’s not. 
And she goes, “Jordan, look at this promotional art. Do you see this person with the orange hair? That is Stark. That is you. Okay? You are in this show now.” 
And I’m like, oh, shoot. And that’s when it clicked. And I’m like, oh, okay, I guess I’m in this. So then that’s when I decided to look up, like, you know, Google, Wikipedia, any information that I could about the character. I started looking up, and I’m like, oh, okay, cool. Now I’m getting a feel for like what he is, what his personality is like. And as the episodes went on, I know I’m rambling, so I apologize. As the episodes went on, um, it just became a little more and more natural. I started seeing what Jade was looking for in the character in the show. 
We started just trying out a couple of different things. I started feeling more comfortable, and that’s kind of how it just came about.

Tobi: Great to hear that. How does it feel to be in one of the best anime out there currently?

Jordan: It’s surreal. I legitimately had no idea that it was going to blow up the way that it did. And I’m so, so thankful. Like, I’m so blessed to be a part of this show. It has been a phenomenal ride. 
Going from doing these conventions and slowly starting to see fans cosplaying like uh, Freiren and Stark and Fern, like the trio, Himmel in there. It’s been so cool to see like the love that people have for it. People coming up and just, just talking to me about how it’s influenced their life and, and how they were in like a dark, rough spot, and watching this show helped them. It was so special. And I’m so thankful that they, you know, that the show moved them in such a way that they felt the need to come up and say, “hey, thank you so much for your performance”. Because as an actor, that’s what I’m doing. You know, I’m performing, I’m enjoying my performance, and I’m doing it for, you know, for entertainment and for people to watch and say, “hey, I like this”. But it’s so special to have people just come up and say, “like, man, you know, this performance, this really hit me, like it tugged on the heartstrings”. So I’m very thankful and very blessed. For the fans that are listening, thank you, guys, so much for checking out the show and for it being such a big part of your lives.

Tobi: Alright. Do you relate to Stark or any other character on the show? 


Jordan: I really do Stark a lot. My wife actually told me that he is the most like me character that I’ve ever voiced. I did, going to a bit more of a serious place if we can. I have struggled with self-esteem issues, you know, not just as an actor, but as a person. You know, wondering like, oh, am I good enough? Like, am I talented enough for this role? 
Like, am I, do people hate me? Do people like me? Like, you know, just struggling with, like, these insecurities that Stark struggles with, you know, he had to deal with his family, which I have a great relationship with my family, but he had to deal with, like, his father, like, kind of treating him poorly, like he was useless. Never really believed in himself, constantly struggling, and constantly is afraid. But he buckles down, and he fights for his friends. He fights for what he cares about, even though he’s afraid, he’s like, hey, I have responsibilities that trump my fear. So I’m gonna use that as my motivation, and I’m gonna keep moving forward.

Tobi: So good to hear!

Jordan: I yeah, I absolutely love that about him. And he’s such a fun character. I call him best boy.

Tobi: Yes, he is. So one other question. So, besides Frieren, you also voice a character in Hell’s Paradise.

Jordan: I do. 


Tobi: That is also a show I enjoy. So, tell us more about, like, how it was with being on Hell’s Paradise.

Jordan: So Senta, yeah, Santa was a great character. I, we didn’t have auditions for Hell’s Paradise. Mike McFarland was the director for season one. And I remember looking through the characters like for the show and seeing Santa, and I’m like, man, it would be really fun to play that character. I feel like that’s a character I would vibe with. About 2 weeks later, I get an email going, hey, Jordan, Mike wants to cast you as Senta. I’m like, there is no way. 
So I went in and, you know, he’s obviously got the glasses, a little bit more intellectual. So we changed the voice around a little bit, kind of played to see what would sound good. Um, but he’s such a wonderfully written character. I’ve had a lot of fans. I’m not gonna spoil anything. But I’ve had a lot of fans tell me that they really appreciated Senta for the kind of character that he is. So he was fun to play, and it was fun to shift around the voice a little bit. He sounds very different than Stark.  

Tobi: Yes! So thanks for speaking with me, and I look forward to future work. 


Jordan: Absolutely.

Tobi: I know we can’t talk about that.

Jordan: Yeah, I can’t, and he is, but, you know, I can talk about them soon. And then, yeah, free to check me out on Instagram. I’m @dashcruiseva. That’s a D-A-S-H, C-R-U-Z-V-A. I’m just on Instagram. I don’t have Twitter. It was hacked. But yeah, feel free to just check me out on there. Send messages, you know, feel free to like my posts if you want to. But that’s where you guys can find me.

Tobi: Thank you. 


Jordan: So, thank you!