Corey Wilder explains modern anime dubbing at Anime Central

Corey Wilder has become one of the most recognisable English-language voices across the current anime slate, playing Zanka in Gachiakuta, Land in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Will Serfort in Wistoria: Wand and Sword, among other roles. In an interview recorded at Anime Central, Wilder described how modern dubbing gives performers room to shape a character while staying inside the story’s intent.¹

The clearest example was New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. Wilder said the creators encouraged the cast to make the dialogue feel contemporary, allowing him and Hunter McCoy to add current slang when it matched the characters and scene. He contrasted that with Gachiakuta, where the dub required less improvisation because the show’s existing voice already felt urban and contemporary. Wilder credited scriptwriter James Cheek and director Lee George with helping the adaptation find its own identity.¹

Different characters, different tools

Wilder said he tends to bring personal experience into every performance rather than treating a role as an exercise in simply imitating the character. That approach has applied both to louder, more eccentric parts and to quieter roles such as Land in Frieren. He described Land as a more deadpan performance than he usually receives, but one that still gave him room to connect the character to his own instincts.¹

He also linked Zanka and Will to his own memories of feeling less naturally gifted than other people while taking part in school sports. Those experiences helped him understand the characters’ inferiority complexes and their determination to continue after setbacks. It is a useful explanation of why a performance can feel specific without turning an English dub into a carbon copy of the Japanese original: the actor is looking for an emotional truth that works in the new language.¹

What the interview says about modern dubbing

The conversation presents dubbing as a collaborative performance rather than a mechanical line-reading job. The actors still have to serve the script, timing and director’s plan, but Wilder’s examples show how small choices in rhythm, slang and attitude can make a localised performance feel alive. That is especially important for shows whose comedy, social language or character dynamics depend on immediacy.

Wilder’s comments do not suggest that improvisation should replace writing. Instead, they point to a more flexible process in which performers can contribute when a production has deliberately made room for it. His account of Gachiakuta also underlines the other side of the equation: sometimes the strongest dub is the one that recognises the tone already present and avoids unnecessary reinvention.

Our opinion

The most interesting part of Wilder’s interview is not the novelty of actors improvising. It is the distinction between freedom and guesswork. A good dub can sound contemporary because the cast understands what the original scene is trying to do, not because it simply piles modern slang on top. Wilder’s examples suggest that the best results come when performers, writers and directors share that understanding. His approach also explains why supporting performances can become the detail that makes a new anime click for English-speaking viewers: the voice does not just translate the words, it gives the character a lived-in point of view.

Source: Anime Corner’s interview with Corey Wilder at Anime Central, lightly edited for clarity.¹