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Arryn Zech

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Arryn Zech
Zech in 2023
Born (1990-10-04) October 4, 1990 (age 34)[1]
Rota, Andalusia, Spain
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
OccupationVoice actress
Years active2013–present
Television
  • RWBY
  • Red vs. Blue

Arryn Zech (born October 4, 1990) is an American voice actress. She is best known for voicing Blake Belladonna in the original anime-style CG-animated web series, RWBY[2][3] and Dr. Emily Grey in Red vs. Blue,[4] an American web series also created by Rooster Teeth.

Early life

[edit]

Zech was born in Rota, Spain.[5][4] She began acting in a New Braunfels theater in A Bug's Life production and working in local theater. She attended North East School of Arts in San Antonio, Texas, a musical theater school.[6][7] She revealed, in a 2023 interview, that she considered going to law school, but decided to become an actress instead.[6]

She later graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, concentrating in copy editing and design. While there she worked at the student-run television station, TSTV, as a writer, host, and actress.[5][8]

Career

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RWBY

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In 2013, she began voicing Blake Belladonna in RWBY.[9][10][11] In the 2019 companion book to the series, Zech said that she was still in college when she learn of Monty Oum's pitch to voice Blake Belladonna, saying that Oum gave her the role, although "he hadn't fully fleshed out what he wanted from Blake" and told her, "you and Blake will have to figure each other out."[12]

In August 2014, in an interview with Collider, she talked about fan response to the character, what people could expect in season 2, and voiced her support for the ship of Blake and Yang Xiao Long, known as "Bumbleby".[9] She would later, in a companion book to the series, describe Blake as "very secretive and introverted" at first and Blake's "erstwhile suitors," including ex-boyfriend Adam Taurus, Sun Wukong, and Ilia Amitola, add, "personally, I'm hoping for Yang in the future". She would also describe Ilia's love for Blake as "something a lot of gay kids go through, pining after their straight friend" and describe Sun and Blake as "adorable together, with cute chemistry."[13] The ship with Yang would become canon in the show's ninth season, when both characters kissed on screen.[14]

Zech voiced Blake in various video games such as Smite in 2014,[6] Paladins in 2016,[6] BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle in 2018,[15][16] Smite: Battleground of the Gods in 2019,[17] and RWBY: Arrowfell in 2022.[18] She would also reprise the voice in RWBY Chibi.[19] The series returned as part of the "Neon Konbini" block in 2021.[20]

In October 2018, in an interview with Supanova Expo, Zech stated that she was proud of the show's cast and character development. She also described how Monty Oum chose her for the role and noted that each of the four main actresses, including her, chose hairstyles, clothing, and design, which were used in the final character designs of the four protagonists.[21]

In March 2022, Zech expressed discomfort with being involved in RWBY: Ice Queendom upon being made aware of the 2015 domestic abuse allegations concerning series writer Tow Ubukata, which prompted Ubukata to tweet in response to Zech.[22] Zech later tweeted to confirm that she would be reprising her voice role of Blake Belladonna in the English dub of Ice Queendom, stating that she had internal discussions with the staff and that she would be donating her payment for her work to an undisclosed charity.[23] Her voice role in the English dubbed version of the series was confirmed by later press releases, and articles, which described the project as an anime based on the original RWBY series.[24][25][26]

In October 2022, Zech stated that Rooster Teeth threatened her with recasting Blake if she didn't accept the wage offered to her.[27]

In 2023, she voiced Blake Belladonna in the Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part One crossover film.[28][29] The film premiered at WonderCon 2023 on March 25.[30]

Other work

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Zech voice acts as Dr. Emily Grey in Red vs. Blue in 2013.[6][31] In 2016, she said that when she voices Dr. Grey, she has "bubbly hands, almost Disney Princess hands".[32]

Zech portrayed a character in an episode of the Lethal Weapon TV series in 2017.[6]

She voiced characters in English dubs of various anime in the 2020s. This included "The Ripper" in the Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina episode "The Ripper",[33] Ayana Taketatsu in The Detective Is Already Dead,[34][33][35] and Gentiane in the anime Girls' Frontline.[36][37]

In February 2023, she noted that she had begun writing her first EP, and described it as "incredibly fun".[6] In a March 2023, she stated that she was getting a songwriter certification with online classes and was "pretty excited" about her EP.[14][a] Her official website also stated that in fall 2023, she would be attending the Berklee School of Music to further her study of music[38] and assist with producing her EP "in the near future."[39]

In 2024, GameSpot noted that she was the English dubbed voice of Black Swan in the video game Honkai: Star Rail.[40]

Convention appearances

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In June 2022, Zech told LGBT magazine Diva that RWBY had "changed her life" and said that going to its conventions have allowed her to "come out of her shell" and be honest about her experiences with abusive relationships, mental health, and eating disorders.[7]

In 2016, she appeared at Montreal Comiccon[41] and MCM London Comic Con.[42] In 2017, she made appearances at Fan Expo Canada,[43] Fan Expo Boston,[44] and Ottawa Comiccon.[45] The next year, she appeared at Armageddon Expo in Auckland, New Zealand.[46] In 2019, she appeared at MCM London Comic Con,[47] and Phoenix Fan Fusion[48][49]

In May 2018, she and Lindsay Jones cancelled their appearances at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention after criticism of the convention for its "insensitive response" to accusations of sexual harassment.[50]

In May 2020, Zech appeared at the Anime Frontier convention, which was sponsored by Crunchyroll, at the Fort Worth Convention Center.[51][52] She also appeared at the conference in later years.[5] Zech previously appeared at Wizard World Virtual Experience with RWBY cast members in April 2020,[53] and in the same convention in 2018.[54]

Zech also made appearances at Comic Con Scotland and Anime North in 2022.[55][56]

Personal life

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Zech is bisexual.[14][b] In a February 2023 interview with Naluda Magazine, Zech said that she loves playing video games, gardening, and supporting civil rights and animal rights, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ issues, and women's rights. She also described leaving Twitter as a "game changer" for her mental health.[6] In another interview, in March 2023, by her friend Barbara Dunkelman on the "Always Open" YouTube series, Zech said that physical touch, quality time, and words of affirmation would be important in any romantic relationship.[14][c] In the same interview, she also said she would "never go back" to Twitter because it is harder for people to "access her" in a "negative way", and told Dunkleman that issues with dating as a bisexual woman is a "universal bisexual problem".[d]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2015 Lazer Team Herself Cameo [citation needed]
2023 Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Blake Belladonna Voice only; direct-to-video [57][58]
2024 Red vs. Blue Restoration Dr. Emily Grey [59]

Anime

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2020 Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Guest Voice English dub [e] [citation needed]
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina The Ripper English dub[f] [33]
2021 The Detective Is Already Dead Nagisa Natsunagi English dub; Voice only [34][33]
2022 RWBY: Ice Queendom Blake Belladonna English dub; Voice only [60][61]

Web series

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2013–present RWBY Blake Belladonna Voice, motion capture [22]
2013-2019 Red vs. Blue Dr. Emily Grey Voice only [5][32]
2016-2018; 2021 RWBY Chibi Blake Belladonna Voice only [19]
2020 Vote for Love Zoey [g] [62]
2021 Death Battle Blake Belladonna Voice only[h] [63]

TV series

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2017 Lethal Weapon Waitress Co-star [i] [6]

Video Games

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2014 Smite Blake Belladonna Voice only [6]
2016 RWBY: Grimm Eclipse [64]
2018 BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle [15]
Paladins [6]
2022 RWBY: Arrowfell [18]
Girls' Frontline Gentiane English dub; Voice only [36][37]
2024 Honkai: Star Rail Black Swan Voice only, English dub [40]

Notes

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  1. ^ at 29:35-30:57
  2. ^ at 36:29-38:20
  3. ^ at 13:53-14:01, 14:25-14:30
  4. ^ at 24:48-29:40, 36:69-37:19, 37:31-38:15, 38:57-39:21
  5. ^ Episode: "Yu Ishigami Closes His Eyes, Part 3/Miyuki Shirogane and Yu Ishigami/Kyoko Otomo Doesn't Realize"
  6. ^ Episode: "The Ripper"
  7. ^ Episode: "Rising Oceans, Rising Voices"
  8. ^ Episode: "Blake vs Mikasa"
  9. ^ Episode: "The Murtaugh File"

References

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Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ Zech, Arryn [@ArrynZech] (October 4, 2019). "Thanks for all the love today everyone 😊" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 4, 2019 – via Twitter. @OfficialRWBY: Happy birthday @ArrynZech! May it bee your best year yet! 🐝
  2. ^ Johnson, Ruth (October 4, 2019). "NYCC '19: Rooster Teeth's RWBY panels let loose new information, spoilers and maybe some Grimm". Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Mahbub, Mufsin (October 19, 2019). "RWBY: 5 Things Confirmed (& 5 Things Fans Want) For Volume 7 And Beyond". CBR. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Zech, Arryn (October 26, 2021). ""I've always been the theatre kid": DIVA meets RWBY's Arryn Zech" (Interview). Interviewed by Meet The Voice Of Blake Belladonna From RWBY In Texas. Anime Frontier. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Arryn Zech". Anime Frontier. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zech, Arryn (February 8, 2023). "Interview with Dynamic Voice Actor & Queen of Anime Arryn Zech". Naluda Magazine (Interview). Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Zech, Arryn (June 23, 2022). ""I've always been the theatre kid": DIVA meets RWBY's Arryn Zech" (Interview). Interviewed by Eleanor Noyce. Diva Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Brush fire causes evacuation at Belo Center for New Media". The Daily Texan. January 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023. Arryn Zech, a barista at Cappy's Cafe, which is located on the first floor of the Belo center
  9. ^ a b Zech, Arryn; Eberle, Kara (August 2014). "Comic-Con: Arryn Zech and Kara Eberle Talk RWBY, Their Characters, Food Fights and What We Can Expect in Season 2". Collider (Interview). Interviewed by Rachel Howard. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Shawcross, Kerry; Jones, Lindsey (October 11, 2017). "Interview: RWBY's Kerry Shawcross and Lindsay Jones" (Interview). Interviewed by Rai Kelly. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Pearce, Steven (January 27, 2021). "RWBY". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  12. ^ Wallace 2019, p. 21.
  13. ^ Wallace 2019, p. 44, 64, 82, 124-125, 128.
  14. ^ a b c d Zech, Arryn (March 28, 2023). "The Voices of Blake and Yang from RWBY talk Bumbleby - Always Open". All Good No Worries (Online). Interviewed by Barbara Dunkelman. YouTube/Rooster Teeth. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Blake Belladonna Voice". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  16. ^ Osborn, Alex (January 13, 2018). "BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Release Date Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Lederer, Donnie (September 27, 2019). "NYCC 2019: Team RWBY premieres Volume 7, officially announces Volumes 8 and 9". SYFY. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Hazra, Adriana (July 11, 2021). "RWBY: Arrowfell Game's Trailer Reveals 2022 Release Details". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Gil de Rubio, Carter (October 5, 2017). "Rooster Teeth Rolls Out New RWBY Volume". Long Island Weekly. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  20. ^ Dominiguez, Noah (May 13, 2021). "Neon Konbini: RWBY Chibi Returns in Rooster Teeth's New Anthology Series". CBR. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  21. ^ Zech, Arryn (February 8, 2023). "INTERVIEW: Arryn Zech Talks New RWBY And Creating Blake Belladonna". Supanova Expo (Interview). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "RWBY Voice Actress Expresses Discomfort Over Tow Ubukata Involvement in New Anime Series". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  23. ^ Zech, Arryn [@arrynzech] (March 28, 2022). "Hello again, Blake Belladonna" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 26, 2022). "RWBY: Ice Queendom Anime Reveals More Cast, July 3 Japan Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  25. ^ ""RWBY: Ice Queendom" A New Japanese Anime Inspired By Rooster Teeth's RWBY Coming to Rooster Teeth FIRST and Crunchyroll" (Press release). Anime News Network. Rooster Teeth. March 27, 2022. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  26. ^ "RWBY: Ice Queendom - to Screen at RTX, First-ever Western Anime to be Distributed in Japan" (Press release). Anime News Network. Rooster Teeth. June 15, 2022. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  27. ^ St. Peters, Joel (October 18, 2022). "Dozens of Rooster Teeth Employees Accuse Company of Toxic Work Environment". CBR. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "TWD Carl Actor to Voice Superman In RWBY/Justice League Crossover". Screen Rant. December 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  29. ^ Couch, Aaron (December 15, 2022). "'Justice League x RWBY' Movie Unveils Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  30. ^ Dar, Taimur (March 9, 2023). "WonderCon 2023 to host world premieres of latest DC animated movies". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  31. ^ Adams, Tim (June 28, 2020). "RWBY Volume 7 Announces Digital and Blu-ray Release Date". CBR. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022.
  32. ^ a b Thompson, Kylie (March 23, 2018). "Arryn Zech Lands In Australia At Supanova Melbourne & Gold Coast". Scenestr. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  33. ^ a b c d Friedman, Nicholas (October 2, 2021). "The Detective Is Already Dead English Dub Announced, Cast and Crew Revealed". Funimation Blog. Funimation. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  34. ^ a b Hazra, Adriana (October 3, 2021). "Funimation Reveals The Detective Is Already Dead Anime's English Dub Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  35. ^ "RWBY Ice Queendom: Where You Know the Japanese Voice Cast From". CBR. September 2, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022.
  36. ^ a b Mateo, Alex (February 3, 2022). "Funimation Streams Girls' Frontline TV Anime's English Dub". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  37. ^ a b Dempsey, Liam (February 3, 2022). "Girls' Frontline English Dub Announced, Cast & Crew Revealed". Funimation Blog. Funimation. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  38. ^ "About Me". Arryn Zech website. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  39. ^ "Bio". Arryn Zech website. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  40. ^ a b Janca, Ben (February 1, 2024). "Honkai: Star Rail — "A Revisiting of Past Dreams"--Myriad Celestia Trailer". GameSpot. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  41. ^ Juhl, Hayley (July 7, 2016). "Montreal Comiccon and the guide to fan archetypes". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023.
  42. ^ Froggy (November 10, 2016). "MCM London Comic Con aka The English SDCC". The Geekiary. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  43. ^ "Fan Expo Canada to turn Toronto upside down with ultimate programming lineup" (Press release). Niagara Frontier Publications. Fan Expo. August 28, 2017. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  44. ^ "Boston Comic Con Celebrates 10 Years This Weekend". Edge Media Network. August 7, 2017. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  45. ^ Pillieci, Vito (May 13, 2017). "Fans flood EY Centre as ComicCon celebrities arrive in Ottawa". Ottawa Sun. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  46. ^ Seeto, Damian (August 24, 2018). "Some Guests Are No Longer Coming To 2018 Auckland Armageddon Expo". Empty Lighthouse Magazine. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  47. ^ Ball, Craig (October 28, 2019). "Verge Attends: MCM London Comic Con (October 2019)". Verge Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  48. ^ Davis, Vanessa (May 8, 2019). "A Preview of Phoenix Fan Fusion 2019". Geek News Network. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  49. ^ Mitchell, Garrett; Incorvaia, Samantha (May 22, 2019). "All the celebrities coming to Phoenix Fan Fusion 2019, including Jeff Goldblum". az.central. Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  50. ^ Means, Sean P. (May 23, 2018). "After sexual-harassment controversy, FanX says its founders are stepping back and it will donate to Time's Up". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023. Since Monday's dust-up, two celebrities booked for FanX — Lindsay Jones and Arryn Zech, voice actors on the popular anime-style web series "RWBY" — have canceled their appearances.
  51. ^ Mateo, Alex (January 23, 2020). "Crunchyroll Sponsors New Anime Frontier Convention in Texas in May 2020". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  52. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 23, 2020). "LeftField Media Launches New 'Anime Frontier' Convention in Texas in May 2020". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  53. ^ "My Hero Academia, Outlander Standouts Next Up In Wizard World Virtual Experiences Online Events April 28, 30" (Press release). Anime News Network. Wizard Entertainment, Inc. April 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  54. ^ Wilson, Marie (August 25, 2018). "Costumes, caricatures and bookmarks: Comic Con in Rosemont a 'creative stage' for pop culture fun". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  55. ^ Sewell, Chelsie (October 6, 2022). "Comic Con Scotland 2022: Edinburgh line-up and set times for Saturday and Sunday - including Ewan McGregor". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  56. ^ Harripersad, Ridge (July 17, 2022). "Anime North 2022 Returns to Toronto After 3 Years In Full Force [UPDATED]". Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  57. ^ Dar, Talmar (December 15, 2022). "First details revealed for JUSTICE LEAGUE X RWBY animated crossover film". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  58. ^ Dar, Talmar (February 9, 2023). "Worlds collide in the trailer for the JUSTICE LEAGUE x RWBY crossover animated film". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  59. ^ "Red vs. Blue: Restoration".
  60. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 24, 2022). "Shaft Animates New RWBY TV Anime RWBY: Ice Queendom". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  61. ^ Domingues, Noah (March 26, 2022). "RWBY: Ice Queendom Anime Drops First Trailer". Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  62. ^ "Vote for Love: Ep. 4 — Rising Oceans, Rising Voices". Vote for Love. RomComPods. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  63. ^ "DEATH BATTLE Fight Previews: Blake Belladonna OverShadows DEATH BATTLE!". RoosterTeeth. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  64. ^ Dominguez, Noah (September 16, 2020). "New RWBY Video Game Announced by Rooster Teeth, WayForward, Arc System Works". CBR. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.

Sources

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