Rob Paulsen

Robert Fredrick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) often credited as Rob Paulsen, is an American voice actor and singer, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Donatello from the 2012 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In total, Paulsen has been the voice of over 250 different animated characters and performed in over 1000 commercials. He continues to play parts in dozens of cartoons as well as characters in animated feature movies.

He is also one of the voice actors of Green Lanterns: The Animated Series.

Personal life
Paulsen was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is married to Parrish Todd and has one son, Ashton. In an interview with a Chicago TV station, Paulsen described himself as "a singer who decided to become an actor". Growing up in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Paulsen sang in choir throughout his youth and adolescence and began performing in plays in grammar school. However, his idol growing up was Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings; he considered the arts to be a secondary career choice, primarily interested in becoming a professional hockey player.

Paulsen has long supported charity organizations, and donated considerably for cancer research. He has worked a lot for GOALmodels, a program for adolescents, and is a sponsor of Camp Will-A-Way, a camp for mentally and physically disabled children. Paulsen also donates funds from autographs to the Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Smile.

Roles

 * Goggan (in 2 episodes)
 * 103. "Razer's Edge"
 * 111. "Flight Club"
 * Bumpy (in 1 episode)
 * 111. "Flight Club"

Other works

 * Voice of the Radio Announcer in the Got Milk - "Who Shot Alexander Hamilton?" TV commercial.
 * 1995 - Announcer for a Honda Commercial.
 * The voice of Mr. Opportunity for Honda Motors' model-year-end clearance TV commercial campaign since 2004.
 * The narrator at the end in "The Lion Creeps Tonight" Advantix commercial (2005).
 * 1990 - The promo announcer for "Cheers" (1982).
 * 2005 - The announcer for the UPN promo of "Home Improvement" (1991).
 * TV commercial for Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 1991.
 * Voice of a singing Mini Wheat in a Mini Wheat commercial.
 * Voice of Dog the dog in animated Taco Bell commercials (1995-1997).

Personal quotes

 * "Laughter is the best medicine, the coolest thing is you can't OD and the refills are free!"
 * "I'm a two time turtle baby, and I figure if I live to be a hundred I can knock all four of them out." - On voicing two Ninja Turtles in two incarnations of the show.

Trivia

 * In 1994, he did voices on "Buffalo Duck's Radio Ranch".
 * In 1995, he was nominated for an Annie Award in Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in the Field of Animation for his work as Yakko Warner on Animaniacs (1993).
 * His son, Ashton, was born September 10, 1984.
 * He made an extremely rare public appearance with fellow voice actor Maurice LaMarche at Comic-Con International 2002 at the invitation of fellow voice actor Mark Hamill. He was given a 2-minute standing oviating upon arriving, and after calming down, the audience was treated to "Nations of the World", which he did with no mistakes. It was received with thunderous applause, and along with Maurice, they did many Pinky and the Brain impersonations.
 * He is known for ad-libbing in his voice-over readings.
 * The "Back at the Barnyard" (2007) episode "Otis' Mom" ended with an "In Loving Memory of Lee Paulsen" dedication, which was for Rob Paulsen's mother. Rob was the voice of Peck the Rooster on the series.
 * He auditioned for the voice of Fry in "Futurama" (1999).
 * His original claim to fame as a voice actor was playing Raphael in the original late 80s animated series adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987). In 2012 he was cast as Donatello in the Nickelodeon reboot adaptation.