Older brother to voice actors Paul and Brian Dobson, Michael Dobson has recently made a splash onto the big screen as the voice of Kazuki Fuse in the Bandai/Viz cinematic release of "Jin-Roh." Based in Vancouver at Ocean Studios, Dobson's other roles include parts in "Gundam Wing," "Key: The Metal Idol," "Ranma" (for which he has also served as ADR director), "Fatal Fury 2," among many others. Akadot caught up with Dobson at the world premiere of "Jin-Roh" in Long Beach, California at an opening night gala that followed a press screening of the film and preceded the screening for the general public. Smartly dressed in a dark gray suit and an electric blue shirt, the dapper voice actor received admiring guests warmly despite a quick stab from Oshii at the press panel that he felt the English voice for Fuse too bold for a character so ambivalent.

Intruding on the opening of our conversation, an enthusiastic woman seized Dobson's hand, shook it vigorously and heaped accolades on the Canadian voice actor. "I thought the voices were very well done," she exclaims over a snack of sushi and French wine (the entire gala was a catered affair with the Japanese seafood delicacy, fresh fruit, French wine and Belgian pastries; a reception befitting any Hollywood movie). "That's one thing I listen for," she continues. "You know, in America it's so completely different. It's kind of a strange balance, the visual of the film carried by the English dialogue. It was really nice to understand sort of what was going on." And indeed, "Jin-Roh" is a tad dense. Dobson smiled graciously, thanks the woman for the compliments, and gets immediately distracted again by some of the other voice actors from the film who were parting for the public screening of the film at 8 p.m. Needless to say, we were a bit rushed. However, Dobson, calm and collected, seems to give Akadot all the time in the world.

How did you get into voice acting?

Michael Dobson: It probably began with my brother Paul and I sitting around as kids. We would put comic books between us, and I got a cassette recorder for my birthday one year, when I turned thirteen. Paul and I used to do all the sound effects and all the voices for all the cartoon characters. We created our own tapes. Then we got into developing characters in our own little sketches. I know it sounds strange.

Not at all.

MD: We used to make our own machine sounds and weapons sounds. And who knew that we could get paid for that one day?

Could you name all the anime in which your brother has killed you?

MD: That pretty much goes for every show I've worked on.

Toshifumi Yoshida: Except for this one.

(At this point in our conversation, the very welcome intrusion of Toshifumi Yoshida elucidates Dobson's career.)

MD: Except for this one. I kill my brother for the first time in "Jin-Roh."

TY: That happens all the time in Gundam Wing. The two of them do so many of the characters that they've probably killed each other several times. I recognize the voices, so I'm watching it thinking, 'that's Paul; that's Mike; that's Paul talking to Mike; that's Paul talking to Paul; that's Mike talking to Mike."

MD: Sometimes, if they can't get Paul, they get me to go in and do his character for him. And if I wasn't available, Paul would do my characters.

TY: And if we need anybody else between these two, there's always the third Dobson option you can go with - Brian Dobson. They're like the Baldwins of anime.

Is this whole killing your brother conceit something the two of you joke about a lot?

MD: Yes, absolutely.

Can you describe one of the most memorable deaths one of you had at the hands of the other?

MD: It's really tough because I have a character on Re-Boot called Lugnut, and nobody was really sure of what the life of this character was going to be. And Paul just comes out of nowhere, he playing Matrix, and Matrix offs my character right there at the very end. And then Paul was in "War Planets," and he played Graveheart. I finally got on that show and I was going to be one of his lieutenants. But I ended up taking a bullet for him. So, I was out again.

Do you know how long you are going to live when you sign on to do a role, or do you get a surprise one day reading a script and realize you're out of a job?

MD: Oh, yeah. It's a surprise.