Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2.
Screenshot by Destructoid.

Yuri Lowenthal’s best roles, from Helldivers 2 to Naruto’s iconic Sasuke Uchiha

One hero after another

You know him, you love him, and even if you think you donā€™t ā€“ you do. Prolific doesnā€™t even begin to describe Yuri Lowenthalā€™s voice acting career, as the actor has over 800 credits to his name across movies, TV shows, and video games.

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When Lowenthal is not voicing major superheroes and lovable main characters, heā€™s tackling all sorts of background characters in smaller franchises you may have heard of, like Mortal Kombat, Fallout, Mass Effect, and Final Fantasy. Most recently, he even confirmed his involvement in Helldivers 2, a performance, “heavily inspired by Starship Troopers.”

I could write a novel-length piece about Lowenthalā€™s ridiculous career, but this little overview into just a smattering of his best roles will have to do.

Wolverine, Ice-Man, and Beast riding in helicopter
Screenshot via Nicktoons Network YouTube

Ice-Man/Bobby Drake (X-Men)

Itā€™s hard to really make an impact in the X-Men franchise. There are so many characters with so much history that most fans already have their favorites picked out. Despite that, Lowenthal definitely managed to move the needle when he portrayed Bobby Drake, and he made Ice-Man into a top-tier character for a generation of X-Man fans, myself included.

He voiced Ice-Man in Wolverine and the X-Men back in 2008 and again in 2014ā€™s Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers. The Wolverine series is the only one thatā€™s really worth watching, but Lowenthal is a joy in both shows.

Toby sitting in booth in Catherine
Screenshot by Destructoid

Tobias Nebbins (Catherine)

This is the first character I think of when I think of Yuri Lowenthal, but admittedly Iā€™m a bit of an oddball. Toby was a supporting character in Atlus’ 2011 Catherine, and his cringe-worthy, but somehow charming, obsession with finding love has stuck with me ever since. Toby is a great example of how Lowenthal evokes pathos, even in his comic relief performances.

More importantly, heā€™s emblematic of all the other work Lowenthal has done with Atlus, including multiple Shin Megami Tensei and Persona projects. In Persona 4 (and P4: Golden), Lowenthal plays Yosuke Hanamura, a core member of the investigation team. He played the lead character Makoto Yuki in Persona 3: Dancing in the Moonlight, and he recently had a small role as Eiichiro Takeba, the scientist who created Aigis, in Persona 3 Reload.

Ben 10 from Alien Force, who was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal
Screenshot via Cartoon Network India YouTube

Ben Tennyson (Ben 10: Alien Force)

If you were a Cartoon Network kid like me, then you know exactly who Ben Tennyson is. In Ben 10: Alien Force, the conveniently named kid got access to an alien armband that allowed him to transform into different creatures. Naturally, he needed to take on a new alien form every week to deal with another extraterrestrial and existential threat to the planet. Lowenthal voiced the character through multiple shows and video game tie-ins, and his performance elevated Ben from a goofy cartoon character to a bona fide sci-fi hero. 

Lego The Shire, with Frodo walking out toward his Hobbit home
Screenshot via Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment YouTube

Frodo (Lord of the Rings)

Elijah Wood is inarguably our live-action Frodo, but for over a decade, Lowenthal has been the iconic Hobbitā€™s video game counterpart. Lowenthal first tackled the character in 2009ā€™s The Lord of the Rings: Conquest on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and ā€” bizarrely ā€“ Nintendo DS.

Since then heā€™s played the character five more times in various video games, but itā€™s been a while since weā€™ve gotten to see him sink back into the role. His last outing as Mr. Baggins was in Lego Dimensions all the way back in 2015. Lowenthalā€™s take on the character is the only one that comes close to Woodā€™s portrayal, so hopefully, weā€™ll see him back in the role someday.

He-Man and Orko
Screenshot via Netflix YouTube

He-Man

Even when Lowenthal is playing heroes, he seems to gravitate toward characters who rely on brains over brawn. Whether it’s Peter Parker or Donatello, Lowenthal doesn’t often end up being the voice behind muscle-bound warriors like He-Man. But in Netflix’s Master of the Universe, Lowenthal stepped into the shoes of the mightiest hero around and nailed it. Thereā€™s a definite throughline from Lowenthalā€™s previous roles to He-Man, but if you arenā€™t already a believer (and really you should be), then this show will prove to you that Lowenthal doesnā€™t just play one-note heroes. 

Screenshot via Vizmedia YouTube

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)

For a long time, it was easy to say that Sasuke Uchiha was Lowenthalā€™s most iconic character. Now thereā€™s a certain web slinger whoā€™s vying for that title, but for a generation of anime fans, Sasuke is still the man. Lowenthal started voicing Sasuke when Naruto started airing in 2007, and since then heā€™s stepped into the vocal booth countless times to pick the character back up.

More than any other character, Sasuke has given Lowenthal the chance to act his way through an entire heroic journey, complete with epic failures and inspiring redemption arcs. Iā€™m not going anywhere near the subs v dubs debate, but Lowenthalā€™s talent alone is a compelling reason to experience Naruto in English.Ā 

Screenshot via PlayStation YouTube

Spider-Man/Peter Parker

Everyone knows that Lowenthal voiced Peter Parker in the PlayStation Spider-Man games, but that franchise wasnā€™t his first outing as the wall crawler. Lowenthal actually first voiced Spider-Man in two different 2008 video games: ZEN Pinball and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

Since then, he’s voiced the character more than a dozen times in various animated shows and video games. In my opinion, Lowenthal is one of the best Peter Parkers that weā€™ve ever gotten. Heā€™s got the comedic timing that makes the webhead so entertaining, but he also really understands the more tragic aspects of the character. In his performance as Peter, Lowenthal really captures the melancholy optimism that has been a part of the characterā€™s comic book persona for decades.Ā 


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Author
Image of Gabran Gray
Gabran Gray
Contributing Writer - Gabran has been an avid gamer since he was old enough to manipulate a keyboard and mouse. He's been writing professionally and covering all things video games since 2021.