# David Kaye (voice actor)
**David Kaye** (born David V. Hope, 1964) is a Canadian voice actor best known as the voice of Megatron in the *Transformers* animated series *Beast Wars*, *Beast Machines*, *Armada*, *Energon*, and *Cybertron*, as the robot Clank in Sony's *Ratchet & Clank* franchise, and as Sesshomaru in [Viz Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/viz-media)'s English dub of *InuYasha*[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/) • [2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). He is the only actor to have regularly voiced both Megatron and [Optimus Prime](https://www.edgepedia.org/optimus-prime), the latter in *Transformers: Animated*, and he is an inductee of the Transformers Hall of Fame[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). Born in [Peterborough, Ontario](https://www.edgepedia.org/peterborough-ontario), he began in Canadian radio, later worked out of Vancouver, and now lives in Los Angeles as a US citizen[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/) • [2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name / origin | David V. Hope, born 1964 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/kaye-david-1964) |
| Start in radio | On-air talent from his teens; full-time at Vancouver's CKLG after dropping a psychology degree[4](https://tformers.com/transformers-/3763/news.html?sid=3763) |
| First cartoon role | General Hawk in the DIC animated *G.I. Joe* series, 1989[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/) |
| Signature Transformers roles | Megatron in Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron; Optimus Prime in Transformers: Animated; the only actor to have voiced both[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) |
| Clank | The robot Clank across the Ratchet & Clank games, the 2016 film, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021)[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) • [5](https://www.mobygames.com/person/27492/david-kaye/credits/) |
| Best-known anime roles | Treize Khushrenada in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Sesshomaru in InuYasha and Inuyasha: Princess Half Demon, Recoome in the Ocean Group dub of Dragon Ball Z[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) |
| Video game credits | 168 credits on 111 games per MobyGames, including Ford Cruller in Psychonauts 2 and Clank in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart[5](https://www.mobygames.com/person/27492/david-kaye/credits/) |
| Announcement work | Announcer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; trailer, commercial, and promo voiceover[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) |
## Early life and radio
Kaye grew up in Peterborough, Ontario, where he got his first tape recorder at age ten and started in radio at about 17, doing voice-over work for local cable shows before a morning news announcer at a local station gave him his first on-air shot[6](https://filmdaily.co/craft/spotlight/david-kaye/). A 2001 interview describes him as already a radio professional by 16, working summers and weekends during high school; he dropped plans for a psychology degree to take a full-time on-air job at Vancouver's CKLG, where he worked every shift before joining the station's "Morning Zoo" crew, creating characters such as "Cowboy Dick" and "Stunt Boy"[4](https://tformers.com/transformers-/3763/news.html?sid=3763). Encyclopedia.com also records early radio work in [London, Ontario](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-ontario), and the founding of his production company, David Kaye Productions, Inc.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/kaye-david-1964)
## Transformers: Megatron and Optimus Prime
Kaye's entry into animation came as General Hawk in the DIC *G.I. Joe* series in 1989[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/). His defining role arrived with *Beast Wars: Transformers*, where he voiced Megatron, continuing through *Beast Machines* and the series *Armada*, *Energon*, and *Cybertron*[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) notes that he used techniques from a Shakespeare workshop he had been attending, specifically the Laban method, to land the Megatron role[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/). A 2004 fan interview records that the Beast Wars voice actors were able to alter their characters' scripts, giving him more control over Megatron's development[7](https://www.transformertoys.co.uk/resources/gallery/cartoons%2Band%2Bmovies/david%2Bkaye%2B-%2Bjan%2B2004/196).
**Optimus Prime.** In the late 2000s Kaye voiced the noble protagonist Optimus Prime on the series *Transformers: Animated*, a much different interpretation from his Megatron[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_kaye_2). His own site and IMDb both state that he is the only voice actor in the [Transformers](https://www.edgepedia.org/transformers) franchise to have regularly played both characters[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443286/fullcredits).
## Animation, anime, and other series roles
Kaye's cartoon work spans several franchises. Under DC he has voiced Superman, Hawkman, and [Vandal Savage](https://www.edgepedia.org/vandal-savage) (*DC Super Friends*, *Young Justice*); under Marvel, Iron Man, Captain America, and [Professor X](https://www.edgepedia.org/professor-x), the latter in *X-Men: Evolution*[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/) • [10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/95605/david-kaye). On [Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network)'s *Ben 10* he voices Grandpa Max, and in *Ben 10: Omniverse* he plays Khyber, Shock Rock, and Humungousaur. He is also Duckworth in Disney's *DuckTales* reboot and King Peppy in DreamWorks' *Trolls* series[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). In the Pixar film *Up* (2009) he was the newsreel announcer[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_kaye_2).
**Anime.** Kaye's best-known anime dub roles are Treize Khushrenada in *Mobile Suit Gundam Wing*, Sesshomaru in Viz Media's *InuYasha* and its sequel series *Inuyasha: Princess Half Demon*, and Recoome in the Ocean Group dub of *Dragon Ball Z*[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). Earlier in his Vancouver career he played Soun Tendo in *Ranma 1/2*, which an interview from before the Inuyasha anime began described as his then best-known role[11](https://www.furinkan.com/features/interviews/davidkaye.html). More recent dub credits include the Narrator in the 2024 *Ranma 1/2* series and Gibeon in *Pokémon Horizons: The Series*[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443286/fullcredits).
## Video games
Kaye has been the voice of Clank, the small robot sidekick of Insomniac's *Ratchet & Clank* series, since the franchise's early years; a 2017 interview put his tenure at over 15 years, long enough for a feature film[12](https://benztown.com/behind-the-mic-david-kaye/) • [2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). MobyGames lists 168 credits across 111 games, including recent work such as Ford Cruller in *Psychonauts 2* (2021), Clank in *Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart* (2021), and additional voices in *Borderlands 4* (2025)[5](https://www.mobygames.com/person/27492/david-kaye/credits/). He also voiced [Nathan Hale](https://www.edgepedia.org/nathan-hale) in the *Resistance* series and James Gordon in *Batman: Arkham City*[10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/95605/david-kaye) • [1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/).
## Announcement, trailer, and promo work
A large part of Kaye's current work is promotional. He is the announcer for HBO's *Last Week Tonight with John Oliver*, and his site credits him with trailer voiceover for films including *[The Way Back](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-way-back-2020-film)*, *[The Two Popes](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-two-popes)*, *Richard Jewell*, *Zombieland*, and *Secret Life of Pets 2*, hundreds of commercials (including Geico's parrot and CDW), and promo work for Fox's Thursday Night Football and the 2019 [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series)[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). In 2018 he won the SOVAS Award for Best Narration for Brooke Burgess's book *The Cat's Maw*[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/).
## Personal life and other activities
Kaye is Canadian-born and now a US citizen, living in Los Angeles with his wife Maria and their two children[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/). Beyond performing he develops animated shows as a producer and created the digital wine series *Hollywood & Wine*[2](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/).
## References
1. [David Kaye Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-kaye/bio/3060091299/)
2. [About, David Kaye Voiceover (official site)](https://www.davidkaye.com/about/)
3. [Kaye, David 1964-, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/kaye-david-1964)
4. [Megatron Speaks: Interview with David Kaye, TFormers](https://tformers.com/transformers-/3763/news.html?sid=3763)
5. [David Kaye Video Game Credits, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/person/27492/david-kaye/credits/)
6. [David Kaye: The voice of your childhood, Film Daily](https://filmdaily.co/craft/spotlight/david-kaye/)
7. [Interview with David Kaye, January 2004, Transformers At The Moon](https://www.transformertoys.co.uk/resources/gallery/cartoons%2Band%2Bmovies/david%2Bkaye%2B-%2Bjan%2B2004/196)
8. [David Kaye Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_kaye_2)
9. [David Kaye full credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443286/fullcredits)
10. [David Kaye, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/95605/david-kaye)
11. [Rumic World: Sound Bites, David Kaye interview](https://www.furinkan.com/features/interviews/davidkaye.html)
12. [Behind the Mic: David Kaye, Benztown](https://benztown.com/behind-the-mic-david-kaye/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Voice performers › Canadian voice performers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license