Finding a voice actor or actress that makes their presence known with their voice alone is a tough feat, not to mention the wide range of characters they play. This media is likely adapted from the source material, like a book or manga. Capturing the character’s true voices to match what the author thinks is best usually is seen as a give-and-take.
Tom Weiner, more well-known as Tom Wyner, was one of those voices in the entertainment industry for many growing up. For some, it was with Digimon but for others, it was in Power Rangers or another anime character in a different series. It ranges from anime series and movies with Cowboy Bebop to Lupin the 3rd to Ghost in the Shell to Robotech. Most likely, in any older anime or animated film, he was on the other side vs. the good guys. Sometimes, the villains are just as important, if not more so.
Tom Wyner’s Impact on the Digimon Adventure Series
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Wyner’s voice is recognizable from various enemy Digimon in the 1999 Adventure 01 and 2000 Adventure 02 series for the English dub. The real difference between the Digimon anime and what some people think is “copied over” from a bigger franchise like Pokemon is the digital monsters in Adventure can talk like humans, other than a few unique exceptions. Pocket monsters in the Pokemon anime recite their names but their English dubs are famous for westernizing the Japanese shows, for better and for worse.
Wyner’s notable and recognizable role is Devimon, the main antagonist from episodes 8 to 13 of season one of Digimon Adventure. In the sequel season, he is also MarineDevimon and Kimeramon, picking up Devimon as well while taking the narrator role. At least for the first season of Adventure, the way the antagonist is built up at the start and with Wyner’s delivery makes it a haunting sequence for the kids trapped in the digital world. The English voice actor for the first big enemy Digimon with Wyner suits the evil villain. That might be one thing the Western version nailed with the dub.
Other Features in Anime as an English American VA
The first-ever credited role for Wyner as a voice actor was in 1978 with the Lupin the 3rd TV series and films like The Castle of Cagliostro, a Studio Ghibli movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This extended his work to other animated TV shows, anime, movies, and even games down the road. He was in Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, the notable anime movie from 2001 as Rengie.
Wyner also appeared in the original Ghost in the Shell movie as Puppet Master from 1995, ten years after his true blowup role with Jonathan Wolfe in 1985’s Robotech anime. He was in live-action as well, with his most ambitious role being nearly 30 villains in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The almost 50-year pillar often played villain characters for anime and live-action, usually taking multiple roles. Wyner was an ADR director and story editor for Saban Entertainment, going into audiobook narration after 20 years.
Words from Fellow Industry Voice Actors and Actresses
Mobile Monicker, the talent agency that worked with Wyner, shared a heartfelt statement on X and announced his passing on July 10th. ”Tom was absolutely enthralled by the opportunity to meet his fans, sharing his own passions and inspiring them to chase after their dreams.” Wendee Lee, the voice actress who played Faye Valentine in the Cowboy Bebop English dub, also contributed with her respects.
She posted a tribute to the iconic voice actor on X. “I’ve worked with Tom since the beginning. He was wildly talented, confidant, intelligent, funny, restless, a handful at times – Loved animals, cooking & food. Sending healing light to all who knew & appreciated him. Farewell Friend.” Wyner certainly left an impact on the anime community for the last 46 years as an impactful figure in the voice-acting industry.
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