Ron Rubin is a veteran voice actor whose vocal characterizations can be heard on countless anime and cartoon series.

Ron Rubin joined Anime Revolution 2012 as part of a special 20th Anniversary Sailor Moon Celebration Panel. After all, he was the voice of Artemis the cat throughout the entire run of the Sailor Moon series.

Check out the following interview where Ron talks about his role as Artemis and his thoughts on the Sailor Moon series.

AR: How are you?

RR: I’m great, how you doing? Nice to see you.

AR: So Ron, how is it like playing a cat?

RR: Well, it’s pretty cool actually; Artemis. I love the part of Artemis. The series as you know is dominated by women, and most of the cartoons are male-dominated and the women have different roles. But in Sailor Moon it’s a very empowering show for women and the male parts are kind of lesser, which is kind of different. I love Artemis, I really do. He’s kind of cool and laid-back and a little cocky when he has to be, and it’s grown over the years. It started off kind of a little more laid-back and then he kind of got a little more excitement in him, and it’s grown with the series. And I love playing Artemis, I love the character.

AR: So is playing a cat, in terms of voice over acting, different from doing a voice over for a person or human?

RR: That’s an interesting question. Yes and no, and the no part is: a character is a character, you know. But if you’re playing a human, you have human characteristics. With a cat, I still speak as a human. But you know, when he reacts it’s [does cat sounds], and he does all the cat sounds. But you know what? It’s still committing to your character and whether you’re playing this character or this character, or Artemis. You are still kind of doing a character. So yeah, I play a lot of animals.

[Announcement interruption in the background]

RR: That’s the voice of God.

AR: [laughs] Okay well, so how did you end up with that role with Artemis?

RR: It was a lot of years ago, and the audition process was one where I went in- I don’t know if I was given the role, I guess I auditioned.

[Announcement interruption in the background again]

RR: It’s God again. Should we take a break over this or we just keep going?

AR: Keep going.

RR: Alright well. They were looking for a cool laid-back voice originally. I don’t know if you remember the show Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, it was a detective show. And Bruce Willis kind of had a laid-back kind of vibe to him and that’s the voice they wanted. And so for the first season, Artemis was kind of cool and laid-back and then he got a little more energetic overtime, and I made him my own. We talked about that a little bit originally. But I landed the part and it was a fairly painless audition because I was kind of doing my own voice just a little more laid-back and cool. Because there wasn’t a lot of male parts there, so there was a lot of demand for each of the ones.

AR: So for the new season of Sailor Moon that is going to be coming out. You’re probably not allowed to talk about it. But if you were to get cast again, would you want to play a different role?

RR: No! Not at all, I want to stay as Artemis. Especially, since it’s being reinforced this weekend here at Anime Revolution. You know, the following that all the characters have, and the following that Artemis has. And they’re probably not going to cast me as Sailor Moon.So I would love to play Artemis again. Absolutely. Absolutely.

AR: So are you having a great time here Anime Revolution?

RR: It’s super. It’s my first anime convention- actually I’ve been to a few other smaller ones. But this is the first time that there has been this kind of turnout. And we have a great panel. And it’s so great seeing Terri play Sailor Moon. And Susan, Jupiter. And Katie, [Mars]. And I haven’t seen a lot of these people in a little while. Some I see in Toronto, and some I don’t. And it’s just great here, I love the atmosphere, and I just love the enthusiasm of all the people. I’m having a great time.

AR: So just to finish off, what would you say would stand out most about this convention?

RR: Just the words I just used, the enthusiasm and love for the characters. So many people have come up and said what a difference Sailor Moon has made in their lives. And what certain characters has meant to them. And just the passion. Okay, passion is a better word. I just say that all the people’s passion for the series and for anime and for particularly, Sailor Moon. And you know, it’s very different from- I do a lot of other types of cartoons, but Sailor Moon somehow has the most longevity out of all the ones I’ve done. And the most camaraderie between the actors. And it’s just been brought out this weekend, which has just been awesome.

AR: That’s great! Well thank you for joining us Ron!

RR: My pleasure, enjoy!

AR: Enjoy!

RR: Nice talking to you.

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Video production done by Hype Life Films.