Andrew Francis

The Microphone as a Safe Haven

Andrew Francis was cashing industry paychecks before he was old enough to drive. In 1994, he lent his voice to the anime Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, and that was the first step in a list of credits that now tops two hundred titles.

Vancouver is a dubbing hub.

Many Canadian actors see the recording booth as a side job, but for Francis it was his main work for decades. In 2000, he landed the role of Bobby Drake in X-Men: Evolution. That gave him a financial stability that few actors his age could dream of at the time.

And a teenager's voice can last a long time if you know how to take care of it.

From the sound booth to the coast

The move to live-action came in fits and starts. He appeared in series like The L Word in 2004 or Smallville in 2006, with small roles that barely required a couple of days on set. But in 2016, the Hallmark network hired him to play Ty Culber on Chesapeake Shores.

He shot 53 episodes until the series finale in 2022.

Voice contracts are less glamorous but more lucrative.

While he was recording family dramas on the coast, he remained a key figure in toy franchises. He voiced Shining Armor in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic between 2012 and 2019. This duality let him keep a low profile while his bank account grew thanks to fan conventions.

The Resilience of Plastic Bricks

In 2011, he stepped into the role of Cole for Ninjago. What seemed like a minor project to sell LEGO figures ended up running for more than ten years of nonstop production. It was a test of stamina, with the actor having to keep the tone of an action warrior across hundreds of recording sessions.

So Francis had to adjust his vocal range as the character grew up and the storylines got darker. In 2023, he returned to the role in the new chapter titled Ninjago: Dragons Rising.

The real money was in animation.

The syndication deal for these series ensures his voice plays on repeat on streaming platforms around the world. Production of the second season of the latter series in 2024 wrapped with a total of 20 episodes ordered by the studio.