Kensho Ono

The Boy Who Voiced Harry Potter

In 2001, a twelve-year-old boy stepped into a recording booth to voice the most famous wizard in cinema. Kensho Ono was no beginner, since he had been with the Gekidan Himawari theater group since he was four. But that assignment for the Japanese version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone marked the start of a professional partnership that would last a full decade.

He voiced Daniel Radcliffe in all eight films of the series. The role required him to adjust his tone as the character grew older and the stories became darker. It was a grueling technical workout that few actors his age could have handled with such precision.

And the gamble paid off.

Many child actors disappear once they hit puberty, but Ono managed the transition into Japanese animation. He didn't seek refuge in easy supporting roles. In 2012, he landed the role of Tetsuya Kuroko in the series Kuroko's Basketball, and his name began to be heard across every production company in Tokyo.

The Basket That Broke the Mold

The character of Kuroko was flat and emotionless because the script demanded it. That's the hardest thing for a voice actor. Ono had to convey intensity without shouting and without relying on the usual tricks of the sports genre. He made an almost invisible lead feel electric in every episode.

The industry didn't expect that change of direction.

From there, offers for big-budget projects kept coming in. In 2018, he took on the challenge of playing Giorno Giovanna in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. It was a physically demanding role where battle cries and the character's elegance had to coexist in the same line. That year his fee rose by 40%, according to industry estimates.

But not all of his work was commercial animation. In 2021, he starred in Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, voicing Hathaway Noa. It's a complex role where politics and military trauma weigh more heavily than pure action. Japanese critics praised his ability to sound tired and determined at the same time.

The Actor Who Didn't Want to Sing

His music career began in 2014 under the Lantis label with the single Fantastic Tune. Unlike other seiyuu who push a manufactured idol image, Ono has kept an aesthetic closer to alternative rock. He has released several studio albums, but he has always made it clear that his priority is performing behind the dubbing microphone.

In 2020, he announced his marriage to fellow voice actress Kana Hanazawa. The news caused a huge stir on social media, since both are top-tier figures in the industry. Still, they have kept their private lives away from the spotlight and from variety shows.

In 2023, he took part in The Boy and the Heron under the direction of Hayao Miyazaki. It was a professional milestone that closed a twenty-year run of steady work. His performance as Yuri Briar in Spy x Family since 2022 has allowed him to explore a comedic, obsessive register that his fans didn't know he had.

Production on the second season of Hathaway’s Flash is scheduled for late 2024.