Trina Nishimura is quickly becoming more recognized by anime fans as she has had 24 credited roles in anime since 2015. Some of them include Tokyo Ghoul (Misato Gori), Ninja Slayer (Nancy Lee), Tokyo ESP (Rin Lianjie), KanColle: Kantai Collection (Kirishima), and of course Attack on Titan (Mikasa Ackerman). We sat down with Trina at Dallas Fan Expo 2017 to talk everything voice acting.
Gaming Conviction: How did you get into voice acting?
Trina Nishimura: I got into voice acting because I was an actor! I’ve been performing in theater and other things pretty much my whole life. I started when I was 9 years old and started touring professionally when I was 13. While in college at auditioned for Funimation and here I am.
GC: When did it really click that you could do this for a living?
TN: I don’t even know if it has clicked yet! I have a feeling that I’m going to wake up one day and wonder if this is real. I’m very fortunate and very lucky that I get to have this wonderful job.
GC: You have voiced so many characters over your career so far. Is there one that is your favorite among them?
TN: I love all my characters equally. I know that it sounds like a co pout, but I don’t mean that to be. They’ve all taken a little bit away from me and they’re all just really important to me.
GC: Have you ever done voiceover work for a game or anime that was ultimately cancelled?
TN: I have, but unfortunately I’m under contract to not talk about it.
GC: Is there something that you do to prepare for a role or any tips for aspiring voice actors?
TN: If you’re an aspiring voice actor my number one tip is to become an actor. My number two tip is to become comfortable with the word no. You will be told the word no all the time.
As far as preparation goes, I just do the normal things like vocal warm ups, humming, hot showers, lots of teas and hydration.
GC: Whenever you are going about your daily routine have you ever had your thoughts come out as the characters you do?
TN: All the time! Sometimes I don’t even mean them to come out of my mouth, but it comes out of my mouth too.
GC: Do you ever go back and look at the faces that you’ve made while voice acting?
TN: I’ve seen my faces and I try to erase that from my memory because they’re not great. If it gives a good performance than that’s all that really matters.
GC: Have you ever cosplayed as one of your characters you’ve voice and seen if anyone recognized you?
TN: I’ve never cosplayed as any of my characters. I have bits and pieces of character’s costumes that I will eventually cosplay, but I have yet to do so.
GC: Do you ever pull pranks with your friends or family with different voices?
TN: All the time! If people don’t return my calls in a timely manner, then I frequently call them as the IRS. That’s my personal favorite.
GC: Do you have a voice acting hero?
TN: My voice acting hero would have to be Steve Blum. Don’t tell him that, but he’s pretty much the bees knees.
