Mike McFarland Dies at 56 After Helping Build Funimation's English Anime Dub Era

Mike McFarland, the English voice of Dragon Ball's Master Roshi and One Piece's Buggy the Clown, has died aged 56 after a glioblastoma diagnosis, leaving behind a career that helped shape Funimation's early English dubs and later Crunchyroll-era releases.

He died on 9 September 2026. Alongside his voice roles, he worked as an ADR scriptwriter, director and line producer, moving from Funimation's first English-dub productions into later work under Crunchyroll.

His death has drawn attention across the anime industry because his career combined prominent voice roles with long-running work in English-dub production. Colleagues later recalled his input on performances in One Piece, including Sanji's distinctive vocal style.

Crunchyroll said McFarland was 'an incredible talent' and 'a good friend to so many of us'. The company added that he would be 'sorely, sorely missed'.

Mike McFarland's English-Dub Career

McFarland was among the early Texas voice actors hired by Funimation, later moving into work as a director, scriptwriter and line producer. Those roles involved adapting dialogue and overseeing English-language performances for animation first made in Japanese.

His early career began with Funimation, where he moved from voice roles into directing, scriptwriting and line-producing work. The later credits connected him with Crunchyroll-era English-language anime production.

McFarland's acting credits also included Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist and Teppei Sugo in Psycho-Pass.

He played Makoto Hyuga in the Evangelion films, George in Case Closed, Goemon Ishikawa in Lupin III productions and Hiroshi Odokawa in Odd Taxi. These roles placed him across a broad range of long-running and contemporary anime titles.

One Piece Actors Recall His Input

McFarland's contribution to One Piece went beyond his role as Buggy. Colleen Clinkenbeard, the English voice of Monkey D. Luffy, and Eric Vale, who voiced Sanji, recalled his influence on their performances.

Vale specifically credited McFarland with helping shape Sanji's distinctive delivery. 'We settled on Mike's idea of my character voice being my morning voice,' Vale said in a 2021 interview.

'That scratchy, horrific, kind of smokery voice that everyone wakes up with in the morning before they've brushed their teeth is where [Sanji's] voice sits,' Vale said.

Gizmodo revisited the interview following McFarland's death.

McFarland also set out his own standard for voice work during the conversation. 'Rather than just hitting all of the technical aspects ... it all needs to sound like this is a real world where everything is happening and it doesn't need to be anything less than that,' he said.

From Funimation to Crunchyroll

McFarland later worked as an ADR scriptwriter and director on English-language releases including Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100 and My Hero Academia, Gizmodo reported. The credits show his continued work across a changing anime distribution landscape.

His glioblastoma diagnosis followed the discovery of a brain tumour in January 2025. Gizmodo reported that the tumour was found after he sought medical advice for what he believed was an inner-ear infection, and fellow actors subsequently promoted a crowdfunding campaign for surgery and live-in medical assistance.

Gizmodo reported that McFarland received his glioblastoma diagnosis in August 2025. It also reported that Tiffany Vollmer announced his death before McFarland's representative confirmed it.

McFarland died on 9 September 2026, aged 56, following his glioblastoma diagnosis. His credits span landmark franchises and later streaming releases, while colleagues' recollections show the collaborative work behind the performances heard by English-speaking anime audiences.