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He is known for playing tough or grouchy men in dubbed anime and video games. His career includes Hotohori in Fushigi Yuugi and Jin in Samurai Champloo. He also played numerous cameos and minor characters in Rurouni Kenshin, in addition to the major character of Hajime Saito. He also does Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo as well as Gabumon and other voices in Digimon. He is even the English voice of Jet Link in Cyborg 009, as well as Kisame Hoshigaki in Naruto and its sequel, Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles. As of 2010, he is the English voice of Shadow the Hedgehog.
According to Anime News Network, Thornton has the most credits of any male voice actor and he is second in total voice actor credits only next to Wendee Lee. He has been in nearly two hundred voice-over productions for Japanese animation.
Thornton is also well-known for having played many different minor voice roles throughout the Power Rangers franchise (and similar series such as VR Troopers and Masked Rider).
Thornton has also had experience with ADR direction. Currently, he is co-directing the ADR for the popular anime series Bleach alongside Wendee Lee.
Thornton's career is difficult to track, due to the multiple names under which he has been credited.
Anime V.A Roles[]
- Black Jack — Black Jack (credited as Sean Thornton and Sparky Thornton)
- Bleach — Eikichiro Saido, Hinagiku (Shun Shun Rikka), Ugaki, Narrator, Zennosuke Kurumadani, Gyokaku Kumoi
- Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo — Don Patch and Hydrate
- Chobits — Zima/Jima
- Code Geass — Kaname Ohgi
- Cowboy Bebop — Asimov Solenson (Episode 1), Mad Pierrot/Tongpu
- Cyborg 009 — Jet Link/Cyborg 002
- Digimon Adventure / Digimon Adventure 02 — Gabumon/Garurumon/WereGarurumon/MetalGarurumon, Mummymon
- Digimon Tamers — Mr. Matsuki
- Digimon Frontier — Tsunomon/Gabumon, Karatenmon
- Digimon Savers — Yushima, Citramon
- Duel Masters — Knight
- Eureka Seven — Matthieu
- Figure 17 — Hideo Shiina
- Fist of the North Star — Head Banger (1986 movie), God's Army Razor Whip Guy and Toki / Amiba (Manga Entertainment Dub)
- Fushigi Yuugi — Emperor Hotohori
- Gatchaman (1994) — Kesslor
- Gate Keepers — Chotaro "Big Boss" Banba
- Gate Keepers 21 — Nazo/Reiji Kageyama
- Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex series — Swat chief (Episode 17)
- Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig series — Hideo Kuze
- Great Teacher Onizuka series — Ryuji Danma, Yoshito Kikuchi, Noboru Yoshikawa, additional voices
- Gun X Sword — The Claw Man
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory — Anavel Gato
- Gungrave — Brandon "Beyond the Grave" Heat
- Planetes — Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino
- IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix — Mark Ramsey
- Kannazuki no Miko — Girochi
- Kikaider — Hattori
- Love Hina — Seta Noriyasu
- Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo — Ishikawa Goemon XIII (Streamline Pictures version)
- Mahoromatic — Kiyomi Kawahara, Ryo Misato, Hokaze Minato, and Professor Mephlis
- Mega Man Star Force — Damian Wolfe
- Mon Colle Knights — Earth Dragon
- Monster — The Baby
- Naruto — Tazuna, Kisame Hoshigaki, Shukaku, Akahoshi, Gennou, Chiriku
- Ninja Scroll — Hanza
- Omishi Magical Theater Risky Safety — Moe's Father (credited as Sparky Thornton)
- Outlaw Star — Crackerjack, Ark Manaf
- Overman King Gainer — Gain Bijou
- Perfect Blue — Yamashiro
- Rave Master — Berial
- Reign: The Conqueror — Demosthenes
- Rurouni Kenshin — Saito Hajime, Ginji
- Saiyuki Reload / Saiyuki Reload Gunlock — Dr Ni Jianyi
- Samurai Champloo — Jin
- S-Cry-ed — Narrator, Hideki, Urizane
- Serial Experiments Lain — Masami Eiri
- Shingetsutan Tsukihime — Michael Roa Valdamjong. Supposedly, He never did this.
- Street Fighter II V — Guile
- Tenchi Muyo! ! GXP — Seiryo Tennan, Barry, Wau Official
- Tenchi Muyo! ! Ryo-Ohki OVA 3 — Ikeda, Nakita Kuramitsu
- The Big O — Instro (Episode 6)
- The Castleof Cagliostro — Count Cagliostro (Manga version); Gustav (MGM version)
- The Prince of Tennis — Kunimitsu Tezuka
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Dr. Onishi
- Trigun — Rai Dei the Blade
- Vampire Hunter D — D's left hand
- Vandread — Bart Garsus
- Witch Hunter Robin — Kazuya Misawa; Shirou Masuda
- Wolf's Rain — Leara's Father
Video Game V.A Roles[]
- .hack — Orca
- .hack//G.U. vol.1//Rebirth — Antares, Negimaru
- .hack//G.U. vol.2//Reminisce — Antares, Negimaru
- .hack//G.U. vol.3//Redemption — Antares, Negimaru
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War — AWACS Thunderhead (uncredited)
- Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War — Erich Hillenbrand/Schnee One (uncredited)
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation — Sgt. Louis Mc Knight (uncredited)
- Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia — Leard Barsett (uncredited)
- Armored Core: For Answer — Additional Voices (uncredited)
- Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana — Additional Voices (uncredited)
- Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm — Ash F. Abenstein (uncredited)
- Baten Kaitos Origins — Shanath
- Blaz Blue — Jubei, Misc. Voices (such as the Isle of Ranking in Jin's Joke Ending in Continuum Shift)
- Brave Fencer Musashi — Ed (as Sparky Thornton)
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night — Sword Familiar (uncredited, Dracula X Chronicles redub)
- Castlevania Judgment — Grant DaNasty (uncredited)
- Catherine — Boss aka Thomas Mutton
- Death by Degrees — Soldiers (uncredited)
- Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- — Incidental Characters
- Drakengard — Fighter Jet Pilot (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 4 — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 5 — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Dynasty Warriors 6 — Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Galerians: Ash — Major Romero (as Ron Allen)
- Grandia III — Rotts (uncredited)
- Kessen II — Cao Cao (uncredited)
- Kessen III — Nagahide Niwa, Katsuyori Takeda (uncredited)
- Kingdom Hearts II — Saïx
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days — Saïx
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep — Isa
- Magna Carta 2 — Nyx
- Neo Contra — Plant Contra (uncredited)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 — Kinshiro Morooka
- Phantom Brave — Ringmaster Hamm (uncredited)
- Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 — Kevin Ryman (uncredited)
- Rogue Galaxy — Cancer King, Starr, Logan
- Romancing SaGa: Darque (uncredited)
- Samurai Warriors — Katsuyori Takeda, Kennyo Honganji, Morichika Chosokabe Type Generic Officer (uncredited)
- Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends — Tadakatsu Honda (uncredited)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 — Roland (uncredited)
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories — Harry Mason
- Sonic Free Riders — Shadow the Hedgehog
- Sonic Colors — Orbot
- Soulcalibur V — Male Custom Voice "Veteran Knight"
- Star Ocean Till the End of Time — Lancar, Vendeen Soldier (uncredited)
- Suikoden IV — Gary (uncredited)
- Suikoden V — Rahal (uncredited)
- Tales of the Abyss — Jade Curtiss (uncredited)
- Time Crisis 4 — Terrorist Leader (Complete Mission mode only) (uncredited)
- The Bouncer — Commander (as Sparky Thornton)
- The Granstream Saga — Slayzer (as Sparky Thornton) (was miscredited as the voice of Korky)
- Trauma Center: New Blood — Robert Cromwell (uncredited)
- Urban Reign — Various Gang Members (uncredited)
- Warriors Orochi — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Warriors Orochi 2 — Meng Huo, Xiahou Dun (uncredited)
- Wild Arms 5 — Fereydoon, Joseph Russellberg, Sol Niger (uncredited)
- Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht — Capt. Matthews (uncredited)
- Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse — Capt. Matthews
- Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra — Hermann / Capt. Matthews
Director Credits[]
- Bleach — ADR co-director
- Kannazuki no Miko — Voice director