Popular anime voice, Mike McFarland, a renowned voice actor known for his roles in the English-dubbed versions of “One Piece” and “Dragon Ball Z,” has died at the age of 56 after battling brain cancer.
McFarland was a veteran voice actor who portrayed Master Roshi and Yajirobe in “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z”, as well as Buggy the Clown in “One Piece”. He also voiced Teppei Sugo in “Psycho-Pass”, Jean Havoc in “Fullmetal Alchemist” and Jean Kirstein in “Attack on Titan”.
Early life and career
McFarland began his career in 1997 after Funimation Entertainment hired him as one of its first voice actors in Texas. He quickly established himself in the anime industry, working as a line producer, ADR director and ADR script adapter on numerous Funimation and Crunchyroll animated films and television shows.
His roles included George in “Case Closed”, Goemon Ishikawa in “Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine” and later “Lupin III” films, as well as Sky Master in “Heaven’s Lost Property”.
His most recent roles included E.G. Mine in “Trigun Stampede”, Big Bad Wolf in “Date A Live IV” and Hiroshi Odokawa in “Odd Taxi”.
According to TMZ and Deadline, McFarland, who voiced English dubs for several popular anime titles, died on Wednesday, September 9.
McFarland died at a care facility in Dallas, Texas, where he spent his final moments with friends and family, his friend Brina Palencia told TMZ.
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Mike McFarland’s health struggle
According to a GoFundMe page previously shared by the voice actor, McFarland’s family had been open about his health since January 2025, when he underwent emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour. Since then, the family had continued to update supporters on his condition, including his need for additional surgery.
In August 2025, doctors diagnosed McFarland with glioblastoma, an aggressive and fast-growing form of brain cancer that develops in the brain or spinal cord.
PEOPLE has contacted the GoFundMe organisers and McFarland’s representative for comment. His friends and co-stars have also paid tribute to him on social media since his passing.
