Interview with Voice Actress Brianna Knickerbocker

Written by Ross Locksley on 25 May 2025

Attending MCM London Comic Con, we were delighted to be granted some private time with voice actress, singer and songwriter Brianna Knickerbocker, who has played numerous major anime and gaming roles over the years, including Tuesday from Carole & Tuseday, Rem in Re:Zero, Kanao Tsuyuri in Demon Slayer and most recently the ill-fated Shiiko Sugai in Gundam Gquuuuuux. 

Hi Brianna, thanks for taking the time for us today. Let's start with how you find the voice acting industry - is it competitive, with rivals, or friendly and cooperative?

One of the things that I love about the voice industry is how supportive and wonderful everybody is. I've heard that the on-camera acting world is a little bit... I have a very weak, sensitive heart (laughs). So that's why I kind of gravitated towards voiceover because everybody is basically like a big kid and we're all just like, oh my god, we're a cartoon character, or like we're in a video game and we're all just geeking out. So we're all just having a blast out there. It's really, really good energy.

That's good. You've done about 134 voice roles, I think, the last time I looked you up. Does that sound about right?

I mean, at minimum, I would say there's more than that. But yeah.

Rem from Re:Zero, one of Brianna's many roles

Wow, when did you start? When you were five? (laughs). How did you get into voice acting?

I randomly fell into the industry. I thought I wanted to do fashion, tried it. I got my degree in it, quit. And then I just kind of fell into acting. It all worked, it was good, everything felt amazing. So I was like, I guess this is what I'm supposed to do.

So I got a voice acting job on an acting/casting website in LA, and I booked it and it just kind of took off.

That's great. So what was it that made you decide that was your career? Was it just great from the start?

I was just open to what the universe was trying to share with me and I just went with the flow and tried to be open-hearted and open-minded to what the universe was trying to tell me I was supposed to be doing.

Just on a picking up on your point earlier, what was it that put you off fashion? I only ask because that's the industry I work in outside of this website.

Yeah yeah it felt wrong, I was crying in the car. My soul was screaming. So I just knew that it was a major, massive no, in my gut, in my heart, in my head.

Okay, and what part of fashion were you doing? Designing?

I wanted to be a designer and the day that made me quit, it was like a trial day at a company. They were sitting me in front of a computer and I was doing CAD work. And I sat in my car at lunch. It was just such a strong, you know, when you get like this big no from inside. Like you're like, no, this isn't for me.

This is really wrong. And I'm a stubborn motherfucker. So I don't know if you can put that in your article, but...

That's okay, it's all on record now (laughs)

I knew that it was just a strong no and then I just kind of went on, I was just searching for what I was supposed to do and acting kind of showed itself to me and it worked out and I was like going with the flow and it all just kind of happened fast.

That's great, it certainly seems to have worked out for the best!

Yeah, it's weird. You just have to be open to the universe, you know? It's nice when it all comes together.

So you must do a lot of these sort of shows. Do you have a group of you that you tend to travel with or is it always on your own?

Sometimes it depends. We all have different agents, so sometimes it's hard to be grouped together, but for shows like Demon Slayer, having us together is always really nice or for Re:Zero Or Konosuba, it just depends on the project, but it's always nice to have friends at different shows and everything.

Brianna did a wonderful job as Tuesday in Shinichiro Watanabe's excellent Carole & Tuesday

As a you're a singer/songwriter, how did you find working on Carole & Tuesday?

I did that particularly prior to the Japanese actual show. So there was no opportunity to dub the music. I love all of the music on that show. I would, I am still trying to manifest a show or a video game where I get to sing all the songs. That would be an absolute dream for me.

Well I would like to hear your edition of the Mermaid song!

Regarding the fans, is there any sort of one incident that sort of either sort of surprised you, shocked you, made you really happy?

 Yeah. When little girls show up and they have little bracelets made for me that like just melts my heart every time.

Oh, my daughter does that for her cousins! Do you play games and watch anime yourself? And if so, does knowing how they're maid sort of affect your enjoyment of them?

I think knowing how they're made does not, I think it, I guess it would only help. Me enjoy them more, but just generally I just enjoy video games. Plain and simple.

I've always been a gamer ever since I was little and, yeah, knowing how the sausage made does not deter me from enjoying the end product. It's a rare treat.

Awesome. It's a bit different for me, when I have to deal with fashion I have to deal with cloth all the time and see the whole process. So of course I have to deal with all the fashion designers that you might have been!

Oh my gosh. That's like PTSD for me. I don't wanna ever see like a little, like a piece of fabric.

(Laughs) It's quite traumatic for me as well! 

Was there any one person that gave you a boost into the industry or somebody that really helped you along?

Well, I would say I would definitely give credit to Mommy OTA at Bang Zoom for discovering me for anime for sure. For everything else I've just kind of been around. There's lots of, I would, I would name a few directors, casting directors and people that have shown me a lot of love over the years. It's been amazing. I'm very lucky.

So the, the industry at the moment, there's obviously a lot of changes. Netflix and all the streaming people are starting to make anime. The whole thing seems to be going very fast now. Yeah. Are you finding that there's a lot of demand for you? Are you turning down roles now?

I turn down roles sometimes, but not often. Takes a lot for me to turn down something. But yeah, generally just people know that I, I exist, I've been out there for a minute. I'm getting roles here and there, and. I don't know if, um, streaming and the amount, sheer amounts, I don't know how many are being made, but I don't know if that affects anything for me.

You can listen to Brianna's album, Vampire, on streaming - click here to listen!

So lastly, when you're in London and you're traveling around to these shows, do you take time out to go into the city and have a look around?

Yeah, I've been here multiple times. Yesterday I did the Chelsea Flower Show, which was amazing. I'm gonna work on music with a producer next weekend and explore Hamstead Heath.

Then I'm going up to Lake District, so I'm gonna go up there for a little bit. But yeah, I'll be back down for a couple days before I go home.

So there might be a new album in the works? 

We'll see - keep an eye on the website.

We'd like to thank Brianna for her time and company, as well as the staff at Bastion and MCM Comic Con for arranging the time.