UPDATE: I worked with Mike Pollock himself to make a few additions and corrections to the article, I apologize for the mistakes previously present.

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Yes, you may have not realized it, but today (as of typing, it’s already the 16th in other time zones) marks the 10th anniversary of not just Shadow the Hedgehog (on GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2) and Sonic Rush’s release on DS in North America, but these were the very first games where the longest-running English voice actor in the entire franchise first joined the games themselves.

It’s very important to note that while this is the 10th anniversary of his debut in the actual video games themselves, Mike Pollock did indeed debut in the Sonic X anime two years prior in 2003 (as Mike points out below in our comments, he actually was heard as Eggman for the very first time in a Fox Box sneak preview on August 23rd 2003). Actually, we of course can go back to months earlier when the auditions first took place. Mike just calculates from the first airdate because he never counts his chickens before they’re hatched. (Egg analogy totally intended.)

He’s done other voices in the Sonic series as well. In Sonic X, he was also the voice of Ella, as well as the voice of Gerald Robotnik in both Sonic X and in Shadow the Hedgehog. In Sonic Rush he also voiced Eggman Nega. Most recently in Sonic Boom, he voices as both Fastidious Beaver and Mayor Fink.

Left to right; Ella, Gerald Robotnik, Eggman Nega, Fastidious Beaver and Mayor Fink, images from BTVA

But did you know he also voices characters outside the Sonic franchise? Give his Behind The Voice Actors page a look, you might be surprised by some of the other characters he’s voiced over the years!

Which reminds me, what a very interesting coincidence that Sonic’s twitter was taken over by a certain mustached man just back on Friday, with Mike Pollock behind the mic (ahem) and everything (I even saved the avatar, here it is at full size). Wonder if Sega caught that also.

Well, I wish you Mike Pollock a wonderful 10th anniversary, as well to all the other 4Kids voice actors even if they’re no longer part of the series. Here’s to 10 more years in the franchise and beyond!