A native of Oregon, Kirk Thornton worked his way into anime taking the traditional path: classical actor training (U of Washington) – Oregon Shakespearean Festival – New York off broadway and regional theatre – Los Angeles film and television – dry cleaners where he met an anime director he had worked with in theatre. Over 20 years in the trenches and some of the roles he has to show for it are Jin (Samurai Champloo), Don Patch (Bobobo),Tazuna (Naruto), Saidoh (Bleach), Gabumon and Mummymon (Digimon), Kuze (The Ghost In the Shell), Blackjack (Blackjack) Monsuno, (Beyal, One Eyed Jack & Hargrave, among others). Other credits include Gungrave (Brandon Heat), Kikaider (Hattori), Planates as Hachirota, IGPX as Mark, Duel (Dr. Sanada), Duel Masters, Last Exile, Stellvia, Vandred, Heat Guy J, Love Hina, Stelvia, Wolf’s Rain, Akira, The Mysterious Play, and Kenshin.
His voice has also appeared in video games, such as Skyrim, Resident Evil: Revelation, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Saints Row: The Third, Kingdom Hearts, Batman Arkham Asylum, Kane & Lynch 2, Guild Wars 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dragonage 2, Resident Evil Outbreak, Mission Impossible, Catherine and Monsters Vs Aliens among others.
Kirk has directed the English dubs of S-CRY-ED, Gad Guard, Cosmo Warrior Zero, Tsukihime, Mars Daybreak, Otogizoshi, and Destiny of Shrine Maiden all of which he was the lead script adapter and story editor.
Some of the video games that he has directed are Dirt 2, Operation Flashpoint, Tom Clancy’s Hawx, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, The Tale of Despereau, Enchanted Arms, Rogue Galaxy, Samurai Champloo, Time Crisis 4 & WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012 plus several soon to be released that he’s not at liberty to mention.