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Sarah Natochenny
Natochenny in July 2024
Born	1987 (age 37–38) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Voice actress editor
Years active	2004–present
Website	sarahnatochenny.com

Sarah Natochenny (/ˈnætəˌtʃɛni, ˈnætoʊ-/; born 1987) is a Russian-American voice actress and editor. She is best known for voicing Ash Ketchum and various other characters in the English dub of Pokémon, as well as Alicia in the video game Bullet Witch. She has also edited documentaries for networks such as MSNBC and worked as an assistant editor on the films Life of Crime, Cold Comes the Night, Worst Friends, and Cruise.

Early life

Natochenny was born in the Forest Hills neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough in 1987. She is of Russian descent and is fluent in both English and Russian. At the age of 12, she won a bronze medal in rhythmic gymnastics at the Junior Olympics. She graduated from Stephen A. Halsey JHS 157 and Brooklyn Technical High School in 2005, then studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute's Young Actors Program, as well as the Upright Citizens Brigade and Magnet Theatre in New York City.

Career

At the age of 18, Natochenny replaced Veronica Taylor as the voice of Ash Ketchum on the English-language dub of Pokémon, starting with the show's ninth season in 2006. She likened getting the role to "being struck by Pikachu's Thunderbolt" and called it "the most exciting moment of life". She also voices various other characters on the show. She faced some fan backlash for replacing Taylor as Ash, which affected her struggles with depression: "One that wasn't circumstantial but was kicked off by the reaction I got when I first started. You're doing what you love and you finally book your first huge role on a show that you loved as a child and people are like, 'You're terrible.' That's really painful to experience."

Natochenny voiced Alicia in the 2006 video game Bullet Witch. In 2009, she appeared in videos on the comedy website CollegeHumor. In 2019, she won the Outstanding Animation or Gaming - Demo, Best Voiceover award from the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences. In 2020, she co-starred in the live action pilot I Adore Dolores, which was one of No Budge's top picks of the year. She also appeared in three videos for Vanity Fair, talking about the dubbing process and improvising as never-before-seen characters.

Natochenny has appeared on multiple episodes of The George Lucas Talk Show. She is also a film editor, having worked as the primary editor on documentaries for networks such as MSNBC and an assistant editor on the films Life of Crime, Cold Comes the Night, Worst Friends, and Cruise.

Personal life

Natochenny splits her time between Los Angeles and New York City. She has been open about her struggles with depression.

Natochenny has a cat named after Pikachu. Inspired by a Pokémon episode that dealt with death, Natochenny and fellow voice actress Lisa Ortiz co-founded Voices for Fosters, a charity dedicated to helping rescued animals find permanent homes and advising people on how to foster them. Their website states, "Our goal is to bring the joy of pet companionship to people who didn't think they had the time, end euthanasia and improve care standards for all animals."

Filmography

Anime

Animation

Film

Video games

Television

Notes

1. Natochenny described herself as Russian-American and discussed speaking fluent Russian in a 2020 interview with ComicsBeat.

References

1. Hamlet, Isaac (May 25, 2023). "'Pokémon' voice actor Sarah Natochenny discusses 17 years as Ash Ketchum ahead of Des Moines Con 2023". Little Village. Iowa City, Iowa. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
2. ^ Kaplan, Avery (April 28, 2020). "Interview: Sarah Natochenny on recording Marvel's Black Widow: Bad Blood". The Beat. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021. Amanda actually cast me based on knowing me, she's like, "I think you're this person." And also, I'm Russian-American, so that helped. And I speak Russian, so.
3. ^ "At BoroughCon, FoHi's voice on 'Pokemon'". qchron.com. June 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
4. ^ Haque, Fahima (July 15, 2016). "'I'm a sensitive type of Pokémon': meet the voice behind Ash Ketchum". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
5. ^ Gularte, Alejandra (December 22, 2022). "Voice Actress Sarah Natochenny Understands the Importance of Ash Ketchum". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
6. ^ "FEATURE: Ash Ketchum English VA Sarah Natochenny's Journey of Finding Herself in Pokémon". Crunchyroll. March 24, 2023. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
7. ^ "About". sarahnatochennyhome. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
8. Hoffer, Christian (April 22, 2017). "Ash Ketchum Has a Special Earth Day Message Courtesy of His Original Voice Actor". Pokemon on WWG. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
9. ^ "Sarah Natochenny (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
10. "Ice Age in 4D". CollegeHumor. July 13, 2009. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
11. "Bleep Bloop: Voice of Ash Ketchum". CollegeHumor. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
12. "2019 Winners". Sovas. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
13. "I Adore Dolores". NoBudge.
14. "Sarah Natochenny (Ash from Pokémon) Improvises 10 New Cartoon Voices". Vanity Fair. February 28, 2020. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021 – via YouTube.
15. ^ "How Pokémon Is Dubbed From Japanese To English". Vanity Fair. March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021 – via YouTube.
16. "Voice Actor (Ash from Pokémon) Breaks Down Voice Dubbing in 9 Steps". Vanity Fair. October 30, 2020. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021 – via YouTube.
17. ^ "About Us". voicesforfosters. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
18. Natochenny, Sarah (September 20, 2019). "Sarah Anne on Instagram: "Portrait of a woman getting better with age. Hot tips: don't drink alcohol, do sleep eight hours, do wear sunscreen daily and hats during..."" – via Instagram.
19. "Ash Ketchum's English Actor Sarah Natochenny Joins Tokyo Revengers Cast". February 16, 2023. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
20. "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian English Dub Reveals Cast & Crew, Release Date". Retrieved July 22, 2024.
21. Kids First (December 7, 2017). "Super 4: Welcome to Kingsland – So Many Adventures! Something for Everyone". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
22. "Yoko". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
23. Otakon 2016 guests
24. "- YouTube". YouTube. June 15, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
25. "44 Cats". Netflix. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
26. "'Natural Habitat Shorts': Like 'Ranger Rick,' But for Adults". AWN.com. Animation World Network. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
27. Bennett, John J. "Not All Heroes Wear Frowns". North Coast Journal. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
28. "- YouTube". YouTube. December 31, 2022. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
29. Mateo, Alex (September 16, 2021). "Sentai Filmworks Reveals English Dub Cast for 1st Girls und Panzer das Finale Anime Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
30. "Mavka: The Forest Song". Raising Childre Network. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
31. "Bullet Witch localization". CrystalAcids.com. March 4, 2007. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
32. "White Day: A Labyrinth Named School (Game) - Giant Bomb". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
33. "'Fortnite' Heads to the Wasteland With 'Fallout' in New Wrecked Chapter". variety.com. May 23, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
34. "Pencils Down". Dropout. March 25, 2024. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Sarah Natochenny at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Sarah Natochenny at IMDb
• Sarah Natochenny at Crystal Acids the English Voice Actor & Production Staff Database

• 1980s births
• Actresses from Queens, New York
• American video game actresses
• American voice actresses
• American film editors
• CollegeHumor people
• Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
• Living people
• American people of Russian descent
• People from New York City
• Pokémon
• 1987 births