X-Men: Magneto voice actor David Hemblen dies at 79.

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Sad news coming in from the voice acting world as David Hemblen, known to many longtime Marvel fans as the voice of Magneto on X-Men: The Animated Series, has passed away. The cause of death hasn't been made clear as of this writing but the actor's obituary reveals that he died earlier this on November 16. He was 79 years old.

The X-Men: The Animated Series Twitter page, which is run by writers Julia Lewald and Eric Lewald, addressed Hemblen's passing with a post on the account that can be seen below:

Hemblen was born on September 16, 1941, in London, England but he spent most of his years growing up in Toronto, Canada where he took an early interest in theatre and performing. By the 1980s, Hemblen would take his talents to the screen on shows like Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and Mr. T's private eye series T and T. The actor would eventually pick up a starring role as Jonathan Doors in Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict and he had a recurring role on the action series La Femme Nikita. 

Most fans truly know Hemblen for his years-long role as the voice of Magneto on X-Men: The Animated Series. For many, like myself, this interpretation defined that character for many years and it still stands as a true fan-favorite for most Marvel fans. Hemblen reprised his vocal role as Magneto for the video game X-Men: Mutant Academy 2. It seems that the actor really found his niche doing voice work and he is regarded as a particularly talented voice actor. His other voice roles include Tales from the Cryptkeeper, The Jungle Book: The Adventures of Mowgli, Wild C.A.T.S.: Covert Action Teams, and Silver Surfer.

Sadly, Hemblen's passing marks the third animated X-Men series voice actor to pass away this year. Norm Spencer, who voiced Cyclops on X-Men: The Animated Series, died in August at the age of 62 and just days ago, voice actor Kirby Morrow, who voiced Cyclops in the follow-up series X-Men: Evolution, also passed away due to unknown causes at the age of 47.

David Hemblen is survived by his daughter, Kate; son-in-law, Glyn Thomas; and grandchildren Anna Thomas and Celyn Thomas. Our thoughts and prayers are with Hemblen's family and friends during this difficult time and I hope they get some peace knowing how many people Hemblen actually touched through his work. I was going through the social media posts on Twitter and his fans are really doing their part to acknowledge his legacy and make it be known what his work meant to them over the years. R.I.P.