| William Vanderpuye | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 (age 48–49) London, England, U.K. |
| Other names | Will Vanders |
| Style | Kyokushin Karate, Shotokan Karate |
| Rank | 3rd degree black belt in Kyokushin brown belt in Shotokan |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Occupation | Actor, voice-over artist, commentator, martial artist |
William Vanderpuye (born 1963), also known as Will Vanderpuye and Will Vanders, is an award-winning British actor and renowned voice-over artist. Vanderpuye has had a long career consisting of many leading theatrical roles and outstanding supporting characters in British films and television programmes. He is also a sports commentator, covering combat sports such as kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
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Vanderpuye studied at the Corona Theatre Academy with Nicholas Lyndhurst and Ray Winstone and took exams at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 1971, he had his first role at the age of eight in the film Melody, written by Alan Parker and produced by David Putnam.
Film roles include Aitch in the multi-award-winning The Firm with Gary Oldman, and thriller action movie Down.[1] He voiced the Hutu radio DJ in the multi-Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda and characterized Phillip the dog in the BAFTA- and Oscar-winning movie Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
He has also appeared in London's Burning, Jonathan Creek, The Brokers Man, Minder (Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette), One Foot in the Grave, Scum, Touching Evil, The Last Detective, Casualty, and Holby City on British television. Animations as a voice over include Budgie the Little Helicopter, Greedysaurus Gang, Rastamouse, Fun with Phonics,[2] and That's So Darwin for the BBC, performing with his son, Willy Vanderpuye.
Vanderpuye's theatre performances include Reggae Britannia at the Royal Court Theatre, The Great White Hope (Time Out award winner), Tramway Road with Freddie Jones and Richard E. Grant, and an appearance with Lily Savage in the highly acclaimed Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens the off-Broadway production about AIDS.
Will Vanderpuye is a voice-over actor and can be heard regularly on TV and radio; he was the voice of Lilt ("totally tropical taste") and Malibu ("The sun always shines when it pours"). He has also voiced adverts for Seat, Citroen, Guinness, Vodafone, Lloyds TSB, TV licensing, Malibu, Telewest Broadband, Nestlé Cookie Crisp, Fairy Liquid, Pedigree Chum, COI Fostering, COI Reading and Literature, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Tomy Toys, Bandai, BT, Nintendo, Lilt, Renault and Virgin Money.
He is currently the "station voice" for the Nickelodeon TV channel.
Inspired by the Akira Kurosawa film Seven Samurai, Vanderpuye began studying Shotokan karate at the age of 13 and eventually earned a brown belt in the discipline. He later switched to Kyokushin in which he currently holds a 3rd dan black belt. In addition to karate, he has also studied boxing, jujutsu and judo.[3]
In 2002, he began commentating for K-1 and Fight Club on Eurosport under the name Will Vanders or Sensei Will Vanders.[4] He is known for his spirited coverage of K-1 events, and his catchphrases "it's a knockdooooooown!" and "goodbye Pepsi-Cola, hello holy wine". His TV production company produces Fight-Sport programs for Eurosport and other major TV channels