John Rafter Lee

Last updated

John Rafter Lee
Born
England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • narrator
  • playwright
  • producer

John Rafter Lee is an English actor, narrator, playwright and producer.

Contents

Biography

Lee was born in England with Irish ancestry. [1] His father worked as a carpenter and other men in his family were blacksmiths, brick layers and plumbers. [1] Lee himself has worked in agriculture, picking fruit, which he considers much more difficult than voice acting. [1]

Career

Lee has narrated hundreds of audiobooks. [1] "His trademark rich, smooth voice with its hint of a growl turns the word into a seduction", according to AudioFile . [1] He has won numerous Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards, and he was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile in 2009. [1]

In film, he portrayed the mysterious Trevor Goodchild in Peter Chung's Æon Flux . Other voice credits include Meier Link in both Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Vampire Hunter D , Pavlo Zaitsev in episode 16 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex , Jason Wynn in HBO's Spawn animated series, and Aristotle in Reign: The Conqueror . John also had a role as a voice actor playing Cid Bunansa in the video game Final Fantasy XII .

Lee was also the producer and screenwriter for the 2001 film Breathing Hard, in which he played the character John Duggan. His Æon Flux co-star Denise Poirier plays his wife Carol.

He has written the plays Blood and Milk, Hitler's Head, Passchendaele, Clean Souls and Frankincense. He has adapted into English Schiller's Don Carlos, Racine's Britannicus and Grabbe's Jest, Satire, Irony and Deeper Significance. Passchendaele received its first production at the New York Fringe Festival in August 2010.

His latest film, which he wrote and co-produced, is Forfeit , which received its premier at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. He is currently writing a film to be shot in his hometown, Birmingham, England.

Awards and honors

AudioFile named Lee a Golden Voice narrator. [2]

Awards

YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2003 The Fifth Sorceress (2002) by Robert Newcomb Audie Award for Science Fiction Finalist [3]
2004 A Death in Vienna (2004) by Daniel Silva Earphone Award Winner [4]
2006 The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven Listen Up Award for TeensWinner [5]
Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics Finalist [6]
The Sea by John Banville Listen Up Award for FictionWinner [5]
2008 Dreaming Void by Peter Hamilton Listen Up Award for Science Fiction/FantasyFinalist [7]
The Long Walk by Sławomir Rawicz Audie Award for Solo Narration - Male Finalist [8]
Poe's Children: The New Horror, edited by Peter StrausListen Up Award for Full Cast/Multiple VoicesFinalist [7]
The Solitude of Thomas Cave (2007) by Georgina Harding Earphone Award Winner [9]
White Fang / Call of the Wild (1906) by Jack London Audie Award for Classics Finalist [8]
The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga Earphone Award Winner [10]
Listen Up Award for FictionFinalist [7]
2009 The Count of Monte Cristo (1846) by Alexandre Dumas Earphone Award Winner [11]
Audie Award for Classic Finalist [11] [12]
Audie Award for Solo Narration - Male Winner [11] [12]
The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga Audie Award for Literary Fiction Finalist [12] [10]
Audie Award for Solo Narration - Male Finalist [12] [10]
2010Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre Listen Up Award for NonfictionWinner [13]
The Price of Love and Other Stories (1999) by Anne Baker Audie Award for Thriller or Suspense Finalist [14]
2011 Fall of Giants (2010) by Ken Follett Audie Award for Fiction Finalist [15]
This Body of Death by Elizabeth George Audie Award for Mystery Finalist [15]
The Woman in White (1859) by Wilkie Collins Audie Award for Classic Winner [15]
2012Double Cross by Ben Macintyre Listen Up Award for NonfictionFinalist [16]
2013 Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker Audie Award for Classic Finalist [17]
Audie Award for Distinguished Achievement in ProductionWinner [17]
Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance Winner [17] [18]
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh Listen Up Award for NonfictionFinalist [19]
2014A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre Listen Up Award for NonfictionWinner [20]
2015A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre Audie Award for History or Biography Finalist [21]
2016Sweetland (2015) by Michael Crummey Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics Finalist [22]
2018Darkest Hour (2017) by Anthony McCarten Earphone Award Winner [23]
Spellmonger, Book 1 by Terry Mancour Audie Award for Fantasy Finalist [24]
2019Darkest Hour (2017) by Anthony McCarten Audie Award for History or Biography Winner [25] [26]
2020 Lovely War (2019) by Julie Berry Audie Award for Young Adult Title Finalist [27]
The Splendid and the Vile (2020) by Erik Larson Earphone Award Winner [28]
2022 The Man in the Brown Suit (1924) by Agatha Christie Audie Award for Mystery Finalist [29]

"Best of" lists

YearTitleListRef.
2004 A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva AudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense [2]
White Fang / Call of the Wild (1906) by Jack London AudioFile Best of Classics [2]
2007 Midnight over Sanctaphrax by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell ALSC Notable Children's Recordings [30]
2008 The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults [31]
The Solitude of Thomas Cave (2007) by Georgina Harding AudioFile Best of Fiction [2]
The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga AudioFile Best of Fiction [2]
2009 The Count of Monte Cristo (1846) by Alexandre Dumas AudioFile Best of Classics [2]
2010The Bell Ringers (2010) by Henry Porter AudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense [2]
The History of the Medieval World(2010) by Susan Wise Bauer AudioFile Best of History & Historical Fiction [2]
The Price of Love and Other Stories (1999) by Anne Baker AudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense [2]
The Swan Thieves (2010) by Elizabeth Kostova AudioFile Best of Fiction [2]
2013 The Redeemer (2013) by Jo Nesbø AudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense [2]
2015 The Abyss Beyond Dreams (2014) by Peter F. Hamilton Booklist Editors' Choice: Audio for Adults [32]
Booklist 's Top 10 Adult SF/Fantasy/Horror on Audio [33]
Sweetland (2015) by Michael Crummey AudioFile Best of Fiction [2]
2016 The Hero With A Thousand Faces (1949) by Joseph Campbell AudioFile Best of Nonfiction & Culture [2]
2017Prussian Blue (2017) by Philip Kerr Booklist 's Audio Stars for Adults [34]
Booklist Editors' Choice: Audio for Adults [35]
Booklist 's Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobooks [36]
The Thirst (2017) by Jo Nesbø with Neil Smith (trans.) AudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense [2]
2020 Lovely War (2019) by Julie Berry Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [37]
The Splendid and the Vile (2020) by Erik Larson AudioFile Best of History & Biography [2]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992Small KillHit Man
1998Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2Jason WynnVoice
1999Todd McFarlane's Spawn 3: The Ultimate BattleJason Wynn
1999George Lucas in LoveRanterShort
1999 Princess Mononoke Voice
2000 Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Meier LinkVoice [38]
2001Breathing HardJohn DugganAlso writer and producer
2003Jules Verne & Walt Disney: Explorers of ImaginationNarratorDocumentary
2007 Forfeit —Writer and producer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995 Æon Flux Trevor Goodchild Voice, 10 episodes [38]
1997–1999 Todd McFarlane's Spawn Jason Wynn Voice, 17 episodes [38]
2000 Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Azusa Jurai Voice, Episode: "Here Comes Jurai"
2003 Reign: The Conqueror Aristotle Voice, 4 episodes
2003 Ninja Scroll: The Series Renya YagyuVoice
2003–2004 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Kusunoki, Zaitsef, Security Guard, Yaku Humimari (voices)Voice, 4 episodes

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000 Vampire Hunter D Meier Link [38]
2000 Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption
2006 Final Fantasy XII Cid Bunansa [38]

Related Research Articles

The Audie Awards, or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They are presented by the Audio Publishers Association (APA) annually in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Whelan</span> American actress and author

Julia May Whelan is an American actress, narrator and author. As an actress, she is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the television family drama series Once and Again (1999–2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime movie The Secret Life of Zoey. A noted child actor, Whelan first appeared on screen at the age of 11 and continued to take television roles until her matriculation into Middlebury College in 2004; Whelan graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury in 2008 after spending the 2006–2007 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford. Whelan returned to film acting in November 2008 with a role in the fantasy thriller Fading of the Cries. In the 2010s, Whelan stepped away from her acting career to become an audiobook narrator. As of July 2022, she has narrated over 400 audiobooks. In 2018, she published her debut novel My Oxford Year.

Kirby Heyborne is an American actor, musician, singer, songwriter, narrator and comedian. He is known for his work in films centered around the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heyborne has also worked extensively as an audiobook narrator, narrating more than 300 books. He has won two Odyssey Awards and an Audie Award for Middle Grade Title. In 2015, Booklist named him a Voice of Choice narrator.

January LaVoy is an American actress and audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is most recognized as Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. LaVoy made her Broadway debut in the Broadway premiere of the play Enron at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Brick</span> American audiobook narrator and actor

Scott Brick is an American actor, writer and award-winning narrator of over 800 audiobooks, including popular titles such as Washington: A Life, Moneyball, and Cloud Atlas. He has narrated works for a number of high-profile authors, including Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler and John Grisham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Gidwitz</span> American childrens author

Adam Gidwitz is an American author of children's books, best known for A Tale Dark and Grimm (2010), In a Glass Grimmly (2012), and The Grimm Conclusion (2013). He received a 2017 Newbery Honor for The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (2016). In 2021, his book A Tale Dark and Grimm was adapted into an animated miniseries on Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Rosenblat</span> British actress (born 1950)

Barbara Rosenblat is a British actress. She is best known as a prolific narrator of audiobooks, for which AudioFile named her a Golden Voice. She has also appeared on screen such as in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black as the character Miss Rosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Kellgren</span> American actor and voice actor (c. 1969-2018)

Katherine Ingrid Kellgren or Kjellgren was an American actress, known for her narration of audiobooks.

R. C. Bray is an American producer and voice actor known for over 250 audiobooks, an Audie Award, Earphones Awards, and Voice Arts Awards winner, Off-Broadway and Edinburgh Fringe Festival performer, and TV and radio commercial narrator.

Bahni Turpin is an American audiobook narrator and stage and screen actor based out of Los Angeles. Her audiobook career includes some of the most popular and critically-acclaimed books in recent years, including The Help and The Hate U Give. She has won 9 Audie Awards, including Audiobook of the Year for Children of Blood and Bone; 14 Earphone Awards; and 2 Odyssey Awards. Turpin has also earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, and in 2016, she was named Audible's Narrator of the Year. In 2018, Audible inducted her into the Narrator Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Vance</span> British audiobook narrator

Simon Vance is an audiobook narrator and actor who performs contemporary literary works as well as classics, children's books, and nonfiction. He has won 16 Audie Awards since 2002. Specializing in single-voice narration, he was named the American Library Association's Booklist Magazine Voice of Choice in 2008, and has earned AudioFile Magazine's Earphones Award for more than 60 performances since 1998. He has also narrated audiobooks under the names of Richard Matthews and Robert Whitfield. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Robin Miles is an American actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director. Miles has acted in Broadway shows and on TV shows including Law & Order and Murder by Numbers. She is best known for her audiobook narrations and narration director work for which she has won numerous awards, including Audie Awards, AudioFile Golden Voice, and Earphone Awards. Miles is revered in her field and is credited as one of the audiobook narrators saving the publishing industry. In 2017, Miles was inducted into Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame. Miles also has a voice training school, VOXpertise, for aspiring narrators. She has narrated over 300 books. Miles specializes in recreating "accents and speech patterns from around the globe."

The Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It has been awarded since 2004.

Dion Graham is an American actor and narrator. As an actor, he has worked both on and off-Broadway, as well as in TV series and film. As of April 2024, he has narrated at least 280 audiobooks. He has earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, as well as Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame. Further, he has won 11 Audie Awards, 71 Earphone Awards, 3 Listen-Up Awards, and 1 Odyssey Award.

MacLeod Andrews is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He has won 15 Earphone Awards, and 2 Audie Awards, as well as acting awards.

The Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance, established in 1996, is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It awards excellence in audiobooks narrated by multiple performers who do not interact. Only English-language texts are eligible.

JD Jackson is an American audiobook narrator, actor, and theater professor. Jackson has won 26 Earphone Awards and 1 Audie Award. In 2020, AudioFile named him a Golden Voice Narrator and two years later Booklist named him a Voice of Choice Narrator.

Michael Lockwood Crouch is an American voice actor. He has recorded over 300 audiobooks, through which he received 29 Earphone Awards, 2 Audie Awards, 1 Voice Arts Award, and 1 Odyssey Award honor. In June 2021, AudioFile named him a Golden Voice Narrator. As an actor, he is best known for his roles on the English-language Pokémonand Yu-Gi-Oh! television series.

Kyla Tucaya Garcia is an American stage, film, and television actress and audiobook narrator. As an audiobook narrator, she has received 14 Earphone Awards and has been a finalist for four Audie Awards.

Cassandra Campbell is an American narrator of over 900 audiobooks. She has won four Audie Awards from the Audio Publishers Association and has been a finalist for several more. She has also earned numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile, who named her a Golden Voice Narrator. In 2018, she was inducted into Audible’s Narrator Hall of Fame.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Spotlight on John Lee". AudioFile . 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "AudioFile Magazine Spotlight on Narrator John Lee". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "2003 Audie Awards" . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva Read by John Lee | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Howell, Kevin; Maughan, Shannon (1 January 2007). "The 2006 Listen-Up Awards". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "2006 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Howell, Kevin (5 January 2009). "The Listen Up Awards: The Best Audios of 2008". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. 1 2 "2008 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding Read by John Lee | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Read by John Lee | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 "The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Read by John Lee | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "2009 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Sehgal, Parul (3 January 2011). "The 2010 Listen-Up Awards". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "2010 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 "2011 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Boretz, Adam (4 January 2013). "The 2012 Listen-Up Awards". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 "2013 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  18. ↑ Boretz, Adam (31 May 2013). "BEA 2013: Audible Takes Top Audie Awards". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  19. ↑ Boretz, Adam (3 January 2014). "The 2013 Listen-Up Awards". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Coreno, Annie (30 January 2015). "The 2014 Listen-Up Awards: The Best Audiobooks of the Year". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "2015 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "2016 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarten Read by John Lee | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "2018 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "2019 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  26. ↑ Maher, John (5 March 2019). "Adeyemi, Turpin Win Top Award at 2019 Audies". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  27. ↑ "2020 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  28. ↑ "The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson Read by John Lee Erik Larson Note | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "2022 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association . Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "2007 Notable Children's Recordings". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 30 November 1999. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  31. ↑ "2008 Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 16 January 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  32. ↑ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Audio for Adults, 2015". Booklist . 1 January 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  33. ↑ Saricks, Joyce (August 2017). "Top 10 Adult SF/Fantasy/Horror on Audio". Booklist . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  34. ↑ Saricks, Joyce (28 February 2018). "Audio Stars for Adults: 2017". Booklist . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  35. ↑ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Audio for Adults, 2017". Booklist . 1 January 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  36. ↑ Smith, Candace (1 May 2018). "Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobooks: 2018". Booklist . Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  37. ↑ NGILBERT (6 January 2020). "2020 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 "John Rafter Lee (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 24 April 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.