Andrea Romano Retires after 30 Years as Voice Director

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Legendary Casting / Voice Director Andrea Romano to Retire This Week

By Dave Trumbore

Published Jul 31, 2017

You know her from casting Mark Hamill as the Joker, but there is so, so much more to her story.

Though it saddens me to report that legendary casting and voice acting director Andrea Romano will be retiring this week, I'm glad we get to celebrate her incredible career together. If you've seen a cartoon or animated home movie in the last 30 years and found yourself remarking on the quality of the voice acting and the cast, chances are Romano had a hand in its making. Just this week alone, I saw her name pop up in the credits for the new season of Voltron Legendary Defender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Niko and the Sword of Light, though her career spanned more than 30 years and encompassed hundreds of individual credits. If she had only been known for bringing in Mark Hamill as The Joker, that would have been more than enough.

It's IGN that reported on Romano's impending retirement, with a hat tip to her colleague and super PR guy, Gary Miereanu, for sharing the news. After directing more than 10,000 voice sessions and working on 1,600 TV episodes, more than 50 films, and 20 video games, Romano has opted to retire due in part to blindness in one eye from optic neuropathy. That won't stop her from staying active in the entertainment industry, however.

andrea-romano-retires — Image via DC Entertainment

Here's what she had to say:

"I shall miss so many aspects of this industry – particularly the people I’ve worked alongside, and all the fun that happens on both side of the glass. From the bottom of my heart, I extend my sincere gratitude to every actor, producer, director, engineer and colleague that has helped make this run so incredible.

Doing this job, working with all these wonderful people, has been my ultimate blessing. I couldn’t have hoped to spend the past three decades with a better group. I’ve truly been the luckiest person on Earth,"

With dozens of Emmy Nominations and 8 wins over the years, just taking a look at Romano's filmography, which includes voice work of her own, is like a walk through animation history of the last 30 years. Romano's acting and directing work has been heard in everything from The Jetsons and The Flintstones, to 90s classics like Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series, to the modern era of animated DC Entertainment home video features and the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, to Ben 10, Scooby-Doo!, and SpongeBob SquarePants! It's hard to overstate her contributions to the industry and her talent will be greatly missed.