Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F isn’t just a chance for fans to come back to the characters and revisit the series, it does the same for the actors and creators involved. Christopher Sabat, he of many many hats on the show (check out the video below to hear him list them off) loves Dragon Ball and Vegeta so fiercely, he says he’d “kill someone if they don’t let me play Vegeta” as the franchise continues expanding in new movies, TV shows, and video games.
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At the New York premiere of the new film, the 19th in the franchise, Sabat said he likes that Vegeta has been “put in uncomfortable situations. He’s justifiably cranky all the time. In this movie, he really dials in the emotion, and Vegeta has, I think, the best moments in this movie.” The actor’s enthusiasm for the character he’s voiced for 16 years can’t be contained, and he said part of that is continuing to learn about the cast of the show.
“There was no internet, hardly, in 1998 and 1999. There weren’t a lot of fansubs, there was no wikipedia, so when we first started dubbing it, we were just kind of guessing. We had a chance to go back and re-record with Dragon Ball Z: Kai; you should watch it to truly learn what Dragon Ball Z is all about,” Sabat said. He learned a lot about his opposite, Goku, during that process. “He’s kind of just a hero by accident – he [actually] just wants to fight the strongest person.”
As for his own character, Vegeta, he says, “I’ve been right about Vegeta all along. He’s had a pretty crap life. He’s the prince of all Saiyans, but at every turn, he’s supposed to have inherited the throne, but he has this weirdo with a head injury that gets all the credit for everything.”
Sabat, along with the rest of the Funimation and DBZ cast and crew, took notice when the hottest fighter in real life, Ronda Rousey, rocked a Vegeta “It’s Over 9000” shirt at WWE’s Wrestlemania earlier in 2015. The way the public has accepted the character to that point thrilled the actor.
“She instantly made me a fan of MMA. Just two nights ago, I watched my first MMA fight. I became an instant fan of hers. I’m also in love with Vegeta, I just think he’s an amazing character, so I was instantly bonded to her. I’m a huge fan of hers.”
Check out the full video for Sabat’s take on what keeps DBZ alive, more thoughts on Goku and Vegeta, and what’s to come from him and his favorite character. Read our review right here.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F is in select theaters in the US now.
