Zeno Robinson on Artistic Evolution and Honoring Your Creative Self
We need more stories about how to be empathetic.Art is this universally uniting thing. Everybody consumes art. It impacts, and has influenced a part of their life in some way shape or form.
Actor, Zeno Robinson
Pages and Panels had the privilege to talk with creative force, Zeno Robinson, an actor who has taken the entertainment industry by storm through his versatility and strong sense of character.
As an actor since the age of 14, Robinson has been featured in pivotal shows such as Ben10, Pokémon, Digimon, My Hero Academia, and hundreds more.
He stars as the English dub voice of Genya Shinasugawa in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—To The Swordsmith Village, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle. The latter broke global box office records with a $70 million opening. It has garnered critical acclaim, being recently honored with the inaugural Saturn Award for Best International Animated Film and the International Animation Award at the Critics’ Choice AAPI Celebration. It also received Golden Globe, PGA, and Astra Film Awards nominations.
Robinson also plays Keith Hendricks in the nerd cult classic, The Comic Shop. The breakout series won the 2026 American Black Film Festival in the Best Episodic Series category!
Robinson sat down with us at Pages and Panels and had a real, raw and in-depth discussion about his journey from being obsessed with characters and stories to making them come alive. Though Robinson’s credentials as an actor are impressive, his down-to-earth personality made celebrating his success incredibly easy.
Katelynn Virgous: Congratulations on your success with Demon Slayer! How does it feel to finally have that film out and all the positivity surrounding it?
Zeno Robinson: Thank you so much, much appreciated. I knew Demon Slayer would be a big deal, but I never imagined it would be as big as it became. It's the first time an anime film has ever done a premiere at the Chinese Theater. That is cool to think about, and I'm really honored to be a part of that history. We got two more allegedly on the way. I'm curious to see how people feel from film to film while keeping the hype of the series alive. It's been a good time. It has been mind-blowing to be a part of.
If you could describe yourself in five comics or mangas, which five would you choose and why?
My first two off the top are Static and Miles Morales, specifically Cody Ziggler's run I like the most. They both are these nerdy black kids, [and] their stories are embracing who they are in the midst of their community. Static’s Story, he's an outsider and he's torn between a bunch of worlds. He grapples with the responsibility he feels to his family, his community, and the responsibility that powers come with. Miles is very similar except he's grappling with his place within the greater Marvel heroes lineup.
JuJutsu Kaisen, the character of Yuji, his main objective in everything that he does is to help people so that he can know that he's done something good with his life. He doesn't want to be the strongest or Hokage. That's a really powerful message [and] value to have.
Gachiakuta, there is this element in the story about fighting back against a world that has already labeled you a particular thing…telling people who they are, what they should be, making assumptions about you based on where you come from, or what you look like. The central power system is this ability to give power into a thing that's precious to you. A really cool message and a really cool manga, too.
Naruto. As a character, [he] was born with an advantage, but it didn't help him for a lot of his life. He still had to work incredibly hard in order to measure up to those who had inherent talent. [He] wanted recognition and acceptance, and built to that through hard work and dedication. I like this idea of talk no jutsuing your enemies before you have to fight them. Trying to understand the people he's actively fighting against doesn't take away from his ability to still fight them.
I think that was a good five. That's a really good hero's journey. I see the arc!
Thank you. You see the arc? You see the vision? It all connects. Yeah.
That's so cool how you were really locked in. After signing to CESD, you got your first role in Ben10 Alien Force, and then you later, attended the Identity School of Acting.. So did Cheyenne Ewulu, the creator and writer of The Comic Shop. Can you speak to how friendship and shared creative visions have played a role in your life?
Shared creative visions is how I got to where I am today. I wouldn't be where I am without the connections and the friendships I've made, and the people I've met who support me or have given me a chance along the way. Cheyenne is a person who I met through the convention scene. We had known each other for years before we worked together on The Comic Shop. She had reached out and was like, “I have this idea for you. I want you to play this character. I was like,” Sure just let me know what you need from me.” My first dubbing job was another actor putting my name forward to a studio like, "You need this kind of character. I met this guy and he'd be a good fit." When I got into Crunchyroll, one of my friends Britney Lauda had an indie dubbing studio. I auditioned for their indie games, and I booked one. She was like, "this guy's pretty good." My agent was in talks at the same time. That’s how I got my first audition for My Hero Academia. I owe everything to not just God, my Lord and Savior, but the people and the connections that I've made and the people who believe in me.
Congratulations on winning the American Black Film Festival Award for Best Episodic Series! You and Cheyenne, the whole team, and the rest of your costars did amazing. Shout out Shanae and Grayson! On the show, you play the role of Keith. You gained your experience in acting. You've scored some on camera roles in short films and a lot of your experience is in voice acting. How do you shift while transitioning from voice on-screen acting, especially when a lot of your voiceover characters are super strong and macho versus Keith who is more of the comedic relief?
I went to identity for many, many years. I trained pretty extensively in body work and on camera work. The Comic Shop was a big opportunity to apply all of that. I try not to see the different methods of acting that differently. I see it as training different muscles. I wouldn't approach Keith how I'd approach Hawks because they're two different characters. I want to do a lot of the stuff that on camera requires [in voice over], but I can't because I have to stay within the mic space. On camera, it's a playground that I can move a little bit. It adds immersion in order for you to get into what you're doing.
You take on so many roles and not just in acting or voice over. You've hosted conventions, led panels, presented awards, and more. In your interview with Voquent, you said your definition of success is always changing and that you're always thinking about your next evolution. So, as an actor who does voice acting and on screen, are you wanting to expand to other mediums like writing?
Thank you! Yeah, that was so cool. It was a great time! 100%. Writing and producing! Josh, one of the writers on The Comic Shop, has a book series that they wanted to adapt into an audio drama. I helped them produce Project Super Crush. Act one is out right now anywhere! It's an LGBTQ+ romance novel. I EP’d on The Comic Shop. I do want to do more writing. I'm meeting a lot of video game devs, and trying to see what space there is for me in that space. I’m in a “I want to start making things” kind of era. I want to start doing more cinematic, more on camera things.
Thank you for being yourself and for using your voice. You not only use your voice to bring stories to life, you also use them to shed light on important social injustices happening throughout the world and especially here. As artists, it's really important that we use our crafts and platforms to push the world to be a better place. How do you do that without allowing fear to prevent you from saying things?
Of course I do my best. It can be real daunting. Sometimes there is a level of fear. The more entertainment feeds into capitalism and becomes intertwined with politics, the more the public figures out of self-protection or self-preservation maintain a mystery, so they can create in a space of “Will XYZ affect any opportunities coming my way?” so [they] won't do anything in order to leverage. You have the benefit of people [guessing] or assuming, but you haven't necessarily made a stance. So you can curate your content or your world or your timeline to be about what you want it to be about, right? Some people don't have that privilege. It's important to recognize that privilege. There's always a level of fear because once you become vocal, then you're seen as that. So, that means are you potentially problematic or what things will come with you being outspoken?
People are dying, and do I want to work with someone who is okay with that? If I speak up [and] say, “Black Lives Matter” And someone is like, ”Ugh.” It’s like I'm black. Do I want to associate with someone who will be offended that I'm asking for the state not to kill my people? Maybe I don't need to work with that person. That's how I handle the fear. I speak on things that I think this is inhumane or as a society this is wrong. As an actor, empathy is required in order to sort of do what I do it. I felt deeply for the world even as a 14-year-old being concerned with his community, people in his community being killed that hasn't changed. Look at what is actually happening, who it's impacting, and what is the result. Is your life getting better? I don't know what someone else's stance is, but sometimes I must say do I want to work with someone…who is okay with dehumanizing me?
What's a story that you haven't seen told, but would do the world a lot of good right now?
We need more stories about how to be empathetic. We've grown quite individualistic as a society, and a lot of that is because we're living in survival mode. I fully blame latestage capitalism. Art is this universally uniting thing. Everybody consumes art. It impacts, and has influenced a part of their life in some way shape or form. We have to balance how everyone is feeling with the reality that we're all here and can be better to each other and to our world. Something heartwarming and uniting, that's also [saying] other people suffer, and here's how we can help others in their suffering.
What are you excited for that your community of support can look forward to?
As always, we've got season two of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man coming out at some point. They've been saying a season a year, and if that's true, then season two will be out this year. And some other stuff that I can't say, but that is the main one!
Stay up to date connected to Zeno Robsinson via Instagram or X. You can watch him as Keith on The Comic Shop, hear him on Project Super Crush, or Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman!
Quotes were edited for clarity.
