Paul Haddad

Paul Haddad (May 20, 1963 – April 11, 2020) was an English-born Canadian actor. He was the original voice actor of Leon S. Kennedy in the Resident Evil franchise, voicing the character in Resident Evil 2 (1998). Other voice over roles included Uncle Arthur in Babar (1989–1991), Quicksilver and Arkon in X-Men (1992–1996), Luke Talbot in Monster Force (1994), the title character in Free Willy (1994–1995), and Lefty in John Callahan's Quads! (2000–2002).

Paul Haddad
Born(1963-05-20)May 20, 1963
Birmingham, England, U.K.
DiedApril 11, 2020(2020-04-11) (aged 56)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationMcGill University
OccupationActor, voice artist
Years active1986–2009, 2019

Early life

Haddad was born in Birmingham, England on May 20, 1963. He was the eldest of three children. Haddad attended McGill University, where he studied acting,[1] and was of Iranian descent. In 1988, he graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada, in Montreal, Quebec.[2]

Career

Haddad performed in the Stratford Theatre Festival in Stratford, Ontario for two years.[3] In the 1996 festival, he played Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice.[4]

Haddad voiced Uncle Arthur in Babar (1989–1991) & He voiced as Shrimplips plus included various voices TV series on "Season 1 – 2" from Medabots (2001–2002).

Haddad's voice roles include Quads, Mythic Warriors, Cyberchase, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Little Bear, The Magic School Bus, RoboRoach, Pearlie, Franny's Feet, The Adventures of Tintin and Rupert.

In 1995, Haddad played Gerald Schulze, Edward Schulze's (Matt Frewer) brother who runs the local market in the DisneyToon Studios animated comedy film BugHunt.

He voiced Willy Stop in the animated series Rescue Heroes.

He is best known for voicing Leon S. Kennedy in the video game Resident Evil 2.[5] Due to the popularity of his voice work in Resident Evil 2, Haddad was asked to voice a character in the similarly themed Daymare: 1998 (which he announced via a YouTube video in January 2019).[6]

Personal life and death

Haddad resided in Toronto, Canada.[7] His hobbies included film editing (preferably videos of his dog) and assisting with actor demos. He had stated on a YouTube live stream that he suffered from stage-three throat cancer and had a tumor growing on one of his vocal cords; however, the tumor was removed, altering his voice in the process.

In February 2020, Haddad set up a GoFundMe requesting $2,000 to help cover for his third neurosurgery. He detailed his personal and financial struggles in a complementing Facebook post where he revealed that he had suffered from obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) for most of his life. Although Haddad had been managing the disorder through a deep brain stimulation (DBS) device, the device was removed after complications developed during an operation to change its batteries, leading to hematoma which required urgent brain surgery, with subsequent infection's development necessitating the device's removal, causing Haddad's OCD to resume.[8]

Two months after creating the fundraiser, Haddad died on April 11, 2020, at the age of 56. The cause of death was not publicly disclosed.[9]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1987 Tomorrow's a Killer Lover
1995 BugHunt Gerald Schulze (voice)
1996 An Angel for Christmas Additional Voices (voice) Direct-to-video
1999 Babar: King of the Elephants Elevator Boy, Tailor (voices)[10]
2000 Franklin and the Green Knight: The Movie Mr. Fox (voice)[10] Direct-to-video
2002 Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun Willy Jollie (voice)[10] Direct-to-video
2003 Back to School with Franklin Mr. Fox (voice) Direct-to-video
2003 Rolie Polie Olie: The Baby Bot Chase Gloomius Maximus, Wally Jolly (voices)[10] Direct-to-video
Replacing James Woods
2004 Childstar Wedge Executive

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1986 Night Heat Julian Tobias Episode: "Fighting Back"
1987 American Playhouse The Triumphant Egghead Episode: "The Prodigious Hickey"
1989–1991 Babar Uncle Arthur (voice) 39 episodes
1990 The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Additional Voices (voice) 26 episodes
1991 MacGyver Nikolai Rostov Episode: "Jerico Games"
1992–1996 X-Men Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Arkon, Kiyoek, Various (voices) 17 episodes
1993 E.N.G. Roger Quigley Episode: "Love and Marriage"
1994 Free Willy Willy the Orca (voice)[10] 21 episodes
1996 Any Mother's Son John Miller TV Film
1998–2000 Flying Rhino Junior High Buford, Mr. Needlenose (voices) 26 episodes
1999 Mythic Warriors Theseus, Fisherman (voices)[10] Episode: "Theseus and the Minotaur"
2000–2002 John Callahan's Quads! Lefty (voice) 26 episodes
2001–2002 Medabots Shrimplips, Calamari, Various (voices) Seasons: 1–2
2001–2002 Rescue Heroes Willy Stop (voice) Episodes: "Mayhem in the Mist" and "Blackout"
2002–2007 American Bikers Sheldon "Rabbit" Gilpin (voice) 52 episodes
2002–2004 Rolie Polie Olie Gloomius Maximus (voice) Season 6 only
2004–2010 Franny's Feet Additional Voices (voice) 11 episodes
2009 Murdoch Mysteries Morris Bailey Episode: "Snakes and Ladders"

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Resident Evil 2 Leon S. Kennedy
2019 Daymare: 1998 Cleaner[11] Final role

References
  1. "Paul Haddad". IMDB. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. "Paul Haddad". IMDB. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  3. "Paul Haddad". IMDB. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  4. Newell, Alex (Winter 1997). "The Stratford, Ontario, Festival 1996: A Canadian's Overview". Shakespeare Bulletin. 15 (1): 23. JSTOR 26352743.
  5. "Paul Haddad from Giant Bomb".
  6. Destructive Creations. "DAYMARE: 1998 – Paul Haddad has something to say". YouTube. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  7. "Paul Haddad Biography". IMDB. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  8. Keegan, October (17 April 2020). "Original Leon Voice Performer Paul Haddad Passes Away At 56". Rely on Horror. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  9. "Paul Haddad Obituary". thestar.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  10. "Paul Haddad – 18 Character Images | Behind the Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved 27 August 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
  11. https://www.siliconera.com/paul-haddad-the-original-resident-evil-2-leon-voice-actor-has-died/
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