One of the most recognizable voices of the Spanish dubbing industry and one of its most charismatic personalities, Constantino Romero García (May 29, 1947 - May 12, 2013) was a Spanish TV and radio host and actor. Constantino Romero was famous for his deep, utterly badass voice, perfect for tranquil roles. He was known for being the official voice of Clint Eastwood (even though Clint is known for having a very raspy one), James Earl Jones and Roger Moore in his James Bond years.
He was also famous for voicing some of the most charismatic characters in Film History like the very Darth Vader, the Terminator Number T-800, Roy Batty in Blade Runner, Sgt. Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman, Captain James Tiberius Kirk in the Star Trek films and so on. And thus, many memorable film quotes from the 70s, 80s and 90s sound with his voice for Spaniard movie goers.
Though not very prolific in animated works, he also participated in a few, specially in the Disney Animated Canon, being his most iconic roles in this medium King Mufasa in The Lion King (1994) and Judge Claude Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the latter being one of the few roles where you can listen to his singing talent). Also in anime, he is still fondly remembered for voicing Count Brocken in Mazinger Z.
He retired on December 12, 2012, with his final role as Clint Eastwood in Trouble with the Curve. Sadly he passed away due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis shortly after on May 12, 2013, in Barcelona at the age of 65. Tons of people who grew up listening to his voice were sad for his passing, and even dub haters and original version purists recognized his incredible career.
Some of Constantino Romero's roles were:
Live-Action Roles
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Colonel Heller
- Jaws: Lenny Hendricks
- James Bond films (as played by Roger Moore): Agent 007 James Bond
- Rocky:
- Star Wars: Darth Vader
- Star Trek: James Tiberius Kirk
- The Blues Brothers: Elwood Blues
- Victory: Luis Fernández
- Tootsie: George Fields
- Annie (1982): Oliver Warbucks
- Conan the Barbarian (1982): Thulsa Doom
- Blade Runner: Roy Batty
- An Officer and a Gentleman: Sgt. Emil Foley
- Airplane II: The Sequel: Buck Murdock
- Terminator: T-800
- Iron Eagle: Chappy Sinclair
- Action Jackson: Action Jackson
- The Last Temptation of Christ: Satan
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch: The Brain Gremlin
- Mars Attacks!: Byron Williams
- Eraser: Beller
- Space Jam: Title and Credits Voice (only in Spanish dub)
- A Night at the Roxbury: Mr. Zadir
- Planet of the Apes (2001): Attar
- Showtime: T. J. Hooker
- 800 Bullets: Voice of Clint Eastwood
- We Were Soldiers: Sgt. Basil Plumley
- Click: "Schwarzenegger" Voice
- The Expendables & The Expendables 2: Trench Mauser
Clint Eastwood Roles
- Kelly's Heroes: Lt. Kelly
- Two Mules for Sister Sara: Hogan
- Dirty Harry films: Det. "Dirty" Harry Callahan
- Play Misty for Me: Dave Garver
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot: Thunderbolt
- The Outlaw Josey Wales: Josey Wales
- The Eiger Sanction: Jonathan Hemlock
- Way films: Philo Beddoe
- Every Which Way but Loose
- Any Which Way You Can
- Escape from Alcatraz: Frank Morris
- The Gauntlet: Ben Shockley
- Pale Rider: Preacher
- Heartbreak Ridge: Gunnery Sgt. Tom Highway
- Unforgiven: William Munny
- The Bridges of Madison County: Robert Kincaid
- Casper: As Himself
- Absolute Power: Luther Whitney
- True Crime: Steve Everett
- Space Cowboys: Dr. Frank Corvin
- Blood Work: Terry McCaleb
- Million Dollar Baby: Frankie Dunn
- Gran Torino: Walt Kowalski
- Trouble with the Curve: Gus
Live-Action TV
- Roots (1977): Adult Kunta Kinte
Anime Roles
- Mazinger Z: Count Brocken
- Ulysses 31: Zeus
Western Animation Roles
- The Lion King (1994): Mufasa
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame : Claude Frollo
- Mulan: Supreme Ancestor
- The Jungle Book 2: Shere Khan
- The Swan Princess: King William
- Balto: Doc
- Help! I'm a Fish: Joe
- G-Force: Darwin
Associated Tropes
Constantino Romero's unique deep tenor voiced fitted perfectly in some well known intimidating tropes though only a few times he showed great talent to avoid typecasting.- Badass Baritone: His most recognizable trait. Although he usually went more often to the more tranquil side of the trope, and was able to be also very gentle. This is part of the reason why his performance of Mufasa was so memorable, since the role allowed him to show both of these sides.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: An Officer and a Gentleman, Heartbreak Ridge and We Were Soldiers are a proof of this. Clint Eastwood's Sgt. Highway is probably the most memorable for Spanish audiences due to his badass swearing.
- Evil Sounds Deep: And how! Constantino Romero voicing Darth Vader achieved an equal pop culture status in Spain that of James Earl Jones for English speakers. Aside from Vader, he had voiced some intimidating villains like judge Frollo and Shere Khan or the Terminator from the first film.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: King Mufasa from The Lion King (1994) or the Supreme Ancestor from Mulan come in mind as the primary example.
- Scary Black Man: His curriculum includes some of the most badass black actors ever like Jim Brown, Louis Gosset Jr., Michael Clarke Duncan and James Earl Jones.
