Josh Portillo had a rough childhood. An aggressive father. A dominating father. A father that would rattle the life of his young son to his maximum tolerance. Born to a Filipino father and a Vietnamese/Chinese Mother, Josh was raised in the Asian culture of the man being head of the household, with all others submitting to the patriarch’s will. “He had charisma like you wouldn’t believe working as a hibachi chef in a Japanese steakhouse; he was loved by everyone and highly noted as an entertainer to his diners.” And Josh added, “The kind of guy who’d flip a shrimp in your mouth and create a memorable evening.”
But when Josh’s father would come home,” he was a different person.” Highly disciplinary and extremely intimidating, along with upsetting the home with bad energy, he created constant threats of violence. “And so, this was the reason I was so disturbed,” Josh says. “I remember being three years old and in bed holding on to my Tasmanian pillow while I heard yelling and violence brewing throughout the home, and this would go on and on and on.”
Young Josh and his mother.
The nightly violence created an unsettled Josh. “The yelling triggered me to want to commit suicide at 7 years old,” says Josh, “but video games saved my life, specifically “Metal Gear Solid,” because of the heroism involved; it offered me hope through the character “Solid Snake” who was there to save the world.” So, at a very young age, Josh was affected by video games in a way that would stay in his heart forever as you see.
Life at school wasn’t any better. “I was 345 pounds in the 6th grade, and I was eating away my misery,” says Josh. “I was a non-violent kid, but I didn’t get along with the other kids,” Josh confides. “I failed the 4th grade, and I was not interested in football because it involved hurting other people, and I just didn’t want to do that.” However, Josh’s school coach noticed the unhappiness in Josh and took him under his wing. “I lost 145 pounds, started gaining confidence, started playing noseguard while my mind remained on saving my mom from my father who made our lives miserable.”
At the same time, Josh discovered a group of outcasts who understood him. The theatre community. “I got involved in that community and they seemed to understand what was going on,” says Josh. “I started staying at other people’s houses for sleepovers and doing everything I could to avoid the constant conflict brewing in the home.”
Josh performing on-stage.
Everything at home blew up in 2014, when (at 18) Josh’s Mom divorced her husband, and Josh felt his mission to get his mother into a better situation was solved. A year later, Josh’s father died at just 52 years old of cardiac arrest, and suddenly, the small Asian family felt safe. “It was the achievement of my mission to save my mom from dad and to lose the weight that had plagued me for so long.” In truth, Josh never contemplated any type of violence he’d commit to his father, but with that passing, life changed for Josh and his mom.
Josh started college at the University of North Florida, “And I just felt aimless in that environment,” and that’s when a theater friend of mine introduced me to his interest in voice acting with the game DANGANRONPA. Immediately, Josh took an interest in voicing the characters he was watching. “Voice acting gave me purpose again, and the field changed my life; it gave me another dream.”
Josh “in-character” while voice acting.
Then covid hit. Lockdown took place. His mom had diabetes and had multiple sclerosis. The adversity seemed to never stop. “And that’s when I got serious about voicework.” Anime was his interest, and excellence was his goal. “I wanted to be the best in the world,” Josh says. So, after dealing with personal issues, Josh laid it all on the line in 2022 and entered the voiceover world full-time. “But like so many people, I was scared to give up my full-time job.” But Josh had to take the risk. He loved the voiceover world, and he related to the storylines, and that created a wave of new projects. Some of them had such a high level of achievement that they surprised everyone except Josh.
Upon emotionally committing to animation, Josh debuted his first Nintendo gig with the trailer for “Disgaea 6.”
That was followed by “Dislyte” in November of 2023.
”Goodbye Monster” in April of 2023 followed.
And then came “Hero Corps: Dark Genesis” in December of 2023 to round out last year.
“Voiceover in animation has healed me,” says Josh. “And that was a dream I never wanted to die because I wanted to learn to be happy and content.”
Today, Josh is a well-respected young talent with a laser-clear focus on who he IS and who he wants to become.
But the days of wondering if a peaceful life could be a reality are behind Josh now, and so is his rough childhood.
