Editing Xehanort (section)

===Casting===
[[File:Akio Otsuka 2018.jpg|thumb|Akio Otsuka often voices Xehanort and Ansem in Japanese, taking over as the elder Xehanort following his father's death.]]
[[Billy Zane]] voiced Ansem in the first game. He was replaced by [[Richard Epcar]] for the later titles. Reflecting on his work, Epcar enjoyed his works in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' franchise due to all the people he met.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbiPUhg_3_Q|title=Richard Epcar Chats Kingdom Hearts, Anime, and Voice Acting - Definitive Discussion REBOOTED|website=Youtube|author=JukeJames Lugo|date=16 November 2019 |accessdate=March 4, 2022|archive-date=March 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304221632/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbiPUhg_3_Q|url-status=live}}</ref> Xemnas was voiced by [[Norio Wakamoto]] in Japanese and [[Paul St. Peter]] in English. Peter felt that the quick audition led to a positive response from the staff. He came to enjoy voicing Xemnas alongside Wormmon from ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]''. He found the role challenging as he had to work as carefully as Wakamoto.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vZKlFd_W6M|title=Paul St. Peter Interview: Voice of Xemnas - Kingdom Hearts (2012)|website=Youtube|author=HMK|date=15 August 2014 |accessdate=March 4, 2022|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630113323/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vZKlFd_W6M|url-status=live}}</ref>

For the eventual release of ''Birth by Sleep'', [[Ryōtarō Okiayu]] was chosen as Terra's Japanese voice as the staff wanted an actor who sounded similar to [[Chikao Ōtsuka]], Xehanort's original voice, and [[Akio Ōtsuka]], Xehanort's later voice who also voiced the villain while using Terra's body. The staff found Chikao's to be a dry sort of voice, and Akio's a deep, resonating sort of voice, and liked how Okiayu bore elements from both actors. This eventually led to the possession of Terra's body in the prequel by Xehanort and how they would become the villains from the main games. Nomura claims a hidden message in Xehanort's last lines when he hints that somebody else is in Terra's heart. Ōtsuka died during the development of ''Kingdom Hears III''. At the time, no substitute voice actor had been chosen, so the staff thought that a line they had recorded previously was playing, but it turned out that Akio Otsuka, the voice actor for Ansem that took Xehanort's identity, was playing the part. The staff, surprised by how uncomfortable they felt, decided to ask him to play the role.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania|publisher=Square Enix|year=2019|page=51}}</ref> Xehanort was voiced in English by [[Leonard Nimoy]] in ''Birth by Sleep'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance|Dream Drop Distance]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://square-enix-games.com/es_ES/news/voice-talent-kingdom-hearts-3d|title=The Voice Talent of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D|website=Square Enix|accessdate=March 4, 2022|archive-date=April 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423214518/https://square-enix-games.com/es_ES/news/voice-talent-kingdom-hearts-3d|url-status=live}}</ref> This was an intentional casting call from Nomura, a fan of ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]]'', as Xehanort's rival, [[Eraqus]], is voiced by [[Mark Hamill]]. Following Nimoy's death in 2015, [[Rutger Hauer]] assumed the role in ''Kingdom Hearts III''. Hauer died in July 2019, leading [[Christopher Lloyd]] to replace him in the ''Re:Mind'' DLC and ''Melody of Memory''.

Xehanort's younger self is voiced by Takanori Okuda and [[Benjamin Diskin]]. Diskin commented he had to manage his pitch to sound as young as Okuda. As a result, Diskin was afraid about his performance due to how the early trailers of ''Kingdom Hearts III'' could be received. Diskin had played the numbered titles of the franchise and thus had little knowledge about his character, since Xehanort's identity was primarily explored in the non-numbered games. Throughout the recording of ''Dream Drop Distance'', no one told him what his character was going through, or what his motivations were. As a result, Diskin had little understanding of the narrative.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3ciryc/iama_voice_actor_ben_diskin_ama/|title=IamA Voice Actor (Ben Diskin) AMA|website=Reddit|author=Diskin, Benjamin|date=8 July 2015|accessdate=March 4, 2022|archive-date=4 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304221437/https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3ciryc/iama_voice_actor_ben_diskin_ama/|url-status=live}}</ref>