Adam McArthur reveals the potential for more Star vs. The Forces of Evil and how that role shaped him for future projects like Jujutsu Kaisen.
Adam McArthur is a dynamic force in the world of entertainment. From his beloved breakout role as Marco Diaz on Disney’s hit animated series Star vs. The Forces of Evil to his current status as the voice of Yuji Itadori in the global phenomenon Jujutsu Kaisen, McArthur’s career spans the most popular corners of modern animation. His work has not only amassed millions of fans but has also seen him contribute to record-breaking series, star in highly anticipated new projects like Kaiju No. 8, and even have his voice featured in a hit song by Megan Thee Stallion.
Mama’s Geeky sat down with Adam McArthur to discuss the long-lasting legacy of his Disney days, the intensity of leading a major anime franchise, and what it felt like to have a dream prediction about Megan Thee Stallion come true.
The Legacy of Star vs. The Forces of Evil
Tessa Smith: I want to start with talking about Marco Diaz because Star vs. The Forces of Evil is one of my favorite shows. That was like your breakout role. Can you talk about working on that project and what it meant to you?
Adam McArthur: Oh my gosh. To this day, that is probably like my most meaningful, most special [project]. I mean, obviously, Jujutsu Kaisen is very special as well, but my time on Star was just amazing. I booked a project that was my dream since I was a kid. I used to think constantly about being a lead on a Disney show. It’s such a unicorn of a project. My first series regular ever on any kind of show, and for it to be that one on Disney, it really, in a lot of ways, was kind of ahead of its time. I’m really hopeful at some point we’re going to get more. I think we’re in the age where so much stuff is getting brought back or like, let’s do a movie. I think it’s possible, so keep the love and the hope alive for Star.
Tessa Smith: And then Marco with the red hoodie is so iconic. People know exactly who that is.
Adam McArthur: I have people come up to my table all the time still when I’m at conventions and they’re like, “Do you know who I am?” And I’m like, “Of course, I know who you are. You’re Marco Diaz!” They’re like, “I’ve had this red hoodie forever.” Oh, I love it so much.
Tessa Smith: How would you say that role shaped you as a voice actor?
Adam McArthur: It totally made me level up. I got to know how everything worked through a company like Disney—that’s what else is there? I kind of cut my teeth on that. And not only just from the performing and the acting side of it, but there was like the whole PR side of it. Like, how do they want actors acting outside of the booth when you’re talking about the show? I got to sit in on the writer’s room, which was cool, and watch the crew like break a story. It was the first time that I got to live with a character for as long as I did. The writers didn’t really hold back as far as emotional tones with Star. We got a lot of funny, crazy Star and Marco shenanigans, but then we also got a lot of heart too.
Adam McArthur: If I’m looking at the things that I’m doing now in Jujutsu Kaisen, it is that amplified in terms of like the range and the spectrum that you get to see with characters like Yuji. I am able to access those things and feel comfortable kind of taking it where that story goes because I got to do so much with Marco. So yeah, it really laid a great foundation for all the things I’ve gotten to do since then.
Tessa Smith: What would you like to see for Marco? What would you hope his life is like after everything?
Adam McArthur: I mean, from a sentimental perspective, I just want him to be happy—him and Star together, and doing awesome things. But if I had my way, a little bit of a time skip. Maybe when we come back to them, we come back to them when they’re realizing that when the dimensions collided, in typical Star and Marco fashion, something went wrong. And I don’t know, maybe magic’s not gone. I think that would be really fun. And yes, and I know some things. Because I’ve talked to Daron [Nefcy, the creator] about this. So I’m not gonna say anything!
The Pivot to Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen
Tessa Smith: You pivoted to doing a lot of anime and English dubbing. So, what was that pivot like for you?
Adam McArthur: Basically, Star was ending in 2019, and I was like, what am I going to do with my life? I was watching My Hero Academia at the time and I was like, man, these actors are crushing it. I asked my agency and they got me a couple auditions. The second audition ever was for Jujutsu Kaisen.
Tessa Smith: Wow. That was your second one?
Adam McArthur: Yeah. I think part of it was just timing. This was all during COVID. They just needed actors who had home setups, who could keep the ball rolling. I had a home studio based on the fact that I had been doing the Disney XD voice stuff. Next thing you know, here we are, we just had our like five-year anniversary of Jujutsu Kaisen. As huge as Star was, I don’t think me or my agent or anyone could have expected how big JJK has gotten.
Tessa Smith: You get to go on the arc with Yuji, which must be super cool.
Adam McArthur: It’s really cool. With Star, I was finding out information as the scripts were getting sent to me. Whereas Jujutsu Kaisen, because it’s based on the manga, I get to go and read and see like, alright, what’s in store for Yuji? Where do I need to be? The JJK cast is on their game. Everyone reads the manga. We care a lot about this show. We know what we have in our hands.
Tessa Smith: How excited are you for the Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution compilation to come to the big screen?
Adam McArthur: It’s super exciting. This is the third JJK movie and the first one that Yuji’s going to be in. So, it’s Yuji’s debut on the big screen! What better way to do it than the chaos and the heartbreak of the Shibuya Incident, which leads us right into Season 3? I could not be more excited to see the fights from the Shibuya incident on the big screen.
Tessa Smith: What does it mean to you to know that anime in general – like with Demon Slayer and now this – can be put in theaters and people will actually come and see it?
Adam McArthur: I think it’s amazing. It feels like at some point, we’ll all look back and be like, “Dang, that was the golden age of anime.” I think it’s validating for a lot of people who have been saying how cool anime is for a really long time. It’s just so widespread. I’m buying merch for characters that I voice. I think that’s so fun.
The Megan Thee Stallion Connection
Tessa Smith: Can you tell me your reaction to your line being used in Megan Thee Stallion’s hit song “Otaku Hot Girl?” That’s insane!
Adam McArthur: Yeah, yeah. I mean, that was basically my reaction! Here’s the thing about me: when I do stuff, I’m thinking a few steps ahead. I made the TikTok video, and I was like, I just bet you, if I was Megan Thee Stallion, this would be introing a song that I made. I was like, how cool would that be if she uses this in a song?
Adam McArthur: Three years later or something like that, I was sitting playing video games. I look over and my phone’s blowing up. My texts were blowing up. I log on Twitter, and I see like 99+ on the notification. Everyone [was texting], “Congratulations! Is that Ninja Mac [McArthur] on the Megan Thee Stallion album?” Long story short, the audio from that TikTok was licensed. They pulled it from the TikTok and put it in the song.
Tessa Smith: You didn’t even know until it was out? That’s crazy!
Adam McArthur: I didn’t know. It was fun, except it sparked like, wait, wait, what? And then I had to like, check in with everybody: “Alright, who okayed this? Like, what can I talk about it?” But yeah, it was so cool.
A Tease for Homestuck
Tessa Smith: Before we wrap, I want to talk to you about Homestuck a little bit, because I’m super excited. I love VivziePop anyway. And then when she posted the trailer, I was like, “Oh, let’s go.” So, what can you tell me about this?
Adam McArthur: Okay, well, this was another rabid fan base that I was just thrown into. The Homestuck fan base is huge. It’s a cult classic amongst the internet generation of the mid-2000s. For me, when I first saw the pilot episode, I was like, this is like a VivziePop spin on Scott Pilgrim. And obviously, Andrew Hussie created it. So, Vivzie and Andrew and then Skye who directed it, it’s their amalgamation of that kind of style mixed with Scott Pilgrim. I am so excited about it. The pilot, as fast as it moves, I think was a really great kind of like proof of concept that there’s something here that is really awesome. I’m hopeful that we’ll be doing some more of it soon. If you have no context for Homestuck [the webcomic], don’t try to feel like you’re supposed to know everything. Trust that it’s a proof of concept, and we’ll get a more flushed-out story once we can start making some more episodes.
Be sure to watch our full interview with Adam McArthur for more insight into his amazing career!
NEXT: Tom Felton On Suiting Up In Altered: “It’s Pretty F’ing Cool.”
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.