David Hayter is a Canadian-American voice actor and screenwriter who has contributed to several English-language anime dubs, particularly during the 1990s. He is known for voicing the protagonist Tamahome and his reincarnated forms, Taka Sukunami and Yoshui, in the fantasy anime series Fushigi Yūgi, which was dubbed into English from 1998 to 2000. His work on this series is one of his most prominent roles in the anime genre.

Hayter's career in anime voice acting began in the early to mid-1990s, a period in which he often used the pseudonym Sean Barker, a name taken from a live-action character he played in the film Guyver: Dark Hero. Under this alias, he voiced several other anime characters. These include Arsène Lupin III in the 2000 Manga Entertainment dub of the classic film The Castle of Cagliostro, Bernard Wiseman in Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket in 1999, Kurama in the Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie, and Shoji Gen in Giant Robo: The Animation. His other anime credits from this era include roles in Moldiver, They Were Eleven, and Black Jack.

While Hayter's anime voice work was primarily concentrated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it represents a foundational part of his voice acting career. This period preceded his widespread recognition for voicing the iconic character Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid video game series. Unlike his extensive and recurring work in video games, his anime roles were individual projects. As such, there are no notable long-term collaborations with specific anime directors or studios, but his performances in these classic dubs remain a noted part of his early filmography. A notable achievement within this field was his casting as Lupin III in The Castle of Cagliostro, a highly regarded film by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki.