Giovanni Battezzato was an Italian actor and voice actor, born in Milan in 1950, who built a prolific career spanning theater, television, and animation until his passing in March 2022 at the age of 71. His professional journey began on the stage after he graduated from the Civica Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan, performing with prestigious companies including the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and the Teatro Franco Parenti, where he was also a partner for many years. While he appeared as an on-screen actor in popular Italian television series such as Casa Vianello and I Cesaroni, it was his deep and distinctive voice that made him a renowned figure in Italian dubbing.

Battezzato became one of the most recognizable voices in Italian anime, lending his talents to a vast array of characters across numerous series. He was particularly celebrated for his long-standing association with the Dragon Ball franchise, where he was the primary Italian voice of the Eternal Dragon Shenron across almost all iterations, from the original series to Dragon Ball Super. His voice also brought to life other key characters in that universe, including Garlic Jr., King Kai, and multiple other roles. In the world of One Piece, he was the first voice of the Marine Captain Smoker, a role specifically mentioned by the user, and also voiced other characters like John Giant. He was equally integral to the Italian version of Knights of the Zodiac (Saint Seiya), where he was the first voice for both Death Mask of Cancer and Shaka of Virgo.

The extensive list of roles provided by the user accurately reflects the breadth of Battezzato's anime work. For instance, his voice can be heard in Huckleberry Finn Monogatari (known in Italian as Il mio amico Huck) as the Owner of the circus, a Farmer, a Hunter, and the Strong man. He voiced the villainous Team Rocket boss Giovanni in the Pokémon anime series for many years and in the film Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution. He was also the voice of Yasufumi Nekomata in Haikyu!!, Dokurobeh in the 2008 Yatterman remake, and Mark Wembley in the various iterations of Kyojin no Hoshi (Tommy la stella dei Giants). His filmography further includes roles in Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story, the World Fairy Tale Series, Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime Gyu!, Hot Space Cowboys, Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture, and Art of Fighting, as well as the characters Caronte and Re Minosse in Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic.

In addition to his anime work, Battezzato had a significant career dubbing Western animation and video games. He was the voice of characters like Spanky Ham in Drawn Together and Captain Harris in the Police Academy animated series. For many Italian gamers, he was the definitive voice of the suave treasure hunter Victor Sullivan (Sully) in the entire Uncharted video game series. His work in video games was extensive, including roles in major franchises such as Batman: Arkham, Assassin's Creed, Fallout 4, and Cyberpunk 2077. Giovanni Battezzato passed away in 2022, leaving behind a vast body of work that had been a constant presence in the Italian entertainment landscape for nearly five decades.