The Brazilian actor and voice actor Celso Vasconcelos, also known as Afonso Celso de Vasconcellos, is a prominent figure in Brazilian dubbing, particularly known for his work in the latter half of the 20th century. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His career in performance began in the late 1950s, and he started working as a voice actor around 1969 in São Paulo at the AIC studios. Before entering dubbing, he worked as a radio actor at Rádio Nacional do Rio in 1964. In addition to his voice work, he also pursued a parallel career as a veterinarian, having graduated from the Universidade Federal Fluminense in 1979, and at times balanced both professions.

Celso Vasconcelos’s voice acting portfolio is extensive and includes dubbing for live-action films, television series, and animation. While his work encompasses a wide range of international productions, he is recognized by anime and tokusatsu fans for several key roles. He is notably the voice of Jurou Minami in the series Giant Robo. He also provided the Brazilian Portuguese voice for Dan Moroboshi, the protagonist of the classic Japanese series Ultraseven, a role he reprised in several Ultraman films released between 2008 and 2010. His work in animation also includes voicing Líder Optimus (Optimus Prime) in the first 27 episodes of the original Transformers series. Other notable animated roles include the title character in the 1967 Aquaman series, Wally Gator in A Arca do Zé Colméia, and Cyborg in Super Amigos.

Beyond animation and genre series, Vasconcelos had a prolific career dubbing Hollywood actors. He was the official Brazilian voice for Elvis Presley in six of his films, including Feitiço Havaiano (Blue Hawaii) and O Prisioneiro do Rock (Jailhouse Rock). He also dubbed performances by actors such as Sidney Poitier, Sean Connery, Warren Beatty, and Nick Nolte. On television, he was the first voice of John-Boy Walton in the series Os Waltons and famously voiced Lieutenant Columbo, originally played by Peter Falk. He also served as a dubbing director for the series Mod Squad.

Celso Vasconcelos retired from active dubbing around the year 2000, with some of his later works including the series Ally McBeal. He was part of a generation of Brazilian dubbing artists who worked collectively in studios, a practice that has since become more individualized. He eventually moved to Miami, Florida, in the United States, where he resides with his family.