Becke Wilenski
Description
Becke Wilenski is an American voice actor and stage performer known for her work on the English-language dub of the 1980s Astro Boy anime series. She is also professionally credited as Becky Wilenski and performs under her legal name, Rebecca Ortese. Wilenski came to voice acting with a strong foundation in theater, having performed in New York City and regionally at venues such as LaMama Annex and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, as well as internationally in Brazil and London.
Wilenski is best recognized for her multiple roles in the 1980 remake of Astro Boy, also known as Shin Tetsuwan Atom. She voiced the character Uran, the empathetic and mischievous younger sister of the protagonist Astro Boy, in the American version of the series. In addition to Uran, she also provided the voice for Livian, a refined robot maid and caretaker to the character Atlas, who later becomes a space queen. Her other role in the same series was voicing Astro's mother, a robot built by Professor Ochanomizu to serve as a parental figure for Astro and Uran. In total, Wilenski voiced characters across fifty-two half-hour episodes of the Astro Boy remake.
Beyond her work in anime, Wilenski built a career in commercial and industrial voice-over work. She received multiple awards for her voice-over performances, including two Clio Awards, as well as Addys, Andys, and Tellys. Her commercial clients included major brands such as Xerox, IBM, TCBY, Corona, and McDonald's. Wilenski holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater with honors from Southern Utah State College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both earned under the name Becke Wilenski. She has also worked as a stage actor alongside directors and performers including Leigh Silverman, Moises Kaufman, Marian Seldes, and Andre Gregory. In film, she appeared in the 1992 crime drama One False Move, directed by Carl Franklin, which was named to several top ten film lists. Her acting work has been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The Guardian.
Wilenski is best recognized for her multiple roles in the 1980 remake of Astro Boy, also known as Shin Tetsuwan Atom. She voiced the character Uran, the empathetic and mischievous younger sister of the protagonist Astro Boy, in the American version of the series. In addition to Uran, she also provided the voice for Livian, a refined robot maid and caretaker to the character Atlas, who later becomes a space queen. Her other role in the same series was voicing Astro's mother, a robot built by Professor Ochanomizu to serve as a parental figure for Astro and Uran. In total, Wilenski voiced characters across fifty-two half-hour episodes of the Astro Boy remake.
Beyond her work in anime, Wilenski built a career in commercial and industrial voice-over work. She received multiple awards for her voice-over performances, including two Clio Awards, as well as Addys, Andys, and Tellys. Her commercial clients included major brands such as Xerox, IBM, TCBY, Corona, and McDonald's. Wilenski holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater with honors from Southern Utah State College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both earned under the name Becke Wilenski. She has also worked as a stage actor alongside directors and performers including Leigh Silverman, Moises Kaufman, Marian Seldes, and Andre Gregory. In film, she appeared in the 1992 crime drama One False Move, directed by Carl Franklin, which was named to several top ten film lists. Her acting work has been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The Guardian.