Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Oscar-winning masterpiece, The Boy and the Heron, has finally arrived on the Max streaming service, alongside all of his other films. In development for over a decade, The Boy and the Heron (previously titled How Do You Live?) was one of the most anticipated and highly celebrated films of 2023. Although the film has references from Genzaburo Yoshino’s 1937 novel Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, it is not an adaptation of the book and uses Miyazaki’s personal experiences for the plot and characters, thus making it more like a semi-autobiographical feature. Set in a grand, fantastical setting (quite like the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away) The Boy and the Heron tells the heartwarming, coming-of-age story of Mahito, a 12-year-old boy. After the sudden death of his mother, Mahito moves to a new town but struggles to settle in. He soon meets a talking heron who takes him on a magical journey into a world where life and death collide.
On its release in Japan in July 2023, it earned critical acclaim and was a massive box office success, and defined as the most expensive film ever produced in Japan, using Miyazaki’s signature hand-drawn animation. That success carried over upon its North American release, and it became the highest-grossing original anime film of all time.
Shortly before its North American release, the film's distributor, GKids, announced an all-star English voice cast. Some of these cast members have voiced characters in previous Studio Ghibli projects, whom fans might know from the English versions of films like Howl’s Moving Castle and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Whether you're watching the movie for the first time on Max or doing a rewatch, we have you covered on who is voicing who in the English-language version of The Boy and the Heron.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on September 6, 2024.
Luca Padovan
Mahito Maki
Mahito is the hero of the story. After losing his mother to a horrific death, Mahito grapples with grief and finds himself unable to adapt to his new life in a new town with his father and aunt. Then he meets a talking heron who guides him on a life-changing journey into a magical world “where death comes to an end” and “life finds a new beginning.”
Luca Padovan voices the story’s protagonist, Mahito Maki. Working as a child actor since the age of nine, Padovan started his career on Broadway with Disney's Newsies: The Musical in 2013. He is best known for his role in Nickelodeon's hit revival television series, Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island. Padovan has also appeared in films and television shows like Netflix’s You, the CW musical-comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Syfy’s The Magicians, and No Hard Feelings. Since The Boy and the Heron, Padovan returned to the recording booth to voice Roze in the English dub of the anime Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture.
Padovan will next be seen starring alongside Sofia Carson and Kyle Allen in the romantic comedy The Life List, from Netflix.
Robert Pattinson
The Grey Heron
There wouldn’t be The Boy and the Heron without the heron. And it is this magical talking creature that makes Mahito’s story worth telling. The Grey Heron is the one who encourages Mahito to explore the unknown and is the reason why Mahito lands in a world full of wonders, beyond the real, physical world. Despite his initial aversion to the mysterious bird, Mahito befriends him and takes off on a journey that he never imagined.
Twilight star Robert Pattinson voices the character of The Grey Heron. From Tenet to The Batman, Pattinson has come a long way in establishing himself as an international star and an actor. Besides popular franchises like Twilight and Harry Potter, he has starred in several big-budget and independent films. He is most noted for his work in Cosmopolis, The Lost City of Z, Good Time, The Devil All the Time, and The Lighthouse.
Pattinson is next set to star in Bong Joon-Ho’s upcoming sci-fi film, Mickey 17, which also stars Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo. Pattinson's other upcoming projects include Lynne Ramsey's Die, My Love opposite Jennifer Lawrence, Kristoffer Borgli's The Drama alongside Zendaya, and he'll be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Matt Reeves' The Batman: Part II.
Gemma Chan
Natsuko
Natsuko is Mahito’s aunt who marries Mahito’s father after his mother’s death. Mahito shares a strained relationship with his aunt.
Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan voices the character of Natsuko. Though most recognized for her work in Jon M.Chu’s hit rom-com, Chan also has notable performances in films like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Creator, Don’t Worry Darling and Let Them All Talk, and television series like Doctor Who and Extrapolations. She has also starred in Marvel’s Eternals and Captain Marvel, the latter of which earned her a nomination at the National Film Awards UK.
Chan will next appear in the upcoming film, The Actor directed by Duke Johnson, and the thriller Josephine opposite Channing Tatum.
Christian Bale
Shoichi Maki
Shoichi is Mahito’s father, who seems to be very protective of his son. He owns an air munitions factory and after his wife’s death, he marries her younger sister, Natsuko.
Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Christian Bale voices the character of Shoichi. The Boy and Heron marks Bale’s second Studio Ghibli project after he voiced the protagonist Howl Pendragon in the English dub of Howl’s Moving Castle in 2004. Following his breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun in 1988, Bale earned wide recognition for her work in films like American Psycho, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, The Machinist, American Hustle, and Ford v Ferrari. His portrayal of Dicky Eklund in 2010’s The Fighter earned him his first and only Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He also starred in and produced the 2022 films Pale Blue Eyes and Amsterdam.
Bale will next be seen taking on the role of Frankenstein's Monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!, co-starring Jessie Buckley.
Karen f*ckuhara
Lady Himi
Without revealing all the finer details of the character and spoiling the film, all we can say is that Lady Himi is a significant character in Mahito’s story. She is a young girl with magical powers who helps Mahito on his journey into the enchanting world.
Suicide Squad star Karen f*ckuhara voices Lady Himi in The Boy and the Heron. Her other notable roles include Kimiko in the Prime Video series The Boys, the Kayda Izumi Concession Girl in Bullet Train, as well as voice roles in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Craig of the Creek, and Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
f*ckuhara will next be seen in the thriller Stone Cold Fox opposite Kiernan Shipka, and she'll reprise her role as Kimiko for the fifth and final season of The Boys.
Florence Pugh
Kiriko
Kiriko is a pirate and sailor from the magical realm where Mahito arrives after he follows The Grey Heron. Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated Florence Pugh voices Kiriko. Besides her highly acclaimed performance in the period drama Lady Macbeth, some of her best works include films and shows like Midsommar, Greta Gerwig's Little Women, A Good Person, Oppenheimer, and Dune: Part Two. Pugh made her MCU debut as Yelena Belova in the 2021 film Black Widow and reprised her role in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
Pugh will next be seen opposite Andrew Garfield in John Crowley's tearjerker romance film We Live in Time. She'll also be reprising her role as Yelena in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*. She will also be seen in the high-profile Netflix limited series East of Eden.
Mark Hamill
Granduncle
Mark Hamill voices the character of Granduncle, a great architect and a powerful and significant character of the magical realm, whom Mahito gets to meet on his quest. From Luke Skywalker to Arthur Pym, the star of Star Wars is recognized for his illustrious, five-decade-spanning acting career in films, television, and stage. Besides his work in films and series like Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Flash, and Criminals Minds, Hamill is also noted for his voice roles.
He had previously voiced characters in previous Ghibli films – Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Since 2021, Hamill has been voicing characters in Invincible and The Sandman.
Hamill has several upcoming projects on the docket including Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants, and DreamWorks' The Wild Robot.
Willem Dafoe
Noble Pelican
Among other fantastical characters in the film, Academy Award-nominated Willem Dafoe voices the character of Noble Pelican. Just last year the Spider-Man actor starred in several high-profile films including Inside, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, and Poor Things. In 2024, Dafoe appeared in Yorgos Lanthimos' anthology film Kinds of Kindness and Tim Burton's long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Dafoe will next be seen in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz and in Jason Reitman's Saturday Night as David Tebet.
Dave Bautista
Parakeet King
Dave Bautista voices the Parakeet King who leads a flock of notorious parakeets. The former WWE star has built an impressive resume over the years, arguably beating many of his former WWE wrestler's resumes. He played Drax in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy films and Beast Rabban in Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies. Other high-profile movies on his resume include Sam Mendes' Bond film Spectre, Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049, M. Night Shyamlan's Knock at the Cabin, and Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead.
Bautista's upcoming projects include the action-comedy The Killer's Game, the highly-anticipated Aang: The Last Airbender, Paul W.S. Anderson's In the Lost Lands, Michael Dowse's Trap House, the sci-fi action-comedy Afterburn, and he'll star alongside Jason Momoa in the action-comedy The Wrecking Crew.
Other Supporting Cast and Characters
The other parakeets are voiced by Spider-Man actor and The Grand Budapest Hotel star Tony Revolori, Archive 81's Mamoudou Athie, and Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens.
The Boy and the Heron
PG-13
Adventure
Fantasy
Drama
A young boy named Mahito, yearning for his mother, ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
- Release Date
- December 8, 2023
- Director
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast
- Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Takuya Kimura , Aimyon
- Runtime
- 124 minutes
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Writers
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Production Company
- Studio Ghibli, Toho Company
The Boy and the Heron is now streaming on Max.
