35 celebrities and athletes who are massive anime fans

Jamaal Williams of the New Orleans Saints has never shied away from sharing about his love of anime. His Sunday Night Football intro is a quote from Naruto, and in June, he told CBS Sports he's a massive fan of Pokemon. 

Megan Thee Stallion has been referencing anime in her lyrics for years. Her MEGAN album features the track "Otaku Hot Girl," which mentions Naruto and Sasuke.

Olympic champion Noah Lyles has discussed his love of anime in the past. In March 2024, he paid homage to Naruto by painting his nails red and black and showing them off during a track meet.

Steven Adams may be a dedicated basketball player, but he has to make time for his hobbies, too. In 2016, he told reporters that he skipped the NBA season opener to watch cartoons. "Some Japanese anime," he said.

GQ interviewed NBA champion Jaylen Brown in 2022, and during the chat, the baller couldn't wait to talk about his favorite anime series. "I like Death Note, Neo Yokio, [and] Seven Deadly Sins." He also praised the writing in anime, calling it "next level."

It's one thing to bond with your co-workers over in-office tasks, but for Rudy Gobert and his NBA brothers, it's better than that. In 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves star said he formed a tight connection with Karl-Anthony Towns thanks to their love of anime.

Lauri Markkanen is such an anime fan that he once had his basketball shoes custom-painted with a character from Dragon Ball Z. Now that's dedication. 

After an epic win in 2023, Jaren Jackson Jr. told reporters that he felt like "a Hokage." When asked to explain what that meant, the power forward said it's a term that means "leader" in the popular series Naruto.

Award-winning actor Michael B. Jordan discussed his love of anime during a previous interview while promoting Creed III. "I love the themes of anime, culturally, what they say about the bonds of friendships, betrayal, revenge, promises," he said. "I thought that was the perfect kind of like world to take Adonis and Damian to," Jordan said. "Because it wasn't about anybody else. I wanted to see if I could make it feel like it was just two brothers that had to go settle some sh-t."

Before he purchased X, Elon Musk shared with his 200-plus million followers that he loved anime. He shares some favorites with the Celtics' Jaylen Brown, too, including Death Note.

When you get a tattoo inspired by your favorite anime, like Ariana Grande, no one can ever question whether you're a genuine fan again.

Ronda Rousey has long been a fan of anime, including the popular series Dragon Ball Z. In fact, the WWE superstar used to record episodes of the series on her VHS. Now that's dedication.

Apparently, Death Note is a popular series in the anime world. Not only is it one of Jaylen Brown and Elon Musk's favorites, but you can add Zac Efron to that list, too!

In 2014, Pharrell released an anime-inspired music video for his single "It Girl." The video features art by the popular Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.

It's no secret that Kanye West draws inspiration for his products from various sources, including anime. He once worked with popular anime designer Takashi Murakami to create special pieces for his clothing line, Yeezy.

Like some of the performers above, Keanu Reeves also draws inspiration from anime. In fact, he's such a fan of Japanese martial arts that he tries to incorporate it into his action films.

Like Ariana Grande, Chris Brown is the ultimate anime fan. In 2016, he got a Dragon Ball Z-inspired tattoo on his leg. Plus, he's shared his love of the genre before, too. In 2022, he wrote that "Spriggan is my new favorite anime" on X.

Megan Fox once revealed to Seventeen that she's such a fan of anime that she spends several hours in her free time researching the genre. She also shared that her favorite productions were Cowboy Bebop and InuYasha.

Samuel L. Jackson is a man of culture. In 2023, he told WIRED that he's a fan of anime. He also voiced the role of Afro Samurai in the series of the same name from 1998 to 2002.

We know Snoop Dogg is a fan of weed. But did you know he also loves anime? On Instagram, he once posted a fun animated clip of himself as a character from Naruto. "It's Snooprutos turn," the caption read. 

Myles Garett of the Cleveland Browns excited anime fans a long time ago when he was seen wearing a Hunter x Hunter merch shirt in an interview. During an interview shared on TikTok, he said he often channels the character All Might from My Hero Academia while on the field.

You probably wouldn't expect Mike Daniels, a former defensive tackle, to be such an anime geek. But he is! The athlete once shared a social media post of him going "Super Saiyan," which was a reference to the popular series Dragon Ball Z.

Another stacked defensive lineman who loves Japanese cartoon series is Carl Lawson. In a previous interview, the ball player said his love of Dragon Ball Z helped inspire him to be an aggressive threat on the field. "You gravitate toward what you watch," he said.

One time, when Chance Warmack was playing for the Titans, his team shared a hotel with an anime convention. He told ESPN that he surprised his teammates with extensive knowledge of series like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z. 

"Believe it or not, I love anime. I watch that. To all my anime lovers out there, Chance Warmack watches that. It was funny because a lot of my teammates were making fun of them, and I was like, ‘Aw man, I know who that is!’ They dress up as different cartoon characters so I was naming them and everything. I actually had a chance to talk to a few people. I wouldn’t look like a person who’d watch stuff like that. They were like, ‘Oh my God, you watch that stuff?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’"

Like some of his peers, JuJu Smith-Schuster displayed his love of anime with custom Dragon Ball Z cleats. He also celebrated one of his touchdowns with a Hadouken, a special attack used in the Street Fighter video game.

When Eddie Lacy played football for the Packers, the former running back said he celebrated wins by watching episodes of Dragon Ball Z.

John Cena once posted a photo of the popular anime My Hero Academia on his Instagram, and it sent fans into a frenzy. "Can't get over this," one user wrote, while another said, "This is crazy."  

Christian Bale has voiced a few characters in anime productions, including The Boy and the Heron. So, it makes sense that he's also a massive fan of them. One of his favorites is the political anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.

With Jamie Lee Curtis' extensive resume, it's hard to believe she'd have time for anything else. However, the Freaky Friday actor revealed that she is a huge fan of anime, especially One Piece. She even joked that she could one day play Kureha in a future season.

Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't share much with the public, especially since we drag him for it most of the time. But when he opens up, he sometimes shares interesting information. During an interview with Letterboxd, the iconic actor revealed that he told filmmaker Martin Scorsese to watch the anime adventure Spirited Away. 

“I'm a big fan of Japanese anime... I know there's a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we're going to try to do the best job we possibly can, and we're not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

Will Smith of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has previously revealed that Gatchaman and Lupine III are some of his favorite anime. His love for the genre rubbed off on his children, too. His son, Jaden, voiced the role of Kaz Kaan in Netflix's Neo Yokio.

Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans couldn't hold back when he was asked about his favorite anime productions. According to the NBA All-Star, his top five are "Naruto, One Punch Man, Death Note, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z."

Tennis star Coco Gauff is the ultimate anime fan. The US Open champion revealed that she sometimes watches series like My Hero Academia before her matches.

Joel has previously spoken about his passion for anime, but fans got a first-hand look when theScore caught him watching anime on his iPhone while getting a massage before a Philadelphia Sixers game.

Like many of the people on this list, Karl-Anthony Towns grew up watching anime. In a YouTube video, the NBA player said his favorite series to watch growing up was Dragon Ball Z. "That was something that was super special to me," he said.