Voice Over Artists We Have Grown Up With & Loved

Have you ever been sat down glued to your favourite cartoon as a kid, hearing the vibrant voices of its characters that make them feel almost real? Voice acting is a diverse and changing industry and it’s not enough to just have a “good voice”- you have to offer some versatility the same way a screen actor would have to show their visual emotional range. From video games, cartoons, animated films and television advertisements these actors have had long running careers in the voice-over industry that spans over several decades. Read below for our top 10 voice actors to find out some of the names behind the voices: you might just be surprised and a little inspired…

Robin Williams

​Oscar winning actor and Hollywood legendary comic, Robin Williams demonstrated early in his career his talent (and penchant) for impressions of his fellow actors. This skill for comedic manipulation of his voice was appropriate for his roles as the charismatic Genie in the Disney classic Aladdin (1993), Robots’ (2005) and children’s favourite Happy Feet (2006). Williams range in vocal expression made as much of a mark with his face off screen as it did with him on.

Mark Hamill

​First known to audiences as Luke Skywalker from the original Star Wars trilogy, Mark Hamill captured hearts as a teenage heartthrob on the silver screen back in 1970s and 80s. Having a vastly extensive track record in the voice over industry, Hamill’s work dates to 1973, with work the popular 60s/70s cartoons The New Scooby-Doo Movies and Jeannie credited as “additional voices”. In recent years, Hamill has undertaken the iconic role of the Joker in TV, animation and video games starting in 1993 and being one of, if not the most highly sought-after character in his vocal repertoire.

Troy Baker

​Perhaps one of voice overs best kept secrets, Baker has voice acting credits to rival the greats despite being only 44 (arguably one of the youngest prolific voice actors in the industry); and he is steadily adding to his résumé. Typically working within the field of video gaming, Baker has shown a confident approach to the leading action man role in combat, fighting based games. However the role that brough critical acclaim and international attention was his role as Joel, the protagonist of zombie horror survival game The Last of Us, which incorporated the use of motion capturing in its development process, in order to fully capture the psychological core of the main characters. With this role, Baker epitomises the lone wolf persona, simultaneously offering emotional depth unseen in games before then. Baker’s Joel became a standout character and a landmark in the storytelling aspect of modern gaming.

Seth MacFarlane

Rivalling the late and great Williams mentioned above, this next actor is arguably the most recognizable from his face and voice. Seth MacFarlane’s talents in the acting industry are not simply limited to voice work, but to numerous writing credits. The most popular of his voice and writing work would have to go to his multiple voice over work on his shows Family Guy (1999) and American Dad (2005). In the former of these adult animated comedies, MacFarlane plays bumbling patriarch Peter Griffin, homicidal yet highly intellectual toddler son Stewie and sardonic family dog Brian- two that contain a slight variation of MacFarlane’s distinguishable voice, exaggerating his native Bostonian accent for Peter, adding a RP British accent for Stewie but delivering Brian in his natural speaking voice.

Phil LaMarr

​Perhaps lesser known on the screen compared to his counterparts, there is no denial of the richness Phil LaMarr evokes with just his voice. Deep, full bodied and resonant, LaMarr has been commissioned to voice over video game character favourites such as Lee from The Walking Dead by TellTale Games, a role in which he received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Whether it be a stoic samurai (as the titular Samurai Jack), noble superhero Green Lantern or post-apocalyptic survivor thrust into a caregiver position as mentioned above, LaMarr is recognised as one of the living greats of the industry for his innate ability to imbue his roles with gravitas and subtle strength. 

Jim Cummings

Armed with a powerfully intimidating voice fit for kings and gods, Cummings is another staple in the voice acting community having played countless roles over the years. Alongside the legendary Mel Blanc, Cummings is the only other actor to portray the iconic Tasmanian Devil; a character known to communicate in growls and snarls instead of actual speech tells us that sometimes being a voice actor is being able to access those primal, animalistic sounds. Although another anthropomorphic cartoon character, Jim Cummings has portrayed the lovable Winnie the Pooh (and his energetic friend Tigger), demonstrating his skill at harnessing the cadence of his voice to suit the softly spoken Pooh (The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh-1988).
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Tara Strong

Tara Strong has been the voice of and for kids everywhere since the late 80s. What is interesting about the unique quality of Tara’s voice is she is known for playing young male characters (think Timmy Turner from Fairly Oddparents, Dil Pickles from Rugrats and Ben Tennyson from Ben 10). This casting choice is notable as it is difficult for male actors to capture that pre-puberty high pitch aspect, which Strong does effortlessly whilst adding a touch of innocence and vulnerability to the character in order to flesh them out.

Cree Summer

Another Rugrats alumna, Cree Summer’s raspy, distinctive voice has been utilised over several decades. The gravelly quality of Summer’s voice has been manipulated to fit either the gentle precociousness of a young girl (Susie Carmichael from Rugrats), a strong warrior princess (Princess Kida from Disney’s Atlantis) or a malevolent villain such as Medusa in numerous animated series. Older audiences might recognise Cree from her role as Winifred “Freddie” Brooks on the black NBC sitcom A Different World from 1988 to 1993.

Dan Castellaneta

​Long-time fans of the iconic animated series The Simpsons will know the man responsible for breathing into life our lovable, drunken patriarch Homer Simpson is none other than Dan Castellaneta. I would confidently say that Castellaneta’s Homer is one of the hardest voices to perform, as he achieved a voice quality into the Duff loving family man that few can replicate. Other fan favourites Castellaneta voices include Homer’s elderly father Abe “Grampa” Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Homer’s perpetually inebriated cohort Barney Gumble, and hundreds of others spanning over his 690-episode credited appearances in this show.

Hank Azaria

​Known as a great mimic in both the screen and voice acting community, Hank Azaria possesses seemingly an endless range of voices, accents, personalities under his belt. Most notably rivalling colleague Dan Castellaneta by embodying several beloved characters on The Simpsons. The most popular of these would be the incompetent Chief Wiggum, jaded barman Moe Szyslak and the Kwik-E Mart proprietor Apu. These three are iconic in that their voices are so vastly different to one another yet are so fitting that it is hard to believe one man is performing them all so convincingly.

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