Audiences often relate to certain actors or performers and look loyally to their work. Sometimes the audience can recognize their favorites by their voice. There are certain artists; however, who can use their voice to portray multiple characters and the audience would never know. While many studios are increasingly using popular actors for voiceover, professional voice actors are full of talent and can stylize their performances based on the character. There are many talented voice actors, but some of them stand out above the rest.
9 Tara Strong
Tara Strong has been the voice of many beloved cartoon characters since she landed her first role on 13 in Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater. She is best known for her roles as Timmy Turner in the Fairly Strange Parents and Batgirl in The New Batman Adventures. She is also very well known for her work in voicing video game characters. She plays Rikku in the Final Fantasy series and Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight.
8 Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings has voiced many childhood characters across generations. He is most remembered as the second voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and the firefly Ray in The Princess and the Frog. However, his voice is well recognized by the nearly 600 performances he has made since his debut on The Scooby-Doo Show in 1978. He also became Disney’s go-to actor for matching the voices of well-known characters for spin-off shows and video game cameos.
7 Seth MacFarlane
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Known for its highly successful adult animated series Family man, Seth MacFarlane is a master of voices. He started out as a writer and storyboard artist on Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo and not long after it developed Family man with Fox. MacFarlane voices four of the main characters, as well as several recurring side characters. The huge success of the show led to other popular shows being created by MacFarlane, such as: American father! and The Cleveland Show.
6 Billy West
The comedian and impressionist Billy West started as a radio comedian in the 1980s. He was a regular customer The Howard Stern Show, where he became known for his voice impressions and gave way to a successful voice acting career. He played characters in The Ren & Stimpy Show and doug. He was also brought in to imitate the voices of the famous Mel Blanc for Looney Tunes characters in Space Jam. In the 1999 show futuramaWest played the characters Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Richard Nixon and many other minor roles.
5 Casey Kasem
The beloved voice actor and radio DJ Casey Kasem got its start in broadcasting in the 1960s. He even hosted a children’s television program for a while. He became a popular radio personality before taking on the role of Shaggy in Scooby-Doo: Where are you! in 1969. He lent his voice talents to: Josie and the kitties and super friends. Then, in 1970, Kasem started hosting the original US Top 40 on weekends. Even after Kasem’s death, repeats of the US Top 40 be played so fans can continue to listen to their favorite radio personality.
4 Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen took voice acting to a new level of action packed with action. Started as different characters in The Sonny and Cher Comedy HourCullen voiced King Kong in 1978 and KARR in the Knight Rider TV series. He took on the voices of the Mogwai Gremlins and the Predator in the 1987 Predator movie. He is most recognized as the voice of the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime since 1986, and keep doing this even in the coming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
3 John DiMaggio
John DiMaggio has a cult following for its special characters. He plays the infamous Marcus Fenix in the Weapons of War Franchise and Dr. Dragons in the Kim Possible series. His fan favorite role is the robot Bender from the hit show futurama. DiMaggio caused a storm on the internet when he revealed that his reprise of the role in 2022 was being postponed due to contract negotiations. While he did agree to the demanded wages, he caused enough of a stir for the public to be aware of the compensation issue among voice actors.
2 Mark Hamill
The famous Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill, is also known for his great character work as a voice actor. He played Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbenderwhile also playing in shows like Totally spies and Codename: Kids next door. The most popular role Hamill has lent his voice to has been Joker since 1992 in Batman: the animated series. He has continued the role in multiple DC series, movies, and the ever-popular Arkham series of video games. Hamill’s version of the Joker character is a favorite among DC fans and has them campaigning for new material for Hamill to work on.
1 Mel Blanco
The man of 1000 voices himself, Mel Blanco, is still the standard by which voice actors are held. Like many, Blanc began his career in radio broadcasting. At the age of 19, he was noticed for being able to pronounce multiple characters that were not alike. soon after, he became the voice of the Looney Tunes. What started as a few characters quickly became a plethora of wacky characters. Blanc’s work will be remembered for generations as voices from our childhood and the wonderful memories and crazy adventures that came with them.