15 of the Best Living Voice Actors
I can’t stress enough how into voice acting I am. Cartoons were my gateway into caring about who acted in what, who wrote what, who directed what, who composed what, and even who produced stuff. But what always amazed me was how many different voices certain actors could do. Thank goodness for documentaries like I Know That Voice…
Now that we know some of the faces of our favourite voices, let’s dive deeper into some of the greatest voice actor diverse they can get!
Voice Actor/Rank:
#15- Jess Harnell
Best Roles
Wakko (Animaniacs) + All around great clean up guy to plug into shows and movies.
Why Though:
Wakko is such a great character to me. While I didn’t have a fully understanding of how big the Conductor from Shining Time Station truly was, I did appreciate that Wakko sounded like him. While Jess doesn’t have anything else on the level of Wakko, he is in almost anything animated you’ve ever seen. You’ve gotta respect his ability to switch up his style depending on the role he’s in. I truly appreciate that his work doesn’t just consist of different takes on Wakko.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#14- Cedric Yarbrough
Best Roles:
Col. H. Stinkmeaner (The Boondocks), Tom Dubois (The Boondocks), Officer Meow Meow Fuzzyface (BoJack Horseman)
Why Though:
Stinkmeaner is the real reason Cedric is on this list. It’s so different from his other strong work. I wouldn’t know immediately that the same guy behind Tom is the same guy playing Colonel H. Stinkmeaner. And that’s truly the essence of this list. How diverse can an actor get with their voice. Salute to Cedric!
Voice Actor/Rank:
#13-John DiMaggio
Best Roles:
Jake (Adventure Time), Bender (Futurama), Dr. Drakken (Kim Possible)
Why Though:
To be fair, I can always tell when a character is voiced by Mr. DiMaggio, but, he just knows how to deliver a line and make me laugh. Specifically in Adventure time. That whole show is dope, but I really feel like John elevates the already great writing with his delivery.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#12- Phil LaMarr
Best Roles:
Green Lantern/John Stewart (Justice League), Static Shock/Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock), Carver (The Weekenders)
Why Though:
While I’m always able to tell I’m listening to a Phil LaMarr character, I truly appreciate the fact that he has two modes he can go to. I believe him as a young superhero like Static Shock and I definitely believe him as the stern John Stewart Green Lantern. I also feel like I grew up on his voice work and the fact that he’s been so consistent for so long is cause to celebrate his craft
Voice Actor/Rank:
#11- Kevin Michael Richardson
Best Roles:
Cleveland Jr. (The Cleveland Show), The Joker (The Batman), The Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Why Though:
I remember when Cleveland Jr. was a hyper small kid, so the way Kevin stretched things out and slowed things down was truly a stroke of genius on The Cleveland show. I also appreciated how it differed from his usually gruff but cool voices.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#10- Jim Cummings
Best Roles:
Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard (Darkwing Duck), Winnie the Pooh (Various), Pete (Goof Troop)
Why Though:
Jim is an O.G. I just feel like he’s done work on ever cartoon I ever cared about as a kid and he’s keeping Winnie the Pooh and Tigger alive. Not are his shows featured on the greatest cartoon theme songs, he’s part of the historic Princess and the Frog so I gotta respect that.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#9- Tara Strong
Best Roles:
Harley Quinn (The Arkham Series) Bubbles (Power Puff Girls), Batgirl/Barbara Gordon (Batman: TAS)
Why Though:
Props to Tara for representing Canada on this list. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that having such a noteworthy voice actor be Canadian didn’t make me feel a little bit happy. The Arkham series is the only video game franchise that I’ve actually played every game in (I didn’t play any GTA game before 3). So While I’m all about how Arleen Sorkin originated Harley Quinn, I appreciate a good Tara Strong turn too. I love watching Power Puff clips more than I enjoy watching full episodes but I still respect the vocal work from the three leads. I didn’t appreciate The Killing Joke but I still appreciate Tara Strong’s Batgirl.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#8- Nancy Cartwright
Best Roles:
Bart (The Simpsons), Chuckie Finster (Rugrats), Mindy (Animaniacs)
Why Though:
I read Nancy’s auto biography and actually felt my admiration for her erroding. However, it wasn’t enough damage to take her off this list. She’s a huge part of my love for The Simpsons. And she stepped in to play Chuckie on Rugrats and who didn’t love the “ok I love you lady, bu-bye” kid on Animaniacs? Nancy’s work on The SImpsons alone would keep her on this list, word to the video I linked to on “Bart.”
Voice Actor/Rank:
#7- Rob Paulsen
Best Roles:
Pinky (Animainiacs), Yakko (Animainiacs), Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Why Though:
While I appreciate the Bugs Bunny vibes from Yakko, I have to point out that Pinky sounds the most different from most other Rob characters. The accent is a part of it, but there’s also just a different energy to Pinky his random noises, and overall joyous demeanour is something special. Rob, like Jim and Nancy are so etched into my childhood through their voice work that I just want everyone to respect them.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#6- Maurice LaMarche
Best Roles:
The Brain (Animainiacs), Kif (Futurama), Mr. Freeze (The Arkham Series)
Why Though:
I really liked how close to Orson Wells Maurice sounded. Plus he’s also Canadian so that goes a long way with me! Realistically I just enjoy the sound of Maurice’s voice. And he gets extra credit for being the burp during that great Wakko burping skit.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#5- Seth MacFarlane
Best Roles:
Stewie Griffin (Family Guy), Quagmire (Family Guy), Tim the Bear (The Cleveland Show)
Why Though:
South Park made the manatee joke and it was good. But I have to take my hat off to Seth when it comes to his ability to have distinct voices for his characters. Yes now that I’ve spent a couple of decades with his work I can piece together the different bases he has for characters, but when I first saw Family Guy, I just knew that Stewie was voiced by someone different than the guy doing Peter and the other guy doing Quagmire. I recently saw a clip where Stewie said he had a fake British accent and the attention to detail in how he sounded was even more proof Seth is great at voice acting.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#4- Dan Castellaneta
Best Roles:
Homer Simpson (The Simpsons), Krusty the Clown (The Simpsons), Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim)
Why Though:
Like Seth, I was surprised to hear that the same person who voiced Homer also voiced Krusty, Grandpa, and Barney (to name a few). Dan is the goods when it comes to voice acting, despite his insistence on giving boring interviews.
Voice Actor/Rank:
#3- Cree Summer
Best Roles:
Elmyra (Tiny Toons), Penny (Inspector Gadget), Susie Carmichael (Rugrats)
Why Though:
No points for diverse character voices, but when you have a voice like Cree, why mess with success? I was a fan of Cree as Freddie on A Different World, but to find out that she was also doing voice work was a real treat! Cree being a woman of colour who has been steadily working since at least the 80s in cartoons is not something you can ignore. Cree is a titan!
Voice Actor/Rank:
#2- Tress MacNeille
Best Roles:
Dot (Animainiacs), Babs Bunny (Tiny Toons), Agnes Skinner (The Simpsons)
Why Though:
Dot and Babs feel so different to me even though it’s essentially the same voice. I think that comes down to the energy Tress brought to both characters. Babs really seemed like a comedic tour de force and helped shape what I look for in a funny woman. Dot, on the other hand, was just soooooo cool. She had to go up against Wakko and Yakko and she still came out on top or on par with them throughout the run. However, let’s turn our attention to the fact that Tress is also the voice of Principal Skinner’s mom. That’s range!
Voice Actor/Rank:
#1- Billy West
Best Roles:
Fry (Futurama), Bugs Bunny (Space Jam), Professor Farnsworth (Futurama)
Why Though:
While I absolutely love Billy’s work. His spot on this list really comes down to my ability to listen to this man talk about the science of voice acting for hours on end. Even as he lays out what he’s doing to make the sounds he’s making, I still can’t replicate it. It is also important to know that outside of Mel Blanc, I only wanna hear Billy as Bugs. His work in Space Jam really knocked my socks off as someone who thought only Mel could do it.
-YG