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You may have noticed familiar voices in TV shows you regularly watch. These voices are voiced by voice actors, wow, that was a tongue twister. Most of these TV show or movie voice actors lend their vocals to other shows as well and you might not even notice it! The list below has the top 14 famous voice actors that you may not realize are in many of the shows or movies you have watched or are currently watching today. From H. Jon Benjamin in Bob’s Burgers to Mark Hamill’s portrayal of the Joker, you’ll be surprised how many characters these voice actors portray.
14 Famous Voice Actors You Should Check Out
1. H Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin voices a ton of characters ranging in shows from Bob’s Burgers to Archer. Starting out in stand up comedy, he performed in many New York shows before starting his career as a voice actor. He also played a guest role in many unanimated shows such as Cheap Seats and Space Ghost Coast to Coast to dip his feet in the spotlight before reaching his full potential. He started out voice acting smaller roles at first such as Aqua Team Hunger Force, but in 2009 his career hit a stop when he joined David Cross in the show Paid Programming. After brushing off the setback, he renewed the status of the many princes of voiceover with his roles of Sterling Archer in Archer, Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers, and his hit show Jon Benjamin has a van.
2. Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American voice actress as well as comedian, writer, and actress. Her career started with live comedy in which she won the best alternative comedian award at the 2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival. Next, she appeared in film, TV, and radio. She was first HBO’s Flight of the Conchords where her career blossomed and hasn’t slowed down since. She has been in more TV shows that I can list, but her most memorable shows include her episodes of stand up on Comedy Central, her role as Carol on the Last Man on Earth, Tiffy on Archer, and Louise on Bob’s Burgers.
3. Bill Hader
Bill Hader is best known for his SNL performances, especially his alter ego Stefan. But, besides his standup work, he has a well working career in voice acting in which his most famous work includes the Angry Birds movie, Inside Out, Monsters University, and Finding Dory. Most of his work is based off some of his favorite comedic movies such as Monty Python, Mel Brooks, and Woody Allen. Besides becoming a well known voice actor, he also has done plenty of work in stand up, acting, and directing.
4. John DiMaggio
John DiMaggio is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian. Most popularly known for his gruff voice, he used it to his advantage to land a lot of roles such as Jake the dog in Adventure time and Bender in Futurama. Not to forget his smaller, but just as popular roles such as Dr. Drakken in Kim Possible, Brother Blood in Teen Titans, and many more.
5. Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill is most popularly known for his oscar worthy Joker roles in many animated Batman movies. One of his most recent work includes voicing Skips for the cartoon network show Regular Show. However, if you’re new to the world of voice acting, you’ll of course recognize the young Luke Skywalker.
6. Billy West
Billy West is perhaps one of the most famous voice actors working today. Though you may not recognize the name, his voice (or voices) is impossible to forget. He got his start in radio in the 80’s just soon progressed the voice over work on the Howard Stern show. He has also worked on popular cartoons like Doug, Ren and Stimpy, the Red M&M in the television commercials. He also voiced Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the movie Space Jam. Probably his most famous roles were those on the show Futurama. He provided the voices for Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and numerous other characters.
7. Tara Strong
Tara Strong has provided voices for countless television shows starting all the way back in 1987. This was when she received her first major voice acting role as Hello Kitty in Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater. You may have heard her voice on shows like Rugrats, Teen Titans, My Little Pony, The Fairly Odd Parents and in video games like Mortal Kombat X, Final Fantasy X-2, and the Batman: Arkham series.
8. Tom Kenny
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? It’s Tom Kenny! Just kidding, it’s Spongebob Squarepants. But, Spongebob is voiced by Tom Kenny. This superbly talented voice actor also provides the voice for the Ice King on Adventure Time, Heffer Wolfe in Rocko’s Modern Life, and Spyro from the Spyro the Dragon franchise.
9. Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon has one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood. She provided the voice of Bobby Hill on King of the Hill, for which she won an Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy in 2002. She also gave voice to Ashley Spinelli in Recess and Margaret “Moose” Pearson in Pepper Ann. You can see her today on the new FX comedy, Better Things.
10. Seth MacFarlane
For any fan of adult animation, Seth MacFarlane is a household name. Aside from his multiple successful blockbuster movies, MacFarlane is also responsible for some of the most popular adult cartoon shows on the air. He created Family Guy, American Dad, and the Cleveland Show. He is one of the most famous voice actors as he also voices all of the male leads on Family Guy, Stan and Roger Smith on American Dad, and Tim the Bear on The Cleveland Show.
11. Tress MacNeille
You may not know her by name, but if you have ever watched a cartoon, you have heard this woman’s voice. Her first role was on a 1979 episode of Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo and she has been working ever since. Her most recognizable roles include Babs Bunny from the Looney Toons, Chip from Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Charlotte Pickles from the Rugrats. She also had recurring roles on Futurama and still currently has one on The Simpsons.
12. Hank Azaria
It is safe to say that The Simpsons would not exist without Hank Azaria. Here is a short list of all the characters he voices: Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu, Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, Snake Jailbird, Kirk Van Houten, the Sea Captain, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, Duffman, the Wiseguy and numerous other characters. Needless to say, Azaria is a huge talent and an extremely recognizable and one of the most famous voice actors.
13. Matt Stone
Matt Stone, along with his partner Trey Parker, are the geniuses behind the hit comedy show South Park. The show has been running since 1997 and Stone and Parker have been performing every single voice used in the show since the beginning. Along with being a voice actor, he is also the animator, writer, director, producer, singer, and songwriter for the show.
14. Phil LaMarr
You may recognize Phil LaMarr by looks if you are a big MADtv fan. If not, you will certainly recognize his distinctive voice. He has a long work history in the field of voice acting. His most notable roles include the Green Lantern on the Justice League, Hermes Conrad on Futurama, and Samurai Jack on Samurai Jack. LaMarr has also performed voices for various video games like Metal Solid Gear 2 and 4 and Final Fantasy XII.
Summing Up
Famous voice actors are a key element to popular video games, TV shows, and movies. Most of them have long experienced lives of live acting and standup before they reach the starlight of animation. Although voice actors may seem like they work less since they simply talk into a microphone, their jobs are developed into so much more. If you are familiar with any voice actor mentioned above or wanted to shout out to a voice actor you feel should belong on this list of most famous voice actors, feel free to leave a comment below!