Voice acting makes a significant contribution to numerous television productions, films, video games, and advertisements globally. It is needed in nearly all animated films or when the specific character represented doesn’t appear visually in a scene. For instance, the actor playing that part might be unwilling or unable to speak in it.
When a voice artist is good, they often get much voice over projects. When they perform excellently, they never stop working. At the same time, some of them never managed to become prominent names in their field of work. Also, actors who had an impressive voice and English accent are great for audiobooks, commercials, podcasts, and much more, and you can check martinallanson for some examples of that. However, that doesn’t mean that they lacked quality. It can be said that there was a question of luck in some cases. Here are some of the top voice artists who made history.
1. Nancy Cartwright
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Born on October 25th, 1957, Nancy Cartwright is an American actor famous for voicing Bart Simpson on the renowned TV series, The Simpsons. She originally intended to audition for the role of Lisa, Bart Simpson’s elder sister. At the venue, she realized that Lisa was the middle kid, and this character had no personality.
That’s why she auditioned for Bart. Cartwright realized the role was more appealing – underachieving, devious, irrelevant, clever, and school-hating. Apparently, Matt Groening (the creator) gave Cartwright the job on the spot. The result is very well known since her character, Bart Simpson is here for more than 30 years and is still highly popular.
2. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman was born on the 21st of March 1958 in London, UK. He is a really interesting character and he provided us with some of the most iconic roles. One of the most prolific characters he managed to create is Zorg. Furthermore, he managed to create some of the best accents we have headed in movies and cartoons. Many people forget that he is from the UK. However, he performs all of the English accents perfectly.
Also, we can see that he did the voice-over for a plethora of different video games. The most prominent ones are “Call of Duty: World at War” and “Black Ops”. Back in 2012, in one interview he stated that he thinks that is a challenge he was willing to take since he was never done it before. He managed perfectly and done a perfect job, and we have another thing to talk about him in his long career.
3. Alec Baldwin
Baldwin is the amazing narrator in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums.’ Before becoming Jack Donaghy, Alec was the narrator. Though Tina Fey didn’t create his character as some kind of landmark TV executive for another half a decade, this role ushered in the world to his inimitable blend of disdain and determination. Furthermore, he comes from an artistic family, his brothers are actors too. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is so gifted.
As he talks about the unseen backstory of the famous “The Royal Tenenbaums”, Baldwin’s words blend with proceedings so perfectly. If you view the film for the first time, it’s easy to mistake Alec’s tone as neutral. Besides this one, he managed to provide some exceptional performances. Some of them were exceptional, even when he was playing a foreigner.
4. Billy West
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Beginning with such classic characters as Stimpy (Ren and Stimpy) and Doug Funie (Doug), this voice artist is famous these days as one of the outstanding voices behind Futurama. Billy West voices Philip J. Fry, the hero. He also voices the grumpy Professors Farnsworth, Fry’s ancestor. Belly has voiced other characters such as Richard Nixon’s head, Dr. Zoidberg, and other characters.
Billy’s vocal versatility is outstanding because no one else has managed to talk like the specific characters that he voiced. He has managed to do it and has proven himself to be one of the most reliable voice artists in this industry. He is often credited as one of the best voice actors ever. It’s sad that he never succeeded in making a more successful career later.
5. Frank Oz
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He is one of the legends behind the success of Muppets. He is also more popular as the legend behind fabled Jedi Master Yoda. Though Oz tried to use a puppet for the Star Wars prequels, soon Yoda became a digital character. The unfolding events made him more necessary than previously thought. Frank Oz is often credited as one of the most successful voice actors due to all of his exceptional performances. Surely, master Yoda is his best work ever.
6. Dennis Hopper
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Dennis Hopper is a late actor who was born on the 17th of May 1936. He died back in 2010 on his 74th birthday. He was a true star for a couple of decades. He provided us with some memorable performances in movies like “Blue Velvet”, “Easy Rider”, “Apocalypse Now”, etc. Similar to Gary Oldman, he was willing to try himself out in providing voice over in video games. The most prolific video game performance in “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City”, which is one of the most popular games of all time.
He is behind some of the most memorable lines in the history of Hollywood. He was known for his ability to have spontaneous lines, who weren’t directly written in a script. Instead, he managed to provide his own interpretation of the scenario and, why not, improve it in some cases. When it comes to highlighting his career is his ability to imitate different accents of the English language.
7. Mark Hamill
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Finally, here is the best of the numerous gifts from “Batman: The Animated Series”. While most people thought that Hamill had gone away after the emotional “Return of the Jedi”, he did not. Perhaps you didn’t see his face, but you heard his outstanding voice all along. Hamill always brought quality and authenticity in nearly every voice over a project he handled. Besides his work on the “Star Wars” franchise, he managed to land some exceptional roles that provided him with even more popularity and credit in his later career.
What other voice artists out there do you? Reply in the comments sections.
