9 Famous Screen Actors Who Were More Successful As Voice Artists
Sometimes, the voice is all you need.
Given that animated films and TV shows - not to mention video games - are increasingly big business, it should come as no surprise that more traditional screen actors are willing to star in these features for a cut of the profit.
Animated movies are all too willing to pay for a recognizable voice to star in their project, and lately we’ve seen many popular actors from the big screen provide the voices to a number of our favorite video game and animated TV characters.
In most cases, the famous actors who take on a voice role have already made great strides in cinema history and will be remembered exclusively for their live-action performances.
However, when they were called to the mic, some popular screen actors have found that voice roles were a better fit for their talents, and subsequently allowed these speaking-only parts to make up a large proportion of their work.
From moderately recognizable actors to some of the biggest names in cinema history, many actors have found that becoming a voice actor has provided them with more work, more opportunity, and a greater degree of success and/or fame than their previous acting careers were ever able to provide them with.
9. John Ratzenburger
Famous in the 1980s for his long-standing role as Cliff Clavin in the hugely popular sitcom Cheers, John Ratzenberger has made no significant live-action appearances in television or film since the show’s ending. This was mostly due to the fact that, despite appearing on Cheers for its entire run, Ratzenberger was never able to establish that he was a leading man due to his character’s dependance on George Wendt’s character, Norm Peterson.
A mere two years after the ending of Cheers, however, Clavin’s acting career would be dominated by voice acting due to his role as Hamm the Piggy Bank in Toy Story. From then on, Ratzenberger would star in every Pixar film released, and even found voice roles in the Simpsons, as well as the English dub of the Japanese animated classic Spirited Away.
Looking back on the sub-par performances he made as a screen actor, it's easy to see how Ratzenberger's current standing as a voice actor overshadows his previous work as he manages to create a memorable moment in almost every voice role that he is given.