10 Actors Who Turned Down Voicing Characters On The Simpsons

10. William Shatner

Indeed, William Shatner is the purported first guest star to have turned down The Simpsons. It's unknown which episode specifically the writers had penned Shatner into, though according to Al Gore, it was early into the show's run - within the first four seasons presumably, given the comments were made on the fourth season's DVD release.

Taking to social media in December 2020, Shatner directly responded to a fan, questioning why he had refused to appear on the Matt Groening-helmed cartoon while signing up to guest on Futurama. Quite simply, he didn't know what The Simpsons was:-

I didn’t know what the Simpson’s was and I was told Futurama was a SciFi cartoon. https://t.co/U3fcORZvXC

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 12, 2020

Shatner voiced himself on the 2002-released Futurama episode, Where No Fan Has Gone Before. The episode, set in a futuristic century, sees Shatner and other Star Trek icons visit a forbidden planet with Planet Express workers, resulting in them being faced with a court-martial.

Like others on this list, The Simpsons gave up on attempts to get the actual William Shatner into the show and instead had Hank Azaria voice him. Hank first starred as the WWE Hall of Famer when he auditioned for the role of Mr Burns in A Star Is Burns, and subsequently when he released a soothing rendition of Everybody Hates Ned Flanders from Dude, Where's My Ranch?