What The Nightmare Before Christmas Voice Actors Look Like In Real Life

1. Jack Skellington - Chris Sarandon & Danny Elfman

Nightmare Before Christmas
Disney/Broad Green Pictures

While we all know The Mayor as the character from The Nightmare Before Christmas who has two faces, the Pumpkin King can undoubtedly claim that crown too!

The movie's main character is voiced by not only one, but two iconic names!

Skellington, of course, is the movie's protagonist, who finds himself having a crisis of confidence as he is unfulfilled on living purely for Halloween after stumbling into a world inhabited by snow and merriment. Chasing the joy of Christmas, the natural instincts of Skellington mean he fails at every turn and turns terrific into horrific.

The viewer instantly identifies with Skellington's intentions and desire to try and do the right thing, and the affable hero lives in infamy even almost two decades after the movie's release with a white circle becoming instantly recognisable with two black circles and a stitched mouth drawn on them.

That, in no small part, is thanks to two actors who bring Jack Skellington to life!

The speaking voice of Jack is portrayed by Chris Sarandon, a veteran actor who has appeared in the likes of Fright Night, Dark Tide, and Reaper, as well as playing Dr Burke in ER, Howard Pincham in Law & order, and appearing in orange Is The New Black.

However, the singing voice of Jack Skellington is that of the wonderful Danny Elfman. Elfman tours alongside Catherine O'Hara, Ken Page and Greg Proops to perform as Jack Skellington on the Nightmare Before Christmas stage show. He isn't an actor, per se, and is actually best known as a composer.

Danny Elfman, of course, created the theme song for The Simpsons, but his film credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Men In Black, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, and Batman.

Elfman's acting credits don't end at The Nightmare Before Christmas though, with roles dating back to 1977 and all the way up to 2010, including in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as an Oompa Loompa, Bonejangles in Corpse Bride, and in the music videos for his new wave band Oingo Boingo.

Not only did Elfman provide the singing voice of Jack, he's probably as much to credit for the success of the movie as Tim Burton is - having written the songs and the film score for the entire movie.

To this day, the legacy of the movie is protected as the idea of a sequel was quickly kiboshed despite there being new worlds to explore, quite literally, based on the first movie. However, that doesn't stop fans for clamouring for more, as the movie has become one of the most iconic animations ever made.

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Gary is a freelance writer published via BBC, Inside The Ropes, Nutmeg Magazine, SPORF, Sportskeeda, and The Anfield Wrap, among others. The author of Wrestling's Most Memorable Promos, Gary has interviewed the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Tyson Fury. Gary has broken news regarding signings, contracts, album releases, and even the location of WrestleMania - with exclusives sourced by CNN, NBC, FOX, Forbes, TalkSPORT and many others.