Voice acting is its own special skill that not all actors can pull off. Sometimes great live-action stars make the crossover, and some of them are listed here. Other times, actors who are primarily voice actors appear in live action roles, and you might not know what they look like, even when you know their voice (or, more often, voices). Those actors are also represented on this list of popular voice actors who you probably have seen before, even if you didn't know it.
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is, of course, best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson, who, for me, is the most underrated character in The Simpsons. Like many of her castmates on the legendary cartoon, she started from the beginning of The Tracey Ullman Show. You may also know her as the pregnant cashier who crashes the party at the beginning of City Slickers, among other roles in live-action movies and TV shows.
Christine Cavanaugh
The late Christine Cavanaugh was the original voice for Chuckie in Rugrats and Dexter in Dexter's Laboratory. Though she retired very young due to health reasons, you might also know her as injured football player Steve Remo's wife Jerry Maguire.
John DiMaggio
One of the most prolific voice actors on this list, John DiMaggio, is well known for his work as Bender in Futurama, and a whole ton of movies like Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph, Despicable Me 4, and many more. You may also have seen him as Fenwick in the AMC show Interview With A Vampire, or Dan on Mythic Quest, which you can watch with an AppleTV+ subscription.
Diedrich Bader
Diedrich Bader has made quite a career for himself as a voice-over actor, with dozens of credits. His best-known work is probably in the DC Universe, where he has been Batman/Bruce Wayne in many animated shows across the universe. He's also done work as Lex Luther, The Green Lantern, and other DC characters. On the live-action side, he's probably most famous for his role on The Drew Carey Show, but he also has memorable roles in the movies Office Space, as Peter's neighbor, and The Beverly Hillbilllies, as Jethro, among others.
Nancy Cartwright
Certainly, Nancy Cartwright is most famous as the voice of Bart Simpson, but that's hardly her only role in The Simpsons. She's also been the voice of Chuckie in Rugrats since 2002, and has done numerous other voice roles on TV and in movies. As for live action, she played a role in the "It's A Good Life" segment of 1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie, and appeared in tons of sitcoms and other shows over the years, like Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the ill-fated spin-off Baywatch Nights. Okay, that last one isn't technically a comedy.
Breckin Meyer
On the live-action side of things, Breckin Meyer will probably always be first remembered for the role of the stoner Travis Birkenstock in Clueless. It's a truly iconic role in a legendary movie at this point. He's also been very busy over the years doing voice-over work, most notably in Robot Chicken episodes, where he is a multi-Emmy-nominated actor.
David Herman
David Herman has been a voice-over actor on some of the most beloved cartoons in recent years like Bob's Burgers, King of the Hill, and Futurama. Many years ago, he became part of movie history as Michael Bolton in Office Space.
Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr has been a cast member in a ton of legendary cartoons. In addition to multiple roles in the DC world, including The Green Lantern, he also played big recurring roles in The Family Guy (as Ollie Williams), The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius (Bolbi Stroganofsky), Futurama (Hermes Conrad), and many others. He was also a member of the cast of MadTV, and maybe most famously, he played the ill-fated Marvin in Pulp Fiction.
Alanna Ubach
Alanna Ubach has found a lot of balance between her voice acting on shows like The Spectacular Spider-Man, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, and Pound Puppies, plus movies like Rango and Coco. She's also done plenty of live-action work in shows like Beakman's World, Eli Stone, and Euphoria, where she plays Suze.
Hank Azaria
This is an actor who really needs no introduction. Hank Azaria has been in dozens of live-action roles, of course, but it still probably best known for the dozens of voices he does on The Simpsons.
Cedric Yarbrough
Cedric Yarbrough's breakout role came as Deputy Jones on Reno 911!, but you may also know his voice as Tom DuBois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner in The Boondocks and Chocolate Giddy-up in Black Dynamite. Like others on this list, he's also done work in the DC world, as Firestorm and other characters.
Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer is a Hollywood vet whose career dates back to the 1960s. He's best known for his live-action roles in This Is Spinal Tap (and its 2025 sequel), and some of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries, like The Mighty Wind. As a voice actor, he is certainly most famous as multiple characters on The Simpsons, including Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns, and many others.
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz's voice is most recognizable to Mighty Morphin Power Ranger fans. He's provided the voice for Alpha 5 for years over multiple properties. As for movie roles you may know, he played Alan Eakian, the dorky, nerdy character in the Mark Harmon-led classic '80s comedy Summer School.
Stephen Root
One of my favorite character actors of all time is Stephen Root. He's been in some of my favorite movies and TV shows like Newsradio, O Brother Where Art Thou, and, of course, Office Space. He's also done a bunch of voice work in projects like Finding Dory, Finding Nemo, and various roles in the DC animated universe.
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is the co-creator and star of South Park, of course. Do I really need to say more about his voice work (he does lots of voices on the show)? He's worked a fair amount in his own live-action stuff as well, most famously BASEketball.
Matt Stone
Like his partner, Trey Parker, Matt Stone is most famous for the show he co-created, South Park. Like Parker, he writes and does many voices in the show, and like Parker, he's also starred in the live-action BASEketball and other movies.
Dan Castellaneta
The voice of Homer Simpson, provided by Dan Castellaneta, is one of the most recognizable voices in television history. Castellaneta even invented the word "D'oh," which is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. He's also appeared in a lot of sitcoms, as part of the live-action cast of The Tracy Ullman Show, and tons of one-offs in Married... With Children, Friends, Arrested Development, The Office, and others. He's also been in a bunch of movies like The Client, The War Of The Roses, Say Anything..., and Space Jam, for starters.
Alex Bornstein
You certainly know her from her voice as Lois on The Family Guy, but you also know her face as Susie on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Alex Borstein started her career doing voices in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers before becoming a part of the original cast of MadTV. Like a few others on this list, she's split time pretty equally between live-action and voice work.
John Ratzenberger
Hey Normie, did you know that John Ratzenberger is known as Pixar's good luck charm? The actor, who is most famous for playing Cliff on Cheers, has appeared in almost every Pixar film going back to Toy Story. As such, he's actually one of the most successful actors ever when you add up the box office totals of his movies.
Ed Asner
Ed Asner was pretty famous before he really leaned into doing voice work, but for a generation of people, he'll always be best known as the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Up and for his voice work on shows and movies like The Boondocks, All-Star Superman, Christmas Is Here Again, and in live-action work like playing Santa in Elf, in addition to his most famous TV role, Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Julie Kavner
There are plenty of members of the Simpsons cast on this list, including Julie Kavner, who has been the voice of Marge and her sister Patty, and Selma since the beginning. She's also had a long career on screen, including the Nora Ephron-directed This is My Life in 1992 and Awakenings, alongside Robin Williams in 1990. She's also in 2025's Ella McCay, directed by Simpson's co-creator James L. Brooks.
Bill Farmer
Bill Farmer is an actor who has spent most of his career behind the microphone doing voice work. He's been the voice of popular Disney characters like Goofy and Pluto for decades now. He's also done voices for The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Robot Chicken, and others. You might, if you're a fan of the still politically relevant RoboCop like I am, know him for his small role as a reporter in the Paul Verhoeven-directed '80s action flick.
David Faustino
Though he started acting as a child, David Faustino's big break came when he was cast as Bud Bundy in Married... with Children. These days, he has become one of the most in-demand voice actors, working on the Winx Club franchise, 2023's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and shows like The Legend of Korra, Robot Chicken, and DreamWorks Dragons.
Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane has created an incredible career after breaking out as the creator, writer, and main voice actor on Family Guy, as well as its spin-offs and related shows like The Cleveland Show and American Dad. He also wrote and directed Ted, providing the voice of the bear, of course. On the live-action side, his best-known role came in The Orville as Captain Ed Mercer.
Clancy Brown
For the last three decades, Clancy Brown has been the main voice of Lex Luthor in various DC animated shows and movies. He's also dabbled in Marvel shows and done plenty of Disney projects as well. He's also a very in-demand character actor, appearing in shows like HBO's The Penguin, Showtime's Dexter: New Blood, Netflix's Daredevil, and so much more.
Mila Kunis
To be fair, Mila Kunis is more well-known for her live-action work than her voice list, as is the case with a few of the people on this list. She is, of course, the voice of Meg on The Family Guy. Her other work on TV and the big screen is well known, like That '70s Show, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Friends with Benefits, and Bad Moms. She's also done voice work on Robot Chicken.
Gary Anthony Williams
Comedian Gary Anthony Williams is beloved for his role as Uncle Ruckus in The Boondocks and for his role as Mr. Dos on Special Agent Oso. He's also a regular contributor on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and in movies like Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Block Party.
Mark Hamill
For most people, Mark Hamill will always be Luke Skywalker first, last, and only. But fans of the actor know that his career has been far more varied. Fans of the DC animated movies may love him for being the voice of The Joker in many shows and movies as much as they love him for his role in the Star Wars movies.
Seth Green
One of my all-time favorite movies is Can't Hardly Wait, and Seth Green's character Kenny Fisher is a big reason why. He's probably most famous for playing Scott in the Austin Powers movies, but he's also a well-respected voice actor, as the co-creator of Robot Chicken, and for roles like Howard the Duck in the Marvel movies.
E. G. Daily
Without a doubt, E. G. Daily is best known as the voice of Tommy Pickles in Rugrats. Daily has dozens of voice credits beyond that, in shows like The Powerpuff Girls, Julius Jr., Curious George, and more. She started in Hollywood doing more live-action work in roles like the singer in Better Off Dead, one of the best dark comedies of the '80s.
Laraine Newman
As one of the original "not ready for primetime players" on Saturday Night Live, Laraine Newman will always be a big part of television history. Later in her career, she has done a ton of work for Pixar in movies like Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Inside Out.
Carlos Alazraqui
Did you know the voice of the Taco Bell Chihuahua was one of the cast members of Reno 911? Yup, Carlos Alazraqui, who played Garcia on the Comedy Central show, was behind the voice who said "Yo quiero Taco Bell" back in the '90s. He's got dozens of other voice credits, but you can't deny how great that bit of trivia is.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
