The Simpsons' Hank Azaria Tried Using Moe, Chief Wiggum And More Voices To Make A London Guard Laugh, And There's No Way I Could Have Lasted
As one of the greatest sitcoms ever, The Simpsons is one of an elite group of TV shows that’s recognized and beloved across the planet. One of the show’s biggest non-American fandoms is (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the U.K., where superfans like Daniel Radcliffe have been unofficial Springfield residents for decades. But while plenty would love to see star Hank Azaria voicing characters like Moe and Comic Book Guy in person, not everyone is allowed to show any kind of excitement. Such as London’s legendarily stoic King’s Guard.
One has to assume these dutiful sentry members have to face all manner of loud distractions from the public, since their non-laughing, non-reacting nature has been globally renowned longer than The Simpsons has. But I’m agog that this particular fellow made it through Hank Azaria’s mini-performance without so much as a whiff of the childlike glee I got just from seeing Professor Frink’s voice in the flesh, as it were. Check out Azaria’s TikTok clip below!
@thehankazaria ♬ original sound - Hank Azaria
I wish there was a world where it would have been considered perfectly fine for Azaria to go through every one of his Simpsons characters to try and get the guard to crack. Not that he didn’t do enough there, but it was less than a minute long, and my brain gets a weird serotonin fix out of seeing familiar cartoon voices coming out of human faces. “More, please” is always a request.
Obviously Azaria’s not going to voice Apu even in this capacity, and he probably wouldn’t want to blow his voice out as Duffman, which is all for the best. But he’s got such a lineup of pitch-perfect characters to pick from otherwise, and I’m still mentally applauding this guy for keeping it professional even as Moe frickin’ Ssyzlak is introducing himself!
I of course understand that this gig requires a straight face throughout any and all circumstances, and it would be amateur hour if this dude started losing his mind upon being commended by Chief Wiggum. But as a Simpsons fan, I’m impressed.
Maybe this person just isn’t a Simpsons fan, though, or somehow isn’t familiar with it to the point where Hank Azaria just sounded like a lunatic for 50+ seconds. A talented lunatic, but one all the same. But what I’d prefer to think is that he held it all in, and then as soon as the guard-changing business went down, he ripped his hat off and immediately told everyone within earshot that Comic Book Guy called him “Best. Guard. Ever.” to his face. That’s a badge of honor like no other.
Fans can watch all of Hank Azaria’s characters by streaming The Simpsons with a Disney+ subscription while waiting for Season 35 to hit the Fall TV schedule.
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Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.