If you’ve ever been watching an animated TV show and thought you recognized the voice, it was probably because you heard the voice of a major star, sometimes it can just be hard to pinpoint who without a face to match. A lot of celebs have tried their hand at voiceover work, lending their unique sound to some pretty iconic characters. From kids shows to Adult Swim, these animated characters were brought to life by some fairly major celebrities.
While some may be a bit more obvious, there are a few stars that managed to lend their voice to characters in such a unique way that you don’t know it’s them. Here’s our picks for the top 18 animated characters you didn’t know had a celebrity’s voice.
17. Tim Curry Voiced Nigel Thornberry On The Wild Thornberrys
Most people may know Tim Curry from his roll as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but he also voiced a pretty well-known animated character. From 1998 to 2004, Curry voiced Nigel Thornberry on the Nickelodeon show The Wild Thornberries. While the actor has a resume a mile long, he’s also lent his voice to animated projects like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Transformers: Rescue Bots, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
16. Michael Cera Voiced Brother Bear On The Berenstain Bears
Yep, you read that right. Michael Cera is mostly recognized for his work on Arrested Development, but he’s also done his fair share of voice work. In 2003, the Canadian lent his voice to The Berenstain Bears as Brother Bear, though only for a few episodes. He’s also done voice work for Braceface (remember that show?!), Rolie Polie Olie (a classic!), and The Simpsons (fine, a true classic!).
15. Jay Leno Voiced Crimson Chin On The Fairly Odd Parents
Jay Leno spent 17 years hosting The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, but he’s also done his fair share of voice work for some beloved characters. Most notably, Leno voiced the animated character Crimson Chin on The Fairly Odd Parents for 10 years. Most of his other voice work has been for cameo stints, and he’s appeared on Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Phineas and Ferb.
14. Thomas Brodie-Sangster Voiced Ferb On Phineas And Ferb
Speaking of, Phineas and Ferb is an animated show beloved by children and adults everywhere for its witty humor and crazy premises. Although Ferb doesn’t talk that much, when he does talk, he’s got a fairly recognizable voice. That’s because he’s voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who is also known from his roles in Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, and the Maze Runner franchise.
13. Brittany Murphy Voiced Luanne Platter On King Of The Hill
The late Brittany Murphy has an IMDB a mile long with live action projects alone, but she also lent her voice to a few animated characters. One that may be surprising for some people is her role as Luanne Platter on King of The Hill. Most of Murphy’s movie roles are in non-animated movies, but her voice has also been a part of projects like Happy Feet and Good Boy!
12. John Ritter Voiced Clifford The Big Red Dog On Clifford The Big Red Dog
John Ritter had a unique voice that he lent to a number of projects, but one of the most beloved was his role as the titular giant puppy on Clifford The Big Red Dog. Aside from the canine character, Ritter also voiced characters in Batman Beyond and Fish Police. That said, he’s most well-known for his time on Three’s Company and 8 Simple Rules.
11. Tom Petty Voiced Lucky On King Of The Hill
Tom Petty was widely known for his rocking tunes and vocal ability, but the singer also lent his voice to a few animated TV characters. One of the longest running voiceover stints for Mr. Petty was on King of The Hill as Lucky. Fun fact: According to King of The Hill creator Mike Judge, the role was actually written to be “Tom Petty without the success,” so the writers asked Petty if he would do it and pretty much play himself. Luckily, he said yes!
10. Katey Sagal Voiced Turanga Leela On Futurama
Katey Sagal is known for her roles on Sons of Anarchy, Lost, and 8 Simple Rules, and she has a face you’d recognize almost anywhere. But her voice is pretty popular, too! The actress voiced one of the main characters on Futurama: Turanga Leela. Sagal played the role for 14 years (!), then voiced the character in four different movies, and even guest starred on The Simpsons as her famous animated character. Impressive!
9. Jaleel White Voiced Sonic The Hedgehog On Sonic The Hedgehog
Jaleel White first won our hearts by starring on Family Matters and asking us repeatedly “did I do that?” in his iconic nasally tone. However, Urkel Jaleel also lent his voice to a few animated characters, including Sonic the Hedgehog, across all of the different iterations of the character. As the official voice of the blue animal, White has voiced him since 1993 on TV shows and in movies and video games. He’s also lent his voice to other animated shows, such as Problem Solverz and Regular Show.
8. Chris Kirkpatrick Voiced Chip Skylark On The Fairly Odd Parents
For Chris Kirkpatrick, it’s all about teeth and looking good — well, at least for his most famous voiceover role. The *NSYNC singer is the voice of Chip Skylark from the animated series The Fairly Odd Parents, where he sings songs like “My Shiny Teeth and Me” and portrays a huge music star. Guess it’s not so far from reality, considering he achieved major fame from his time in his late-’90s boyband.
7. James Avery Voiced Shredder On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Most known for his role as Phillip Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, James Avery has also lent his voice to a long list of animated characters. One of the more hidden ones is Shredder on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. He has also voiced characters on shows like The Proud Family, The Wild Thornberrys, and TV show version of Iron Man.
6. Lacey Chabert Voiced Eliza Thornberry On The Wild Thornberrys
Lacey Chabert is most known for playing Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls, but before she tried to make fetch happen, she gave her voice to an iconic animated TV character. As Eliza Thornberry on The Wild Thorberrys, Chabert spoke to animals and even had a monkey as a best friend. She went on to lend her voice to massive amounts of other animated projects as well, including Transformers: Rescue Bots, Bratz, and Young Justice. We would’ve never guessed!
5. Fergie Voiced Sally On Peanuts
This is one of the more surprising voiceovers: Stacy Ferguson, aka Fergie provided the voice for Sally in a multitude of Peanuts shows and movies in the mid-’80s. Nope, that wasn’t a typo! Fergie voiced Charlie Brown’s little sister on the The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show and the made-for-TV movies It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown and Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown. Of course we now know she’s moved on to being a famous singer, actor, and mother.
4. Melissa Mccarthy Voiced Dnamy On Kim Possible
Melissa McCarthy is known for her live action roles in movies like Bridesmaids and The Heat, and her regular TV series character Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls, but she lent her voice to a character years ago on Disney Channel’s Kim Possible. She voiced Amy Hall, aka DNAmy, a foremost biogenecist specializing in gene splicing. Although McCarthy played a villain, she somehow made her lovable. That’s just the charm of Melissa McCarthy!
3. Constance Shulman Voiced Patti Mayonnaise On Doug
Although Constance Shulman doesn’t have a long resume, all of her roles are immediately recognizable and — dare we say — iconic. For example, on the Nickelodeon show Doug, she voiced the animated character Patti Mayonnaise, the titular character’s secret love interest. Otherwise, Shulman has stuck mostly to live action roles on shows like Orange is The New Black and The Faculty.
2. Jessica Walter Voiced Fran Sinclair On Dinosaurs
Known for iconic roles like Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development and Malory Archer on Archer, Jessica Walter also lent her voice on the animated show Dinosaurs. Walter voiced the allosaurus star for three years before moving onto other projects like Murder, She Wrote; 90201; and One Life to Live.
1. Brad Garrett Voiced Hulk Hogan On Hulk Hogan’S Rock ‘N’ Wrestling
People know Brad Garrett’s face from his role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond but he’s one of those actors who has such a unique voice that he just has to lend it to some animated shows. One such role was as famous personality and wrestler Hulk Hogan on the show Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling from 1985 to 1986. Other voiceover roles include participating on shows like Kim Possible, Tales From The Crypt, and Dexter’s Laboratory.