# Actors who do better voice overs than act? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637 "2006-10-16T15:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/1 "2006-10-16T15:53:21Z")
Any one out there that you think does a better job behind the camera than in front? The one that hit me was [Patrick Warburton](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911320/) but now that I think I about it, I do like some of his acting. But, I think his voice over for Brock Samson is just great. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/2 "2006-10-16T15:57:13Z")
\*\*Wallace Shawn. \*\* Aside from a memorable turn as the “Never go in with a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line!!!” guy from _The Princess Bride_, he’s really buttered his bread with cartoon voice overs (_Toy Story_ comes to mind, but there are many, many others). And he’s great at it; his pinched, dorky voice is surprisingly versatile when disengaged from his pinched, dorky face. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/3 "2006-10-16T15:58:23Z")
“… **against** a Sicilian…” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/4 "2006-10-16T16:14:23Z")
Mark Hamill. Considered by many to be whiny in the Star Wars movies; rocked as the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series. Susan ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/5 "2014-04-24T14:44:05Z")
Arise, zombie voiceover thread! :zomby: 😃 You know, I think **Morgan Freeman** might actually qualify. Yes, he’s a great actor, but he’s an _all-time-great_ narrator. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/6 "2014-04-24T14:57:09Z")
Both [Tim Daly](http://http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004857/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) and [Kevin Conroy](http://http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175834/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) come to mind. Great voice-over actors. Middling quality live performers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/7 "2014-04-24T15:01:30Z")
I don’t know if we was a better voice actor than on-screen, but he was a LOT more prominenmt as a voice actor. **Paul Frees** was the voice of Boris Badenov, Ludwig von Drake, countless Disney characters, and lots of random cartoon characters. I the movie **Gay Purr-ee** he played a major role and even sang (!) alongside Judy Garland and Robert Goulet. He was the narrator for lots ofg shorts, movies, and cartoons (including **Atlantis the Lost Continent** and the Star Wars spoof **Hardware Wars**. He also did a TON of voice-over in movies, chiefly foreign movies, including **Godzilla, Rodan, The Sword and the Dragon** asnd others. He’s also a voice-dubber in English-language films, such as **Atlantis**. I swear he’s the Roman soldier who announcves that the slaves can be allowed to live if they give up Spartacus in **Spartacus**. He’s appeared on-camera, as well, as a TV announcer in **Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers** , and as one of the scientists in the original **The Thing from Another World**. The Wikipedia page lists a lot of his work (but I didn’t needc it. I’ve grown up listening to this guy. He was Windwagon Smith in the Disney short, and the Undertaker in Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol): **[Paul Frees - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Frees)** ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/8 "2014-04-24T15:11:56Z")
I’d nominate Sam Elliott. While he’s not a terrible actor, he’s pretty much a one-trick pony. He’s presently doing ad voice overs for trucks. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/9 "2014-04-24T15:21:11Z")
A correction – Frees did the TV announcer in the 1953 **War of the Worlds**. He did voice work in Earthy Vs. the Flying Saucers – he did the alien voices (sounding as if played on an old 16 mm sound projector that had been used too many times in a high school). He was also Inspector Fenwick in Dudley Do-Right and Ape in the cartoon George of the Jungle. And two of the Beatles in the cartoon “Beatles” (but not for the film Yellopw Submarine). ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/10 "2014-04-24T15:33:27Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Both [Tim Daly](http://http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004857/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) and [Kevin Conroy](http://http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175834/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) come to mind. > > Great voice-over actors. > Middling quality live performers. Sorry;links seem to be broken [Tim Daly](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Daly) and [Kevin Conroy](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Conroy). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/11 "2014-04-24T15:54:52Z")
“Better” is a subjective term. But David Ogden Stiers is probably as well known for his voice roles as for his onscreen roles. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/12 "2014-04-24T16:40:24Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Sorry;links seem to be broken > > [Tim Daly](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Daly) and [Kevin Conroy](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Conroy). Still broken. You’ve got double "http://"s in all your links ([http://http](http://http)://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim\_Daly). When you use the Insert Link box, “http://” is already typed in for you. Delete it before you paste your URL. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/13 "2014-04-24T16:40:49Z")
Gilbert Gottfried. I win. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/14 "2014-04-24T17:16:41Z")
Billy West. Does he do much non-voice acting work? I think he’s great but I all I’ve seen him do live action was comic book the movie. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/15 "2014-04-24T19:03:25Z")
Yeardley Smith is great as Lisa Simpson, quite forgettable in the 3 or so guest spots in sitcoms I’ve seen her in. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/16 "2014-04-24T19:11:52Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Still broken. You’ve got double "http://"s in all your links ([http://http](http://http)://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim\_Daly). When you use the Insert Link box, “http://” is already typed in for you. Delete it before you paste your URL. [Tim Daly](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004857/?ref_=nv_sr_1) and [Kevin Conroy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175834/?ref_=nv_sr_2). The third time is the charm…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/17 "2014-04-24T19:15:57Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Yeardley Smith is great as Lisa Simpson, quite forgettable in the 3 or so guest spots in sitcoms I’ve seen her in. She was a [minor film actress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZMuBfuv1iA) in the 1980s and 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/18 "2014-04-24T19:41:47Z")
Ellen DeGeneres has been a terrible actress every time she’s tried a TV or movie role, but she was both charming and touching as Dory in _ **Finding Nemo.** _ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/19 "2014-04-24T20:09:53Z")
Clancy Brown. Although he’s had some live-action roles, he’s best known for his voice work, such as Lex Luthor in the DCAU and as Mr. Krabs on \*SpongeBob SquarePants. \* ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637/20 "2014-04-24T21:12:03Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Clancy Brown. Although he’s had some live-action roles, he’s best known for his voice work, such as Lex Luthor in the DCAU and as Mr. Krabs on \*SpongeBob SquarePants. \* In movies, he usually plays homicidal psychopaths or sadistic brutes. By contrast, Mr. Krabs is a nice guy! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-better-voice-overs-than-act/376637.md?page=2)