# Celebrity soundalikes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094 "2015-06-21T20:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/1 "2015-06-21T20:29:14Z")
I’m looking for pairs of well-known people whose speaking voices are very similar or indistinguishable. For example, the actor Michael York sounds very much like the actor James Mason. Think of this as “separated at birth” but for voices. No need to limit your examples to the entertainment field. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/2 "2015-06-22T15:46:39Z")
This may stretch the definition of “celebrity” or “well known person” but when I hear Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan speak he sounds a lot like Bob Odenkirk to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/3 "2015-06-22T17:55:01Z")
I was half-watching **Life of Crime** over the weekend, and kept thinking that I heard John Goodman’s voice. Nope…it was Mark Boone Junior, who played Bobby Elvis on Sons of Anarchy. I never thought he sounded like John Goodman before, though. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/4 "2015-06-22T18:02:37Z")
Anthony Hopkins pretty famously dubbed Laurence Olivier’s lines for the restored scenes in **Spartacus** back in 1989 (or thereabouts). The footage still existed, but the soundtrack was damaged. Tony Curtis was still alive to re-dub his dialogue, but Olivier had passed on. Someone recommended Hopkins, because he had shown he could do a great Olivier. If I hadn’t been told he did it, I never would have guessed. It’s a great imitation – not exaggerated or extreme. Vincent d"Onofrio played Orson Welles in **Ed Wood** and in **Five Minutes, Mr. Welles**. He looks pretty close to the part (properly lit), but his voice is a good imitation, too. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/5 "2015-06-22T19:17:23Z")
Charles Kuralt’ s voice sounded just like Walt Disney’s. Perry Como, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby had nearly identical voices. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/6 "2015-06-22T19:20:32Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Perry Como, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby had nearly identical voices. I gotta take exception to this. Although they were fine singers, they had distinctive voices. There’s no way you would confuse Bing Crosby’s deep scoop with Dean Martin’s easy glide. I can imagine Dino singing “White Christmas”, and it wouldn’t sound _anything_ like Bing’s version. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/7 "2015-06-22T19:59:45Z")
Maggie Wheeler and Fran Drescher. Sorta. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/8 "2015-06-22T20:02:11Z")
Katherine Hepburn and Kate Mulgrew. I could swear it was Hepburn at Captain Janeway. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/9 "2015-06-22T20:41:37Z")
Personally, I think William Daniels (voice of KITT, principal on Boy Meets World) and William Powell (movie star of '30s and '40s) sound almost identical. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/10 "2015-06-22T21:57:06Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Personally, I think William Daniels (voice of KITT, principal on Boy Meets World) and William Powell (movie star of '30s and '40s) sound almost identical. I can hear that one. Another one is Craig Stevens, the guy who played Peter Gunn in the 1950s TV series, sounds quite a lot like Cary Grant, although I suspect there is some conscious mimicry involved. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/11 "2015-06-22T22:45:24Z")
I always thought William Bennett (former Secretary of Education) sounded a lot like George Wendt. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/12 "2015-06-23T01:07:28Z")
When I saw _Ratatouille_, I thought it was Frank Langella doing the voice of Anton Ego. It’s actually Peter O’Toole. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/13 "2015-06-23T02:40:36Z")
Ving Rhames sounds a lot like James Earl Jones lately, especially in those Arby’s “We have the meats!” Ads. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/14 "2015-06-23T02:55:17Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > I can hear that one. > > Another one is Craig Stevens, the guy who played Peter Gunn in the 1950s TV series, sounds quite a lot like Cary Grant, although I suspect there is some conscious mimicry involved. “Nobody talks like that!” –Jack Lemmon, in \* Some Like It Hot, \*, mimicking Tony Curtis’ high-tone accent, that Lemmon had used for his rendezvous with Marilyn Monroe. (Cary Grant himself had a similar reaction when he saw the movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/15 "2015-06-23T05:11:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Anthony Hopkins pretty famously dubbed Laurence Olivier’s lines for the restored scenes in **Spartacus** back in 1989 (or thereabouts). The footage still existed, but the soundtrack was damaged. Tony Curtis was still alive to re-dub his dialogue, but Olivier had passed on. Someone recommended Hopkins, because he had shown he could do a great Olivier. > > If I hadn’t been told he did it, I never would have guessed. It’s a great imitation – not exaggerated or extreme. > > Vincent d"Onofrio played Orson Welles in **Ed Wood** and in **Five Minutes, Mr. Welles**. He looks pretty close to the part (properly lit), but his voice is a good imitation, too. According to the trivia on [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109707/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2), Orson Welles’ voice was dubbed by Maurice LeMarche. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/16 "2015-06-23T12:09:18Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > According to the trivia on [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109707/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2), Orson Welles’ voice was dubbed by Maurice LeMarche. Damn. I never heard that. AFAIK, d"Onofrio wasn’t dubbed in **Five Minutes, Mr. Welles**. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/17 "2015-06-23T12:32:12Z")
James Franco and WWE’s Seth Rollins ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-soundalikes/723094/18 "2015-06-23T12:47:03Z")
Christian Slater and Garrett Hedlund.