# Family Guy - How does Seth MacFarlane do the voices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901 "2008-12-05T19:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/21 "2008-12-05T22:07:59Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > I realize that on SP it’s kind of part of the joke, but you’d think that as their animation got less crappy they’d maybe let someone else do a newscaster every once in a while. You know what’s really weird about that? Whoever voices Cartman actually raises the pitch of the character’s voice in postproduction. I don’t think it was always done that way, but it is now. It’s weird because in the United States today, everybody under the age of 40 knows at least half a dozen people who can do that voice on their own. I hate South Park but picked this up on some Comedy Central Special. Maybe the whole thing was a joke and I didn’t get it, but I don’t think so. **Pochaco** , you are being brutally unfair by holding out on us like this. 😛 ---
**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:** [December 5, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/22 "2008-12-05T22:25:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Tell me about it. I once worked with a talented minor “name” who had never done voice work before. Sitting there all alone in the booth with no one to play off of, he absolutely could not get into character. We had hundreds of lines to get through and it was taking us 10 or more takes on each line to get a marginally usable reading. The more takes we did, the shakier he got – he knew he was screwing up but he couldn’t help himself. This was a guy who was the star of a popular dramatic TV show. He was a great actor under normal circumstances. He just didn’t have the chops for voice work. > > We tried to cobble together a performance in post-production, but ultimately we had to re-cast and re-record all his lines. God, what a nightmare … . This wasn’t _Finding Nemo_ was it? I ask because I’ve heard the rumor that Albert Brooks was brought in as a last minute replacement to voice Marlin. Supposedly some well known actor had been cast for the part but it turned out he couldn’t handle voice acting. Brooks was hired as a quick substitute because he was available and had voice performance credits. Pixar supposedly refuses to confirm this or identify the original actor because they feel he shouldn’t take the blame (or Brooks not be given the credit he deserves) for a problem that was beyond anyone’s control. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/23 "2008-12-05T22:29:01Z")
I saw Harry Shearer switch from Burns to Smithers and back again on Conan O’Brien. Quite a sight, his whole body seemed to change. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/24 "2008-12-05T22:30:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > … and Phil (Hermes) Lamar gets around a bit, too. I was shocked to learn that Hermes is voiced by the same guy as the fucking Green Lantern on Justice League. That little guy has a sick voice! ---
**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:** [December 5, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/25 "2008-12-05T22:44:53Z")
I watched “Superman: Doomsday” on Cartoon Network a couple of weeks ago and I was more interested in Tom Kenny (as Superman’s Fortress robot) and John Dimaggio (as Toyman) than I was in the lead actors, Adam Baldwin and Anne Heche, who did a competent job (Baldwin, anyway). And I notice Patrick Warburton all over the place. He’s had some live-action acting roles, such as Elaine’s boyfriend, Puddy, on Seinfeld, and as the Tick. But he’s also Swanson in Family Guy, Kronk in The Emporer’s New School, Barkin in Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Brock Samson of the Venture Brothers, of course, and was also recently in Space Chimps. And probably in a few others I missed. Very impressive body of work. One of the best right next to West, La Marche, Shearer and company. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/26 "2008-12-05T22:51:39Z")
One voice actor, not mentioned yet, who impresses me is Dave Willis. While he is mainly a writer he does the voices of Meatwad, Carl and Ignignokt the Mooninite on _Aqua Teen Hunger Force_ (and for those unfamiliar with the show, the three characters have very different voices). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/27 "2008-12-05T22:56:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This wasn’t _Finding Nemo_ was it? It was for a videogame. And it wound up being killed a few months later, so all the work was wasted anyway. I still have the final cut of the animatic with the voice tracks overlaid … sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/28 "2008-12-05T22:59:48Z")
This thread is as good a place as any to mention the fact that I would give a whole lot of whatevers to be able to do the voices that Chris Latta did. That’s right bitch, I’m Starscream. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/29 "2008-12-05T22:59:49Z")
> [@Flander](#): > > Spill the beans! Who is it? > > FTR, Billy West (Futurama) is among my favorites. I can’t believe the same guy does Fry, Farnsworth, and Zap (among others)! Don’t forget Zoidberg, you _always_ forget Zoidberg! (goes off to mope) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/30 "2008-12-05T23:21:00Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Just at a guess, Tom Kenny? He’d be my guess, too, from the hints - male, multiple CN shows (and non-CN shows shown in repeats on CN), a potentially whiplash-inducing number of different vocal types… (On Spongebob Squarepants alone, he’s Spongebob, the French narrator, and Patchy the Pirate (IIRC, he also does the voice of the guy in the theme song).) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/31 "2008-12-05T23:46:38Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > And I notice Patrick Warburton all over the place. He’s had some live-action acting roles, such as Elaine’s boyfriend, Puddy, on Seinfeld, and as the Tick. But he’s also Swanson in Family Guy, Kronk in The Emporer’s New School, Barkin in Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Brock Samson of the Venture Brothers, of course, and was also recently in Space Chimps. And probably in a few others I missed. Very impressive body of work. One of the best right next to West, La Marche, Shearer and company. I like him a lot, but to be far, he’s only got one voice and one character type. He’s not a guy of a thousand voices - he’s a guy who does one thing very well. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/32 "2008-12-06T00:17:17Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Does anyone else find Seth McFarlane strangely attractive? Nothing strange about it. He’s cute and talented. This month’s issue of Fast Company has [a cover story](http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/130/family-values.html?page=0%2C0) on him. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/33 "2008-12-06T00:57:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > And I notice Patrick Warburton all over the place. He’s had some live-action acting roles, such as Elaine’s boyfriend, Puddy, on Seinfeld, and as the Tick. But he’s also Swanson in Family Guy, Kronk in The Emporer’s New School, Barkin in Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Brock Samson of the Venture Brothers, of course, and was also recently in Space Chimps. And probably in a few others I missed. Very impressive body of work. One of the best right next to West, La Marche, Shearer and company. I dunno that I’d agree with that. Warburton’s voice really doesn’t change among his characters - he’s pretty well instantly recognizable. He doesn’t change pitch, or inflection, or whatever. Not that he doesn’t do a very good job - he does - but he’s no Shearer or West or MacNeille. (:smack: shoulda previewed - **Marley23** said the same thing 2 posts earlier). Another pretty common voice actor is Cree Summer - she played Freddie on A Different World, and has done a lot of cartoon work. Foxxy Love (I think that was the name) on Drawn Together was the most recent thing I’ve heard her in. Good, but not A-list either. Sometimes I have to work a little harder to recognize her voice but I usually can pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/34 "2008-12-06T01:06:43Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Isn’t Brian’s voice pretty much MacFarlane’s regular speaking voice? Or is he purposely talking like Brian anytime he does interviews? If it’s his natural voice then that at least cuts down on the number of voices he has to remember how to do. Yes, Brian is more or less his normal voice. > [@Marley23](#): > > You know what’s really weird about that? Whoever voices Cartman actually raises the pitch of the character’s voice in postproduction. I don’t think it was always done that way, but it is now. It’s weird because in the United States today, everybody under the age of 40 knows at least half a dozen people who can do that voice on their own. I hate South Park but picked this up on some Comedy Central Special. Maybe the whole thing was a joke and I didn’t get it, but I don’t think so. In South Park they speed up all of the children’s voices in post. Also re: the OP - For the most part he doesn’t have any trouble switching from one character to another to have a conversation amongst themselves. Although I have noted certain scenes where the characters are actually talking over each other at the same time and in those instances it is surely done with separate tracks. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/35 "2008-12-06T03:46:53Z")
I’ve heard that one of the most challenging tings for a voice actor to do is doing impressions while remaining in character. In other words, a good voice actor might be able to do a credible job of sounding like Elmer Fudd or Bugs Bunny but not be able to do Elmer Fudd sounding like Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/36 "2008-12-06T04:16:59Z")
On the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs, there are special features which have audio footage of the original “man of a thousand voices,” Mel Blanc, doing voices for wraparounds for _The Bugs Bunny Show_. The way he does it is rather interesting: rather than go through the entire script with all the characters, he does all of Bugs Bunny’s lines, then goes back to the start of the script and does all of, say, Sylvester’s lines, etc. I don’t know if this is how Blanc normally did his voices, or if he had to do it this way by the '60s since he couldn’t switch between them, but it’s a rather interesting way of doing multiple characters. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/37 "2008-12-06T04:25:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve heard that one of the most challenging tings for a voice actor to do is doing impressions while remaining in character. In other words, a good voice actor might be able to do a credible job of sounding like Elmer Fudd or Bugs Bunny but not be able to do Elmer Fudd sounding like Bugs Bunny. As a minor note, some of my favourite _Simpsons_ bits are the characters imitating each other, involving a voice actor imitating another voice actor. When Castellenata’s Homer imitates Kavner’s Marge, and on one occasion when Cartwright-as-Bart imitated Dr. Hibbert, it cracks me up, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/38 "2008-12-06T05:17:20Z")
Just throwing out a little love for Japanese voice acting. 🙂 They tend to not have as “cartoony” of voices and a lot less variety in their tone (though they do still have it), but they are the stronger at putting through drama and emotions into their voice. And the female actors, at least, do get a pretty decent amount of fame. [Megumi Hayashibara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayashibara_Megumi) is of course the standout in terms of fame and fortune. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/39 "2008-12-06T06:01:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I like him a lot, but to be far, he’s only got one voice and one character type. He’s not a guy of a thousand voices - he’s a guy who does one thing very well. You’re right, Warburton pretty much does the same voice, but if another actor did Brock Samson, no matter how well, it just wouldn’t be the same. Warburton owns that role. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901/40 "2008-12-06T12:30:34Z")
> [@AudreyK](#): > > Nothing strange about it. He’s cute and talented. > > This month’s issue of Fast Company has [a cover story](http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/130/family-values.html?page=0%2C0) on him. I could look at the photo of him in that piece all day… The article was an interesting read too. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-guy-how-does-seth-macfarlane-do-the-voices/475901.md?page=3)