Stars who've voiced kids' cartoon characters

By Bryanne Salazar 8:06am PST, Nov 19, 2019

Some of our favorite Hollywood actors and actresses aren't just on-screen stars — they've also lent their voices to a variety of children's animated shows. Join Wonderwall.com as we uncover the celebrities who've also moonlighted as voice actors for kids' cartoons… starting with "Game of Thrones" actress Maisie Williams. In 2019, Maisie landed the voice role of Cameron "Cammie" MacCloud on the sci-fi animated children's series "Gen: Lock." It's not Maisie's first time as a voice actress either. Back in 2014, the British star voiced a handful of characters on the more grown-up animated series "Robot Chicken" and in 2018, she voiced a character in the film "Early Man." Keep reading for more celebrity kids' cartoon voice stars…

Joining Maisie Williams as a voice actor on the cartoon series "Gen: Lock" is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Michael B. Jordan. On the series, which is set in a dystopian future where free societies are being taken over by an evil supreme leader, Michael voices Julian Chase, a former military pilot who's made it his mission to save Earth.

Perhaps it isn't the biggest shocker that actress Kristen Bell — who's lent her voice to Anna in "Frozen" and "Frozen II" — is also a children's cartoon voice actress. What did surprise us is the show Kristen did — "Bubble Guppies." The Nick Jr. series, which is aimed at really young kids, features six fish children navigating their undersea world. Kristen appeared on three episodes of the series in 2014 and one in 2015 as a fish named Rogirl. Perhaps her daughters, Lincoln and Delta, are fans?

With a voice as particular as actor Jim Parsons', we're actually surprised he hasn't done more voice work on cartoons. In 2011, Jim lent his famous vocal chords to a few episodes of two children's animated series: "The Super Hero Squad Show" and, adorably, "Pound Puppies." To be clear, he did this after becoming super-famous on "The Big Bang Theory," which means it was probably purely for the love of the work. Since then, he's lent his voice to a few more shows including the adult animated series "SuperMansion" and the 2018 children's series "Pete the Cat."

Not only were we surprised to learn that former "Orange is the New Black" star Uzo Aduba lent her voice to 2017's "My Little Pony: The Movie," but we didn't realize she's also voiced several other children's cartoon characters. From 2016 to 2019 — the same time she was portraying Susan "Crazy Eyes" Warren on "OITNB" — Uzo was also recording lines for the cartoon series "Steven Universe," on which she played Bismuth. In 2018, Uzo added the character Nora Césaire from the cartoon "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" to her resume. That same year, she also voiced Col. Kubritz on the Netflix original animated series "3Below: Tales of Arcadia."

You might be surprised to learn that "The Maze Runner" and "Game of Thrones" actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster — who also played the cute kiddo Sam in "Love Actually" — is a cartoon voice actor. In 2007, Thomas began an eight-year stint as Ferb on the wildly popular animated children's series "Phineas and Ferb." After the series ended in 2015 (there was also the 2010 spinoff, "Take Two with Phineas and Ferb," which ended in 2011), Thomas was back in the studio recording lines for the live-action animated children's series "Thunderbirds are Go" in which he plays John Tracy and Pirate Dobbs. In 2019, Thomas brought back Ferb in the animated movie "Izzy Got the Frizzies."

Here's a big shocker: Stacey Ferguson — aka Fergie, former frontwoman of the Black Eyed Peas — lent her voice to one of the most nostalgic kids' shows in the planet when she was young. Her voice gig began all the way back in 1984 when Fergie was just 9 and landed the part of Sally Brown on the video short "It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown." The following year, Fergie reprised the role in the TV movie "Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown" before voicing both Sally and Patty — as in, Peppermint Patty — on four episodes of "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show." It turns out we were listening to Fergie's voice long before she became a major recording star.

Along with being the boy most of us had a crush on in the early '90s and one of our favorite characters on "Grace and Frankie," Ethan Embry has also worked on and off since 1998 as a cartoon voice actor. Some of the children's shows Ethan's lent his voice to include "Hercules," "The Wild Thornberrys," "Rocket Power," "Batman Beyond" and "Spider-Man." Sadly, he's been so busy starring in our favorite TV dramas and films that he hasn't voiced a cartoon character since 2003.

After kicking off her Hollywood career in 2004 as a cast member on MTV's "The Real World: San Diego," Jamie Chung focused on acting and found new fame for her work as Mulan on "Once Upon a Time" and Blink in "The Gifted." Following her first ever voice role in 2014's "Big Hero Six" — an animated movie about a tech wiz kid who, with the help of his inflatable robot, leads a team of technologically advanced superheroes — Jamie signed on to reprise her character, Go Go, on the cartoon based on the film "Big Hero Six: The Series."

Of course comedian and longtime "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson would lend his voice to cartoon characters! The actor — who got his start in Hollywood with 1994's "D2: The Mighty Ducks" — first lent his voice to a cartoon series in 2003 on an episode of "Clifford the Big Red Dog." Two years later, he was back in the studio voicing the character Mirror on an episode of "Rugrats." Other cartoons followed, including "The Mighty B!" "The Awesomes" (a teenage cartoon series), "Nature Cat," "Wonder Pets!" and even an episode of "Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?" in 2019.

"Bring it On" actress Eliza Dushku has a reputation for playing tough-as-nails characters, including animated ones. Starting in 2013, Eliza voiced mighty She-Hulk on the cartoon series "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." After two years, she also voiced She-Hulk when the character made an appearance on "Ultimate Spider-Man."

Whether you know J.K. Simmons from his humorous Farmers Insurance commercials or his role as J. Jonah Jameson — the loud-mouthed editor of the Daily Bugle in the "Spider-Man" film franchise — you may not realize that he's also a longtime voice actor. Along with lending his talents to a variety of adult-themed animated series, J.K. has also voiced children's cartoon characters on shows like "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Gravity Falls," "Phineas and Ferb," "The Legend of Korra" and "Pound Puppies." J.K. even reprised his "Spider-Man" character for animated appearances on the cartoons "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.," "Avengers Assemble" and "Ultimate Spider-Man."

Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and "Bridesmaid" star Maya Rudolph has a long history of working as a voice actor. Along with lending her voice to numerous animated movies like "Big Hero Six" and adult-themed cartoons like "Big Mouth," Maya reprised her character Cass on "Big Hero 6: The Series" — a cartoon for kids based on the movie.

Kumail Nanjiani isn't just the funny guy on "Silicon Valley." The Oscar-nominated screenwriter was also a voice actor on one of our favorite childhood shows, "Adventure Time," on which he voiced both The Maid and Prismo for seven episodes. Kumail reprised the role in 2018 for the "Adventure Time" video game.

Remember Will Friedle, Cory's cute older brother Eric on "Boy Meets World"? It turns out that even before the show ended in 2000, Will was already part of the world of voice acting. Since his voice role on 1999's animated "Batman Beyond: The Movie," Will's gone on to play a whole lot of cartoon TV characters. Some of the children's shows Will's worked on include "Batman Beyond" (the series), "Static Shock," "Teen Titans," "Justice League Unlimited," "Lilo & Stitch: The Series," "Kim Possible," "Ben 10 Alien Force," "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," "Thundercats," "Winx Club: Beyond Believix," "Mad," "Avengers Assemble" and "Transformers: Robots in Disguise" — and that's just a few.

"Good Girls" star Mae Whitman is another actress who surprised us with her impressive list of cartoon voice roles. Mae — who made her on-screen debut in the 1994 movie "When a Man Loves a Woman" — landed her first voice role one year later on an episode of "What a Cartoon!" What followed were numerous animated roles on shows like "The Legend of Calamity Jane," "Superman: The Animated Series," "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries," "The Wild Thornberrys," "Teacher's Pet," "Fillmore!" "Johnny Bravo," "American Dragon: Jake Long," "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "DC Superhero Girls" and "Young Justice," on which she currently voices Wondergirl.

You'll never guess what cartoon character the late James Avery — who played Uncle Phil on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" — brought to life. From 1987 to 1993, James was the voice of the evil Shredder on the cartoon series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and we never knew! It turns out James — who passed away from complications from open heart surgery in 2013 — was an accomplished voice actor. Some of the children's cartoons he worked on included "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries," "SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show," "Rambo," "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling," "The Real Ghostbusters," "Aladdin" and "Iron Man," just to name a few.

The adorkable Michael Cera — who starred in films like "Superbad" and "Juno" and the TV series "Arrested Development" — has a secret cartoon past that might surprise you. Back in the early 2000s, Michael lent his voice to several children's cartoon series including "Pecola," "The Berenstain Bears," "Braceface" and our personal favorite, "Rolie Polie Olie," on which he voiced Little Gizmo.

We first fell in love with Kyla Pratt on the big screen when she played as Maya Dolittle, the sassy daughter in the film franchise "Doctor Dolittle." What you might not know is that around the same time she was in theaters, she was also voicing Penny Proud in the beloved cartoon series "The Proud Family." Kyla had the role for four years before the series came to an end in 2005.

Not only is musician Flea one of the founding members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He's also a published author, actor and, it turns out, a veteran cartoon voice star. From 1998 to 2004, Flea — whose real name is Michael Balzary — lent his voice to the popular animated series "The Wild Thornberrys" on which he played Donnie, a feral young boy brought into the Thornberry clan. Later, Flea took on the role of The Milk Bandit on the cartoon series "Sheriff Callie's Wild West."

We love Primetime Emmy-winning actress Kate McKinnon's many hilarious impersonations on "Saturday Night Live" but we had no idea she was also a cartoon voice star. After voicing multiple animated characters on "Robotomy," Kate landed roles on the teen animated shows "The Awesomes" and "China, IL." However, it's her three-year run as Squeeks the Mouse on the children's cartoon "Nature Cat" and her portrayal of teacher Fiona Fizzle on the Netflix reboot "The Magic School Bus Rides Again" that have us singing her praises.

Have you ever wondered who was behind the voice of greedy Mr. Krabs on the cartoon series "SpongeBob Squarepants"? It's actor Clancy Brown — the guy from movies like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Hail, Caesar!" In fact, Clancy, who's known for his burly, deep voice, has lent that voice to a lot of animated children's shows including "The Little Mermaid" (the series), "Gargoyles," "Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm," "Mighty Ducks," "The Legend of Calamity Jane," "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest," "Zorro," "Men in Black: The Series," "Superman: The Animated Series," "Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot," "Justice League," "Jackie Chan Adventures" and "All Grown Up!" — just to name a few.

In addition to lending her voice to grown-up animated shows like "Human Discoveries" and "BoJack Horseman," former "Friends" actress Lisa Kudrow also voiced a character on a children's cartoon. From 1998 to 1999, Lisa played Aphrodite on the series "Hercules" which, as its name suggests, was all about the adventures of the mighty mythological demigod.

We weren't at all shocked to learn that LeVar Burton, the man who spent years enriching our childhoods as the host of "Reading Rainbow," also lent his voice to a few children's cartoon series. From 1990 to 1996, LeVar voiced Kwame as well as several other characters on the cartoon "Captain Planet and the Planeteers." Later, from 2011 to 2016, LeVar took on the voice role of Doc Greene and a few other characters on the animated children's series "Transformers: Rescue Bots."

Meg Ryan is another recognizable star who voiced a character on "Captain Planet and the Planeteers." From 1990 to 1991, Meg was a regular cast member on the show about six superhero teens who fight ecological destruction. She played their nemesis, the eco-villain Dr. "Babs" Blight.