17 celebrity voice acting roles you had no idea about
We all know that Tom Hanks played Woody in Toy Story, and we all recognise Donkey from Shrek as the hilarious Eddie Murphy... but what about the celebrities that you had no idea have lent their voice to a role?
From Rihanna and Karl Lagerfeld all the way to Cara Delevingne and Miley Cyrus, we look at the most surprising celebrity voice acting gigs of all time...
Picture Editor: Sandra Waibl
Rex FeaturesDwayne Johnson as Maui in Moana
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson played the at-first-feared but lovable Maui in Disney's Moana. We've got to say there are some resemblances... We're talking about the muscles.
Rex FeaturesEllen DeGeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo
Ellen DeGeneres lent her voice to the 2004 Academy Awards Best Animated Picture winner Finding Nemo, as the character Dory who she described as “a fish with a big heart and a bad memory”. But supporting character no more, as the sequel, Finding Dory, hits cinemas in a matter of days. We couldn’t be more excited.
Disney/GettyIdris Elba and Shere Khan
Luther actor Idris Elba will be lending his voice to the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book as the fearsome Shere Khan. THAT. VOICE.
Rex Features/Getty ImagesMiley Cyrus as Penny in Bolt
Reverting back to her Disney roots, Miley Cyrus took on her first voice role as Penny in the 2009 animated comedy, Bolt. She spoke alongside John Travolta who played the title character, and the pair also recorded a song together (“I Thought I Lost You”) which features in the film soundtrack.
Rex FeaturesRihanna as Gratuity 'Tip' Tucci in Home
We didn’t think playing an animated character in a kid’s film was really the Bitch Better Have My Money-singer’s style, but RiRi proved us wrong when she voiced Gratuity "Tip" Tucci in Dream Works’ 2015 creation, Home. Besides lending her voice to the film, Rihanna created a concept album for the soundtrack.
Rex Features/Getty ImagesMila Kunis as Meg in Family Guy
Did you know this one? When Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert (Gretchen Weiner) decided to retire from the role after only one year back in 2000, Mila Kunis took the baton and has been voicing Meg from Family Guy ever since.
Rex Features/Xposure/FoxKim Kardashian as herself in American Dad
After some (questionable) acting stints - she had roles in projects like Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Councillor and Drop Dead Diva - you’d think Kim Kardashian would give it up and stick to what she knows best... But no – when she was approached to play herself in an episode of American Dad, Kim jumped at the chance. The episode is based (very loosely) on her life whereby she transforms from a furry pink alien into her bikini-clad self.
Getty Images/Splash NewsGlenn Close as Mona Simpson in The Simpsons
It’s by no means Glenn Close’s first voice gig – her dulcet tones have played a starring role in films like Tarzan, Pinocchio and Hoodwinked! – but who knew that she’s played a relation to Homer in The Simpsons? That’s right, Glenn Close played Mona - Homer’s mother - who comes back from the dead. Fun fat: In her debut episode, Pamela Hayden had to speak in for Glenn for a scene where she couldn’t say “D’oh!” properly.
Rex FeaturesTaylor Swift as Audrey in Lorax
Thought the Bad Blood singer’s voice had never ventured out of pop? Think again – the ten-time GRAMMY award winner made her foray into voice acting when she voiced Audrey in The Lorax besides Zac Efron.
Rex FeaturesCara Delevingne as a DJ in GTA
This one may surprise you. Jack of all trades supermodel-turned-actress Cara Delevingne leant her voice to Grand Theft Auto V as a radio DJ on ‘Non-Stop-Pop FM’. Cara followed fellow fashion favourite Karl Lagerfeld, who ‘DJ’d’ another station, ‘K109 The Studio’. Get your hands on GTA V for a non-stop reel of Cara and Karl’s dulcet tones.
Rex FeaturesSteve Carell as Gru in Despicable Me
Thought you didn’t recognise the voice of everyone’s most lovable supervillain, Gru from Despicable Me? Who could that thick Eastern European accent belong to? No other than comedy actor Steve Carell, who took his role so seriously he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show as his animated character. When quizzed about his accent, ‘Gru’ said he was from Albuquerque, New Mexico and asked Ellen not to push any further on the topic.
Rex FeaturesMeryl Streep as Mrs Fox in Fantastic Mr Fox
Everyone knows that George Clooney played the protagonist character in the 2009 stop-motion animated comedy, Fantastic Mr Fox. But do you recognise the voice of his on-screen spouse? It’s none other than The Iron Lady Oscar winner, Meryl Streep. Originally, Cate Blanchett was pre-arranged to voice Mrs. Fox, but she left the role for undisclosed reasons…
Rex FeaturesOwen Wilson as Lightening McQueen in Cars
Funny man Owen Wilson plays the anthropomorphic race car in Pixar animation, Cars.
He also joined Meryl Streep in Fantastic Mr Fox. It makes sense… what casting director can resist those charming tones?
Rex FeaturesAngelina Jolie as Tigress in Kung Fu Panda
She’s no beginner in voice acting (remember when she voiced the seductress Lola in 2004’s Shark Tale?), but did you know Angelina Jolie also voiced Tigress in all three installments of Kung Fu Panda? She plays the Southern Chinese tiger (and leader of the Furious Five) perfectly.
Rex FeaturesMeg Ryan as Anastasia in Anastasia
It might be approximately twenty years since we’ve watch animated classic Anastasia, but that doesn’t stop us being totally shocked by discovering that the title character was voiced by none other than When Harry Met Sally actress, Meg Ryan. Anastasia’s singing voice, however, was provided by Liz Callaway.
Rex FeaturesSamuel L. Jackson as Frozone in The Incredibles
Did you have any idea that Mr. Incredible’s best-superhero-pal Frozone was voiced by Samuel. L. Jackson? That’s right – and he’s been confirmed to reprise his role for The Incredibles 2 (even though it’s set for a 2019 release date – what’s that about?!). Still: EXCITED.
Rex FeaturesAmy Poehler as Joy in Inside Out
Parks and Recreation funny woman Amy Poehler has also recently made her foray into voice acting. For her role in Inside Out - the animated film which explores human emotion - she plays the lead role. We can't wait to see this.
Rex FeaturesDanny DeVito as Philotetes in Hercules
There are certain voices that make an animated character what they are - and Danny DeVito as Philoctetes in Disney classic Hercules is one of them. Eric Goldberg, who supervised the animation of Philoctetes, even based his facial expressions on DeVito who was cited as having "really different mouth shapes".
