10 Actors Who Turned Down Voicing Characters On The Simpsons
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00:00 Few things in life go hand in hand as much as The Simpsons does with guest stars.
00:04 A quick scan through the official list of guest stars reveals an absolute almanac of
00:08 famous faces, from actors to musicians to sports personalities.
00:12 But it might surprise you to learn that not everyone was eager to get their name on the
00:16 list.
00:17 I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 Actors Who Turned Down Voicing Characters
00:21 on The Simpsons.
00:22 10.
00:23 William Shatner
00:24 William Shatner is the purported first ever guest star to have turned down The Simpsons,
00:29 so it makes sense to talk about him first.
00:32 Now it's unknown which episode specifically the writers had penned Shatner into.
00:36 Though according to Al Gore it was very early into the show's run, within the first four
00:40 seasons presumably, given the comments were made on the fourth season's DVD release.
00:45 Taking to social media in December 2020, Shatner directly responded to a fan questioning why
00:50 he had refused to appear on the Matt Groening helmed cartoon while signing up as a guest
00:55 on Futurama.
00:56 And quite simply, he didn't know what The Simpsons was.
00:59 He said quote "I didn't know what The Simpsons was and I was told Futurama was a
01:03 sci-fi cartoon."
01:04 There you go.
01:05 So yeah, while Shatner did appear on that show, The Simpsons just gave up on trying
01:09 and had Hank Azaria voice his character instead.
01:12 9.
01:13 Sir Michael Caine
01:14 One of British cinema's greatest minds, Sir Michael Caine's exemplary body of work
01:19 dates back to the 40s.
01:20 But a ticket to Springfield was not an offer he was willing to accept.
01:24 Desperately wanted by the writers for the hilarious season 5 episode "Homer and Apu",
01:28 as detailed by David Merkin on the season's DVD release, the role would have seen the
01:33 legendary Dark Knight actor star as Apu's celebrity apprentice.
01:37 Once he rejected the offer, the role was rewritten to have James Wood slot in instead.
01:41 Why exactly Michael Caine declined the opportunity to star in The Simpsons remains unknown to
01:46 this day.
01:47 A caricature of the Englishman appeared in future season 5 episode "Burns' Heir",
01:52 though he was voiced by Dan Castellaneda, as Caine, once more, had declined an invitation.
01:57 8.
01:58 William Hickey
01:59 The circumstances surrounding this one are a tad tricky to investigate, with so few details
02:04 being publicly known, but William Hickey is believed to have been in the running to voice
02:08 Chester J. Lampwick in season 7's "The Day the Violence Died".
02:12 Reportedly the writers' first choice for the voice, Hickey had to turn the offer down
02:16 for reasons currently unknown.
02:18 People locally and Josh Weinstein, then writers and producers on The Simpsons, believed that
02:22 William Hickey would have been perfect for the role, his harsh, raspy voice being the
02:26 style they were aiming for.
02:28 And that he was famed for portraying what had been described as "grouchy, mean old
02:32 men" only furthered the justification for Hickey to play the role.
02:36 However the character instead went to Kirk Douglas, who, per Nancy Cartwright in her
02:40 excellent "My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy" book, was a struggle once in the recording
02:45 studio, refusing to wear the provided headphones and rushing through his lines with two takes
02:50 at most, amongst other issues.
02:52 7. Don Rickles
02:54 Though a renowned comedian in his own right, the incomparable Don Rickles took to acting
02:58 tremendously, perhaps most known for voicing Mr. Potato Head in the beloved children's
03:03 franchise "Toy Story".
03:05 Rickles was reportedly in line for a substantial role in season 4's "New Kid on the Block",
03:09 tentatively scheduled for the episode's subplot that would see him and Homer come
03:13 to blows during one of the former's comedy gigs.
03:16 This it's said in season 4's DVD commentary would have resulted in the pair attending
03:20 court.
03:21 Now Don Rickles ultimately turned the role down, outraged at how he was perceived in
03:25 the episode.
03:26 Don also accused the writing team of illegally recording his gigs in order to have access
03:31 to his material, ready to be implemented into the script to ensure a genuine performance
03:35 from the actor.
03:36 Of course, this wasn't the case.
03:38 These old Rickles' shows had been purchased by the staff as they were actually fans of
03:43 his work at the time.
03:44 So instead, the subplot, still revolving around Homer, saw the Simpson patriarch and Marge
03:49 attending an all-you-can-eat buffet that introduced the recurring sea captain as a character.
03:54 6. Quentin Tarantino
03:55 As will become a persistent theme throughout this list, Quentin Tarantino is one of many
03:59 familiar faces who has technically appeared in The Simpsons without voicing himself.
04:04 And yes, he is an actor by the way, even if the quality of his performances might suggest
04:09 otherwise.
04:10 See, Tarantino was asked to guest star in the 8th season's Simpsons' califragilistic
04:15 expiala Annoyed Grunt, Ocious.
04:17 Though he rejected the offer after finding issues with his proposed dialogue.
04:21 And by the way, I've never actually thought about how you're supposed to pronounce that
04:24 title.
04:25 Like, do you do the "do" or do you just say "Annoyed Grunt"?
04:28 I don't know what's funnier.
04:29 Probably the latter.
04:30 Anyway, the episode was slated to see Tarantino as a guest director on the Itchy & Scratchy
04:34 show, working on an episode entitled "Reservoir Cats", in itself a not-so-subtle nod to
04:39 his 1992 feature film debut, Reservoir Dogs.
04:43 Now the famed director turned the opportunity down, but Mack Rowling wasn't one to take
04:47 no for an answer, so still included the character of Quentin Tarantino.
04:51 Even though they couldn't get Quentin Tarantino.
04:53 5. Clint Eastwood
04:55 Similarly to fellow Hollywood buff Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood has technically
04:59 appeared on The Simpsons, but again, he didn't voice himself.
05:02 The skit in question from Season 9's All Singing, All Dancing featured the supposed
05:07 Eastwood starring as an outlaw in Western musical Paint Your Wagon, which saw him confronted
05:12 by an unnamed man in a village, who informed Clint that his wagon was "sorry looking".
05:17 Eastwood then states that it could do with a coat of paint, before bursting into a big
05:20 song and dance, hence the episode's name.
05:23 Now as far as the actual Clint Eastwood is concerned, he was offered and subsequently
05:27 rejected the role of Dr. Wolf, Lisa's sadistic dentist in Season 4's Last Exit Springfield.
05:34 The role went through a number of possible voice artists, as Anthony Hopkins also turned
05:39 down the offer following Eastwood's unexpected rejection.
05:42 It eventually went to series regular Hank Azaria, who replaced the iconic psycho star
05:46 Anthony Perkins, after the 6-year-old tragically passed away prior to recording.
05:51 4. Sheldon Leonard
05:52 Guest appearances on The Simpsons don't always guarantee a recurring role, but it
05:57 does happen on occasion.
05:58 Notable occurrences include Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel, Phil Hartman as both Lionel
06:03 Hutz and Troy McClure, and Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony.
06:06 The Simpsons' writers almost had a different idea in mind for the latter of those though,
06:10 having reportedly tried (and failed) to obtain the illustrious Sheldon Leonard for the role
06:15 of Springfield's mob boss.
06:16 Now Sheldon was renowned for playing heavy gangster characters, with his thick New York
06:21 accent making him a convincing choice for any such role, Fat Tony included.
06:26 Season 3's Bart the Murderer featured the first appearance of the mob gangster, which
06:29 sees Bart hired to bartend for the Springfield Mafia at their demand.
06:33 It's unknown as to why Sheldon Leonard was unable to appear in the role, though he passed
06:37 away just a few years after the character's first appearance at 89 years old.
06:42 3. Bruce Willis
06:43 Seemingly adamant against The Simpsons as a concept, Bruce Willis was approached on
06:48 two known occasions for a guest appearance, both of which were ultimately refuted.
06:52 The first saw him, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger requested to star in
06:57 Season 5's 10th episode, a spot they had allegedly agreed to so long as their restaurant
07:02 brand Planet Hollywood was worked into the script.
07:05 This it seems was executed by the writers, written as the subplot for Springfield or
07:09 How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling.
07:13 Ultimately though, the trio were unable to recall their lines, and their appearances
07:16 and associated plot were dropped as a result.
07:19 A few seasons later, Bruce Willis was again requested by the writers, this time for Season
07:24 9's When You Dish Upon a Star.
07:25 He, alongside then-wife Demi Moore, was the second choice to play a celebrity couple in
07:30 the episode, replaced by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the final product.
07:34 Reportedly, numerous other big names were considered for this turbulent role, including
07:38 Bruce Springsteen, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
07:43 Speaking of…
07:44 2. Tom Cruise
07:45 The Simpsons' staff shouldn't take it too personally that Tom Cruise has never lent
07:49 his voice to their show.
07:50 After all, Cruise has yet to sign up for a voiceover role in his career, preferring to
07:55 stick to live-action pieces.
07:57 Regardless though, twice has Tom Cruise been approached by Matt Groening's team with
08:01 a role in mind for him, and twice he has refused their offers.
08:05 The first of these came in the aforementioned 10th season episode, When You Dish Upon a
08:08 Star.
08:09 As mentioned, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were ultimately chosen to play the celebrity
08:13 couple in the episode, but Tom Cruise and his then-wife Nicole Kidman were approached
08:17 before them, following Bruce Willis and Demi Moore turning the show down.
08:21 More notable however was The Simpsons' first attempt at landing the actor.
08:24 The writers had hoped for Cruise to appear in season 4's Brother From The Same Planet,
08:29 and would have seen him play Bart's mentor, purposefully also named Tom.
08:33 Once the Mission Impossible star rejected their plans though, the role went to Phil
08:36 Hartman.
08:37 Despite the lack of Tom Cruise in the episode, the character itself was of course heavily
08:42 influenced on Tom Cruise's role in the Top Gun franchise, being an F-14 pilot in the
08:47 US Navy, and of course riding a motorcycle.
08:50 1.
08:51 OJ Simpson
08:52 As revealed in 2018 by showrunner Al Jean, OJ Simpson was being eyed up for a potential
08:56 appearance on The Simpsons in 1993.
08:59 Jean wrote via Twitter on the 11th of March 2018 that it was ironic of Fox to air the
09:04 2006 OJ Simpson The Last Confession special, 25 years to the day that the Simpsons episode
09:11 that he was penned for, that being season 4's classic Last Exit to Springfield, originally
09:15 premiered.
09:16 And that's because he was set to star as the smartline panelist before Dr. Joyce Brothers
09:20 was selected upon Simpson turning down the gig.
09:23 And of course, OJ Simpson himself soon after was tried for the murder of his ex-wife and
09:27 her friend in 1994.
09:30 Needless to say then, OJ's acting career was all but finished by the mid-90s.
09:34 So that's our list!
09:35 Want to know what you guys think?
09:36 Down in the comments below.
09:37 Are there any other actors who nearly starred on The Simpsons that I missed off?
09:41 Let me know and while you're down there if you could please give us a like, share,
09:44 subscribe and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single
09:47 day.
09:48 Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching and I'll see