List of Family Guy cast members
![A man with black short hair and a black shirt, with tan skin, laughs into a microphone while leaning forward.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Seth_MacFarlane_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/225px-Seth_MacFarlane_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that features five main voice actors, and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars. The principal voice cast consists of show creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis (who replaced Lacey Chabert after the first season) and Mike Henry. Recurring voice actors include Patrick Warburton, Adam West, John G. Brennan, Nicole Sullivan and Jennifer Tilly, and repeat guest stars include Phyllis Diller, Charles Durning, Rush Limbaugh, and Phil LaMarr.
Many cast members provide voices for multiple characters. The voice actors, in portraying the various character personalities on the show, draw inspiration from celebrities and pop culture. Family Guy characters have been played by more than one actor, after members of the show left the series or had conflicting obligations.
Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Meg Griffin in the season 5 episode "Barely Legal" and MacFarlane has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production, though no other cast member has won an award for their work on the series.
Current cast
![A young man with red hair and stubble](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Seth_Green.jpg/150px-Seth_Green.jpg)
![A man with close-shaven hair, and a slight beard, looks to his left, with his body turned.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Mike_Henry_at_NYTVF.jpg/150px-Mike_Henry_at_NYTVF.jpg)
![A woman with her hair tied back, poses while wearing a white dress that slightly exposes her breasts.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Mila_Kunis_2008.jpg/150px-Mila_Kunis_2008.jpg)
![A woman with black hair tied back smiles while sitting behind a microphone.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Alex_Borstein_by_Gage_Skidmore_3.jpg/150px-Alex_Borstein_by_Gage_Skidmore_3.jpg)
![A closeup of a man with his head looking forward, smiling and wearing a backwards baseball cap.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Patrick_Warburton_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/150px-Patrick_Warburton_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
From seasons 1 to 4, Family Guy had four main cast members. Since season 5, there have been five main cast members. The casting of Meg Griffin changed after season 1.
Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane voices four of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire.[1] MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he had already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.[2] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.[3] Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison,[4] especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady.[5] MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian.[2]
MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, most prominently those of news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr. Hartman.[6] He is the only voice to be in every episode.[citation needed]
Alex Borstein
Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt.[7] Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen".[8] At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redhead mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.[7][8] The voice was originally slower (and deeper for the original series), but when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less fucking annoying...and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours".[7]
Seth Green
Seth Green primarily plays Chris and Neil Goldman.[6][9] Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.[10] His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's.[11]
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis is the voice of the character named Meg Griffin.[6] Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.[12] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.[12] Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat." She further explained, "Meg gets picked on a lot. But it's funny. It's like the middle child. She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not. She's just in perpetual mode of humiliation. And it's fun."[13]
Recurring cast
Recurring cast members include Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, Adam West as the character Mayor Adam West, Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson and Johnny Brennan as Mort Goldman
Actor | Character | |
---|---|---|
Adam West[14] | Adam West | |
Nicole Sullivan[15] | Muriel Goldman | |
Jennifer Tilly[16] | Bonnie Swanson | |
Patrick Warburton[17] | Joe Swanson | |
Johnny Brennan | Mort Goldman, Horace | |
Mike Henry | Cleveland Brown | |
John Viener | Miscellaneous characters |
Recurring guest voices
The recurring guest voices include Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death, Lori Alan as Diane Simmons, Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams, Carrie Fisher as Angela, Charles Durning as Francis Griffin, Drew Barrymore as Jillian and Butch Hartman as several characters.
Actor | Character(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|
Phyllis Diller | Thelma Griffin[18] | Voiced Thelma in three episodes: "Mother Tucker", "Padre de Familia" and "Peter's Two Dads" |
Charles Durning | Francis Griffin[19] | Guest starred as Francis Griffin |
Phil LaMarr | Ollie Williams[20] | Guest starred as a reporter for 27 episodes during the series |
Adam Carolla | Death[21] | Replaced Norm Macdonald, has appeared as Death since 2000 |
Danny Smith | Evil Monkey, Ernie the Giant Chicken[22] | Voice of Ernie the Giant Chicken, among other characters. He also voiced Al Harrington, the Wacky Inflatable Arms-Flailing Tube Man salesman. In commentaries, he has stated that he recorded the fast-talking segments in one or two takes without any form of audio editing. |
Lisa Wilhoit | Connie D'Amico[23] | Guest starred in many episodes as a popular school girl, from the beginning of the series. |
Butch Hartman | Various | Hartman has appeared in many minor roles.[24] |
Drew Barrymore | Jillian Russell[25] | Barrymore provided the voice of Jillian in eight episodes, five of which were in season five. |
Carrie Fisher | Angela[26] | Fisher was featured in eleven episodes, beginning with the season four episode, "Jungle Love". |
Candace Marie | Beth[27] | Marie provided the voice of Miley Cyrus in the episode "Hannah Banana" and was offered a recurring role as Meg's friend Beth. |
Tara Strong | Various[28] | Janet, Eliza Pinchley, Cindi, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Maria Jimenez. She was Meg Griffin's singing voice for performances of "Gonna Buy Me a Rainbow" in "Don't Make Me Over". Strong also voiced the African American boy in the Ball in a Cup advertisement in "The Fat Guy Strangler". |
Alex Breckenridge | Various | Breckenridge has appeared in many episodes since 2005.[29] |
Casting changes
Chabert voiced Meg for the first production season (14 episodes), but, because of a contractual agreement, was never credited.[27] Chabert left the series due to time constraints with her acting role in Party of Five, as well as schoolwork.[30] Norm Macdonald voiced the character of Death in an episode of Family Guy.
Carlos Alazraqui voiced Mr. Weed (the head of the "Happy Go Lucky" toy factory).
Actor | Character(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|
Lacey Chabert | Meg Griffin | Voiced Meg in the first season[31] |
Norm Macdonald | Death | Replaced by Adam Carolla after one episode |
Fairuza Balk | Connie D'Amico | Voiced Connie in the second season |
Carlos Alazraqui[32] | Mr. Weed | Voiced Mr. Weed until the third season, when the character died[33] |
Lori Alan | Diane Simmons[34] | She voiced Diane Simmons until season nine, when the character was killed off |
Awards and nominations
Year | Actor | Award | Category | Role | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Seth MacFarlane | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | Stewie Griffin | Won | [35] |
2009 | Seth MacFarlane | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | Peter Griffin | Nominated | [36] |
2006 | Seth MacFarlane | Annie Award | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | Stewie Griffin | Won | [37] |
2007 | Mila Kunis | Annie Award | Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | Meg Griffin | Nominated | [38] |
References
- Notes
- ^ Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. E7.
- ^ a b Cruz, Gilbert (September 26, 2008). "Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane". TIME. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Andy (April 30, 2005). "A Real Family Reunion". Providence Journal TV. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
- ^ Dean, John (November 1, 2008). "Seth MacFarlane's $2 Billion Family Guy Empire". Fox Business. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ Franklin, Nancy (January 16, 2006). "American Idiots". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b c "Family Guy Cast and Details". TV Guide. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ a b c Miller, Kirk (November 19, 2008). "Q&A: Alex Borstein". Metromix. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
- ^ a b "Alex Borstein (Lois) Laughs at the Once-Dead Family Guy's Longevity". TV Guide. November 13, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Graham, Jefferson (April 9, 1999). "Seth Green fits right in with new Family". USA Today.
- ^ "Fans help 'Family Guy' return to Fox". Observer-Reporter. April 29, 2005. p. E5.
- ^ Green, Seth (September 27, 2005). Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: Audio Commentary (DVD).
- ^ a b "Family Guy – Casting Mila Kunis". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ De Leon, Kris (September 25, 2007). "Mila Kunis Talks About Working on Family Guy and Her Upcoming Movie". BuddyTV. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ^ "Adam West Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Nicole Sullivan:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Patrick Warburton:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Phyllis Diller: Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ "Charles During:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Phil LeMarr:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Adam Carolla:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Danny Smith:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Lisa Wilhoit:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "Butch Hartman:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ Callaghan, Steve (2006). Family Guy season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Whistle While Your Wife Works" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Carrie Fisher:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
- ^ a b House, M.L (November 11, 2009). "Exclusive interview with new Family Guy star Candace Marie". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2009-11-15. Cite error: The named reference "interview" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ IMDB (May 25, 2012). "Tara Strong IMDB page with Family Guy credits". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
- ^ Woodfin, Josh (May 27, 2009). "Family Guy's Alex Breckenridge laid bare". FHM. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "Sonic the Horndog". Gamespy. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ "Lacey Chabert: Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ Steve Callaghan (writer) (2001-09-05). "Mr. Saturday Knight". Family Guy. Season 3. Episode 9. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Carlos Alazraqui: Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ "Lori Alan:Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Brian Lowry (2000-08-28). "NBC Leads Tally of Early Emmys, Boosted by 'West Wing'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
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(help) - ^ "Annie Award Winners". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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timestamp mismatch; 2007-07-01 suggested (help) - ^ "34th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2006)". Annie Awards. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-05.