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10 Actors Who Turned Down Voicing Characters On The Simpsons
WhatCulture
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3 days ago
Those famous faces who simply didn't fancy a trip to Springfield.
Category
📺
TV
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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 famous
00:09
faces, from actors to musicians to sports personalities.
00:13
But it might surprise you to learn that not everyone was eager to get their name on the
00:17
list.
00:18
I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 actors who turned down voicing characters
00:22
on The Simpsons.
00:23
10.
00:24
William Shatner William Shatner is the purported first ever
00:27
guest star to have turned down The Simpsons, so it makes sense to talk about him first.
00:32
Now it's unknown which episode specifically the writers had penned Shatner into, though
00:36
according to Al Gore it was very early into the show's run, within the first four seasons
00:41
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.
00:57
And quite simply, he didn't know what The Simpsons was.
01:00
He said quote, I didn't know what The Simpsons was and I was told Futurama was a 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 and
01:10
had Hank Azaria voice his character instead.
01:13
9.
01:14
Sir Michael Caine One of British cinema's greatest minds, Sir Michael
01:17
Caine's exemplary body of work dates back to the 40s.
01:20
But a ticket to Springfield was not an offer that he was willing to accept.
01:24
Desperately wanted by the writers for the hilarious season 5 episode Homer and Apu,
01:29
as detailed by David Merkin on the season's DVD release, the role would have seen the legendary
01:34
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.
01:42
Why exactly Michael Caine declined the opportunity to star in The Simpsons remains unknown to this
01:47
day though.
01:48
A caricature of the Englishman appeared in future season 5 episode Burns' air, though
01:52
he was voiced by Dan Castellaneda, as Caine, once more, had declined an invitation.
01:57
8.
01:58
William Hickey The circumstances surrounding this one are a tad
02:01
tricky to investigate, with so few details being publicly known, but William Hickey is believed
02:07
to have been in the running to voice Chester J. Lampwick in season 7's The Day the Violence
02:12
Died.
02:13
Despite the writer's first choice for the voice, Hickey had to turn the offer down for
02:16
reasons currently unknown.
02:18
Bill Oakley 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 that they were aiming for.
02:28
And that he was famed for portraying what had been described as grouchy, mean old men,
02:33
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 excellent
02:41
my life as a ten year old boy book, was a struggle once in the recording studio, refusing to wear
02:46
the provided headphones and rushing through his lines with two takes at most, amongst
02:51
other issues.
02:52
7.
02:53
Don Rickles Though a renowned comedian in his own right,
02:56
the incomparable Don Rickles took to acting tremendously, perhaps most known for voicing
03:01
Mr. Potato Head in the beloved children's franchise Toy Story.
03:05
Rickles was reportedly in line for his substantial role in Season 4's New Kid on the Block, tentatively
03:10
scheduled for the episode's subplot that would see him and Homer come to blows during
03:14
one of the former's comedy gigs.
03:15
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
03:36
from the actor.
03:37
Of course, this wasn't the case, copies of Rickles' shows had been purchased by the staff
03:42
as they were actually fans of 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-e buffet that introduced the recurring sea captain as a character.
03:54
6.
03:55
Quentin Tarantino As will become a persistent theme throughout
03:57
this list, Quentin Tarantino is one of many familiar faces who has technically appeared
04:02
in The Simpsons without voicing himself.
04:05
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
expialer annoyed grunt, Oshus, though he rejected the offer after finding issues with
04:20
his proposed dialogue.
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.
04:37
In itself, a not-so-subtle nod to his 1992 feature film debut, Reservoir Dogs.
04:43
Now the famed director turned the opportunity down, but Matt Groening wasn't one to take
04:47
no for an answer, so still included the character of Quentin Tarantino, even though they couldn't
04:52
get Quentin Tarantino.
04:53
5.
04:54
Clint Eastwood Similarly to fellow Hollywood buff Quentin Tarantino,
04:58
Clint Eastwood has technically appeared on The Simpsons, but again, he didn't voice
05:02
himself.
05:03
The skit in question from season 9's All Singing All Dancing featured the supposed Eastwood
05:08
starring as an outlaw in western musical Paint Your Wagon, which saw him confronted by
05:12
an unnamed man in a village who informed Clint that his wagon was sorry-looking.
05:17
Clint Eastwood then states that it could do with a coat of paint before bursting into
05:20
a big song and dance, hence the episode's name.
05:23
Now as far as the actual Clint Eastwood is concerned, however, 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 down
05:39
the offer following Eastwood's unexpected rejection.
05:42
It eventually went to series regular Hank Azaria who replaced the iconic Psycho star Anthony
05:47
Perkins after the six-year-old tragically passed away prior to recording.
05:51
4.
05:52
Sheldon Leonard Guest appearances on The Simpsons don't always
05:55
guarantee a recurring role, but it does happen on occasion.
05:59
Notable occurrences include Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel, Phil Hartman as both Lionel
06:03
Hutts 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
06:30
sees Bart hired to bartend for the Springfield Mafia at their demand.
06:34
It's unknown as to why Sheldon Leonard was unable to appear in the role, though he passed
06:38
away just a few years after the character's first appearance at 89 years old.
06:42
3.
06:43
Bruce Willis Seemingly adamant against The Simpsons as a
06:46
concept, Bruce Willis was approached on two known occasions for a guest appearance, both
06:50
of which were ultimately refuted.
06:52
The first saw him, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger requested to star in Season
06:57
5's 10th episode, a spot they had allegedly agreed to so long as their restaurant brand,
07:03
Hollywood was worked into the script.
07:05
This, it seems, was executed by the writers, written as the subplot for Springfield or How
07:10
I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling.
07:12
Ultimately though, the trio were unable to record their lines and their appearances and
07:16
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.
07:26
He, alongside then wife Demi Moore, was the second choice to play a celebrity couple in the episode.
07:31
Replaced by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the final product.
07:34
Reportedly, numerous of the 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, number 2, Tom Cruise.
07:45
The Simpsons as staff shouldn't take it too personally that Tom Cruise has never lent his
07:49
voice to their show.
07:51
After all, Cruise is yet to sign up for a voiceover role in his career, preferring to stick to
07:55
live action pieces.
07:57
Regardless though, twice has Tom Cruise been approached by Matt Groening's team with a
08:01
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 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 Hartman.
08:38
Despite the lack of Tom Cruise in the episode, the character itself was of course heavily influenced
08:43
on Tom Cruise's role in the Top Gun franchise, being an F-14 pilot in the US Navy and of course
08:49
riding a motorcycle.
08:49
Number 1.
08:50
OJ Simpson
08:51
As revealed in 2018 by showrunner Al Jean, OJ Simpson was being eyed up for a potential
08:57
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 2006
09:05
OJ Simpson The Last Confession Special, 25 years to the day that the Simpsons episode that
09:11
he was pinned for, that being season 4's classic Last Exit to Springfield, originally 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.
09:29
Needless to say then, OJ's acting career was all but finished by the mid-90s.
09:33
So that's our list.
09:34
I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
09:37
Are there any other actors who nearly starred on The Simpsons that I missed off here?
09:41
Let me know and while you're down there, if you could, please give us a like, share, subscribe
09:44
and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single day.
09:48
Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you
09:50
soon.
09:51
Hey, sorry.
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