- 04/07/2025
Those famous faces who simply didn't fancy a trip to Springfield.
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00:00Few things in life go hand in hand as much as The Simpsons does with guest stars.
00:04A quick scan through the official list of guest stars reveals an absolute almanac of famous
00:09faces, from actors to musicians to sports personalities.
00:13But it might surprise you to learn that not everyone was eager to get their name on the
00:17list.
00:18I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 actors who turned down voicing characters
00:22on The Simpsons.
00:2310.
00:24William Shatner William Shatner is the purported first ever
00:27guest star to have turned down The Simpsons, so it makes sense to talk about him first.
00:32Now it's unknown which episode specifically the writers had penned Shatner into, though
00:36according to Al Gore it was very early into the show's run, within the first four seasons
00:41presumably, given the comments were made on the fourth season's DVD release.
00:45Taking to social media in December 2020, Shatner directly responded to a fan, questioning why
00:50he had refused to appear on the Matt Groening helmed cartoon, while signing up as a guest
00:55on Futurama.
00:57And quite simply, he didn't know what The Simpsons was.
01:00He said quote, I didn't know what The Simpsons was and I was told Futurama was a sci-fi cartoon.
01:04There you go.
01:05So yeah, while Shatner did appear on that show, The Simpsons just gave up on trying and
01:10had Hank Azaria voice his character instead.
01:139.
01:14Sir Michael Caine One of British cinema's greatest minds, Sir Michael
01:17Caine's exemplary body of work dates back to the 40s.
01:20But a ticket to Springfield was not an offer that he was willing to accept.
01:24Desperately wanted by the writers for the hilarious season 5 episode Homer and Apu,
01:29as detailed by David Merkin on the season's DVD release, the role would have seen the legendary
01:34Dark Knight actor star as Apu's celebrity apprentice.
01:37Once he rejected the offer, the role was rewritten to have James Wood slot in instead.
01:42Why exactly Michael Caine declined the opportunity to star in The Simpsons remains unknown to this
01:47day though.
01:48A caricature of the Englishman appeared in future season 5 episode Burns' air, though
01:52he was voiced by Dan Castellaneda, as Caine, once more, had declined an invitation.
01:578.
01:58William Hickey The circumstances surrounding this one are a tad
02:01tricky to investigate, with so few details being publicly known, but William Hickey is believed
02:07to have been in the running to voice Chester J. Lampwick in season 7's The Day the Violence
02:12Died.
02:13Despite the writer's first choice for the voice, Hickey had to turn the offer down for
02:16reasons currently unknown.
02:18Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, then writers and producers on The Simpsons, believed that
02:22William Hickey would have been perfect for the role, his harsh, raspy voice being the
02:26style that they were aiming for.
02:28And that he was famed for portraying what had been described as grouchy, mean old men,
02:33only furthered the justification for Hickey to play the role.
02:36However, the character instead went to Kirk Douglas, who, per Nancy Cartwright in her excellent
02:41my life as a ten year old boy book, was a struggle once in the recording studio, refusing to wear
02:46the provided headphones and rushing through his lines with two takes at most, amongst
02:51other issues.
02:527.
02:53Don Rickles Though a renowned comedian in his own right,
02:56the incomparable Don Rickles took to acting tremendously, perhaps most known for voicing
03:01Mr. Potato Head in the beloved children's franchise Toy Story.
03:05Rickles was reportedly in line for his substantial role in Season 4's New Kid on the Block, tentatively
03:10scheduled for the episode's subplot that would see him and Homer come to blows during
03:14one of the former's comedy gigs.
03:15This, it's said in Season 4's DVD commentary, would have resulted in the pair attending
03:20court.
03:21Now, Don Rickles ultimately turned the role down, outraged at how he was perceived in
03:25the episode.
03:26Don also accused the writing team of illegally recording his gigs in order to have access
03:31to his material, ready to be implemented into the script to ensure a genuine performance
03:36from the actor.
03:37Of course, this wasn't the case, copies of Rickles' shows had been purchased by the staff
03:42as they were actually fans of his work at the time.
03:44So instead, the subplot, still revolving around Homer, saw the Simpson patriarch and Marge
03:49attending an all-you-can-e buffet that introduced the recurring sea captain as a character.
03:546.
03:55Quentin Tarantino As will become a persistent theme throughout
03:57this list, Quentin Tarantino is one of many familiar faces who has technically appeared
04:02in The Simpsons without voicing himself.
04:05And yes, he is an actor by the way, even if the quality of his performances might suggest
04:09otherwise.
04:10See, Tarantino was asked to guest star in the 8th season's Simpsons' califragilistic
04:15expialer annoyed grunt, Oshus, though he rejected the offer after finding issues with
04:20his proposed dialogue.
04:30Anyway, the episode was slated to see Tarantino as a guest director on the Itchy & Scratchy
04:34Show, working on an episode entitled Reservoir Cats.
04:37In itself, a not-so-subtle nod to his 1992 feature film debut, Reservoir Dogs.
04:43Now the famed director turned the opportunity down, but Matt Groening wasn't one to take
04:47no for an answer, so still included the character of Quentin Tarantino, even though they couldn't
04:52get Quentin Tarantino.
04:535.
04:54Clint Eastwood Similarly to fellow Hollywood buff Quentin Tarantino,
04:58Clint Eastwood has technically appeared on The Simpsons, but again, he didn't voice
05:02himself.
05:03The skit in question from season 9's All Singing All Dancing featured the supposed Eastwood
05:08starring as an outlaw in western musical Paint Your Wagon, which saw him confronted by
05:12an unnamed man in a village who informed Clint that his wagon was sorry-looking.
05:17Clint Eastwood then states that it could do with a coat of paint before bursting into
05:20a big song and dance, hence the episode's name.
05:23Now as far as the actual Clint Eastwood is concerned, however, he was offered and subsequently
05:27rejected the role of Dr. Wolf, Lisa's sadistic dentist in season 4's Last Exit Springfield.
05:34The role went through a number of possible voice artists as Anthony Hopkins also turned down
05:39the offer following Eastwood's unexpected rejection.
05:42It eventually went to series regular Hank Azaria who replaced the iconic Psycho star Anthony
05:47Perkins after the six-year-old tragically passed away prior to recording.
05:514.
05:52Sheldon Leonard Guest appearances on The Simpsons don't always
05:55guarantee a recurring role, but it does happen on occasion.
05:59Notable occurrences include Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel, Phil Hartman as both Lionel
06:03Hutts and Troy McClure, and Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony.
06:06The Simpsons' writers almost had a different idea in mind for the latter of those though,
06:10having reportedly tried and failed to obtain the illustrious Sheldon Leonard for the role
06:15of Springfield's mob boss.
06:16Now Sheldon was renowned for playing heavy gangster characters, with his thick New York
06:21accent making him a convincing choice for any such role, Fat Tony included.
06:26Season 3's Bart the Murderer featured the first appearance of the mob gangster, which
06:30sees Bart hired to bartend for the Springfield Mafia at their demand.
06:34It's unknown as to why Sheldon Leonard was unable to appear in the role, though he passed
06:38away just a few years after the character's first appearance at 89 years old.
06:423.
06:43Bruce Willis Seemingly adamant against The Simpsons as a
06:46concept, Bruce Willis was approached on two known occasions for a guest appearance, both
06:50of which were ultimately refuted.
06:52The first saw him, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger requested to star in Season
06:575's 10th episode, a spot they had allegedly agreed to so long as their restaurant brand,
07:03Hollywood was worked into the script.
07:05This, it seems, was executed by the writers, written as the subplot for Springfield or How
07:10I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling.
07:12Ultimately though, the trio were unable to record their lines and their appearances and
07:16associated plot were dropped as a result.
07:19A few seasons later, Bruce Willis was again requested by the writers, this time for Season
07:249's When You Dish Upon A Star.
07:26He, alongside then wife Demi Moore, was the second choice to play a celebrity couple in the episode.
07:31Replaced by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the final product.
07:34Reportedly, numerous of the big names were considered for this turbulent role, including
07:38Bruce Springsteen, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
07:43Speaking of, number 2, Tom Cruise.
07:45The Simpsons as staff shouldn't take it too personally that Tom Cruise has never lent his
07:49voice to their show.
07:51After all, Cruise is yet to sign up for a voiceover role in his career, preferring to stick to
07:55live action pieces.
07:57Regardless though, twice has Tom Cruise been approached by Matt Groening's team with a
08:01role in mind for him, and twice he has refused their offers.
08:05The first of these came in the aforementioned 10th season episode, When You Dish Upon A Star.
08:09As mentioned, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were ultimately chosen to play the celebrity
08:13couple in the episode, but Tom Cruise and his then wife, Nicole Kidman, were approached
08:17before them, following Bruce Willis and Demi Moore turning the show down.
08:21More notable, however, was The Simpsons' first attempt at landing the actor.
08:24The writers had hoped for Cruise to appear in season 4's Brother From The Same Planet,
08:29and would have seen him play Bart's mentor, purposefully also named Tom.
08:33Once the Mission Impossible star rejected their plans though, the role went to Phil Hartman.
08:38Despite the lack of Tom Cruise in the episode, the character itself was of course heavily influenced
08:43on Tom Cruise's role in the Top Gun franchise, being an F-14 pilot in the US Navy and of course
08:49riding a motorcycle.
08:49Number 1.
08:50OJ Simpson
08:51As revealed in 2018 by showrunner Al Jean, OJ Simpson was being eyed up for a potential
08:57appearance on The Simpsons in 1993.
08:59Jean wrote via Twitter on the 11th of March 2018 that it was ironic of Fox to air the 2006
09:05OJ Simpson The Last Confession Special, 25 years to the day that the Simpsons episode that
09:11he was pinned for, that being season 4's classic Last Exit to Springfield, originally premiered.
09:16And that's because he was set to star as the Smartline panelist before Dr. Joyce Brothers
09:20was selected upon Simpson turning down the gig.
09:23And of course, OJ Simpson himself soon after was tried for the murder of his ex-wife and
09:27her friend in 1994.
09:29Needless to say then, OJ's acting career was all but finished by the mid-90s.
09:33So that's our list.
09:34I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
09:37Are there any other actors who nearly starred on The Simpsons that I missed off here?
09:41Let me know and while you're down there, if you could, please give us a like, share, subscribe
09:44and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single day.
09:48Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you
09:50soon.
09:51Hey, sorry.
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