10 Amazingly Talented Black Voice Actors
#RunTheCulture
Black voice actors are helping bring The Culture to world of animation. From black superheroes like Black Panther and the Green Lantern, to lthe Boondock’s Freeman bothers and video game’s own God of War, check out 10 amazingly talented black voice actors bringing your favorite characters to life.
CREE SUMMER
Cree became famous as Freddy from A Different World but has transitioned into the undisputed Queen of black voice actresses. Check the numbers: Cree has voiced over 350 characters for television, film, video games, and commercials. She was the voice of Penny in the classic kid’s cartoon Inspector Gadget and is also the voice of Susie Carmicheal in the iconic Rugrats series. Other classic cartoons she’s done voice work for include Pinky and The Brain, Drawn Together, Gargoyles, Animaniacs, Duck Tales, Captain Planet, and way too many more to list here.
DORIAN HAREWOOD
Dorian Harewood is another versatile film and television actor who has also lended his unique voice to the world of animation. He’s played the Marvel hero War Machine and the DC comics stall-worth Martian Manhunter for starters. And he’s also voiced Shredder the lead nemesis of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Overall, Dorian has appeared on over 30 animated TV shows and films. He’s also done video game work including being part of the legendary Metal Gear franchise.
ESTELLE
The Grammy nominated singer Estelle has picked up a side hustle in the voice acting. She has garnered much attention and praise for voicing Garnet and Spoon on the popular Steven Universe series. The character of Garnet is one of the most popular and beloved female characters in current cartoons and Estelle provides both the character’s speaking voice and singing vocals (of course). She also voices Estellar on the show We Bare Bears and sings the show’s theme song.
JALEEL WHITE
Most famous for his role as Steve Urkel on the #CultureClassic Family Matters, White has also used his unique voice to portray one of pop culture’s biggest characters. He was the voice of video game character turned animated hero Sonic the Hedgehog and in the 90’s. White has also voiced multiple characters in the cult classic animated series the Regular Show.
KHARY PAYTON
Payton is a mainstay in the DC animated TV universe. He is the voice of Cyborg on both Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!. Payton has also voiced Aqualad and Black Manta in Young Justice. His energy and comedic timing bring the lighter and more entertaining sides of usual stoic and serious superheroes.
KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON
Richardson has been using his trademark deep voice to bring the menacing, the stoic, and the villainous to life sine the 1990’s. Most famously he played The Joker on The cartoon Network’s The Batman animated series which he garnered two daytime Emmy nominations for. Some of his other iconic roles include The Shredder in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Panthro in the 2011 version of the Thundercats. And on the lighter side, he voiced Cleveland Jr. on The Cleveland Show. He’s also worked on over 60 video games include the Kingdom Hearts series and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
KEITH DAVID
Keith David is the owner of one of the most famous baritone voices in all of entertainment. So it is no surprise his voiceover catalog is as deep and iconic as it comes. Some of his biggest roles include voicing the Arbiter in the Halo franchise and David Anderson in the Mass Effect franchise. In animation, he’s in Aladdin, Adventure Time, and The Princess and the Frog as well as voicing Goliath in Gargoyles and Spawn himself on TV and in video games.
PHIL LaMARR
Lamar started out in improv and was an original cast member on MAD TV. But voice acting will be his true legacy. LaMarr has voiced characters in many of THE classic animated shows of the past 20 years. Two of those being the legendary lead characters Samurai Jack and Static Shock. LaMarr has also voiced the black Green Lantern, John Stewart in the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited animated series, Hermes Conrad in Futurama, Gerald’s older brother, Jamie O’Johanssen in Hey Arnold among many, many others.
REGINA KING
The Oscar-winning actress has starred in many #CultureClassic films but don’t sleep on her amazing contribution to animation. King is the voice of both Huey and Riley Freeman on Boondocks. Playing two f the most popular and important black animated characters in all of The Culture alone gets King on the list.
T.C. CARSON
Carson is famous for his role as Kyle Barker in the hit ’90s TV show Living Single. And after that role he became a major player in the voice-acting game. He has appeared in over 40 shows and games including playing Mace Windu in several animated Star Wars shows, voicing characters in the Afro Samurai anime and DC animated films. He might be most famous for his video game work as he was the original voice of Kratos from one of the Play Station brand’s most popular series ever, the God of War franchise.
We hope you enjoyed our list of black voice actors! Make sure to check out some of our other list:
- The Best Hip-Hop Biographies To Read
- How To Monetize Your Creative Side
- Best Blerd Podcast To Listen To
Written by @TalentedMrFord