19 Amazing Simpsons Characters Voiced By Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria is a master of voices. His list of incredible Simpsons characters shows just how much range he has. Not only are so many of the voices completely distinct, but his delivery is always perfect. Whether it's major characters like Chief Wiggum or memorable one-offs like Frank Grimes, they are always hilarious. Even the ones he no longer voices, like Apu and Carl. Here is a list of some of Azaria's best characters on The Simpsons.
Chief Wiggum
The hapless chief of the Springfield Police Department, Clancy Wiggum, is one the dumbest people in Springfield, which makes him one of the best characters. His subtleness is one of the most underrated parts of his character and Azaria nails his lines every time.
Duffman
Duffman may not be one of the main characters (or even one of the main side characters) on The Simpsons, but he's surprisingly well-developed for such a minor character who mostly just has short scenes doing more or less the same thing - promoting Duff Beer.
Carl Carlson
Two of Homer Simpson's best are Lenny and Carl. The two are rarely seen apart, though they don't always seem like they are happy to be around together. Carl was originally voiced by Harry Shearer on the show, but after Season 1, Hank Azaria took over and voiced him for the next 30 seasons, when Alex Désert took over playing the Black character.
Superintendent Gary Chalmers
At times, Superintendent Gary Chalmers seems like the only competent person working in the entire Springfield school system. He is constantly angry, which is completely understandable. Azaria's angry, often shouting voice is great, but it's when he is more subtle with the voice that the character's best humor occurs.
Moe Szyslak
Bartender Moe Szyslak was the first voice Hank Azaria performed on the show, and Moe has been one of the show's most enduring characters. His gruff voice matches Moe's surly attitude, which has been honed by decades of serving the same drunks and idiots at Moe's Bar since the beginning. He's one of the characters who consistently makes us laugh.
Comic Book Guy
The Comic Book Guy (whose real name is Jeff Albertson) represents all the pedantic fans (which, let's be honest, is most of us). His wry, weary voice captures everything hardcore nerd-culture stans are, right? He was actually way of his time, as he was mocking pop culture as far back as Season 2, one of the most popular Simpsons characters who didn't appear in the first season.
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Disco Stu
Disco Stu doesn't advertise. Pretty much all Disco Stu does is drop hilarious one-liners from time to time on the show. He perfectly encapsulates why so many minor characters have become so beloved over the years. He's a one-joke guy (mostly) and the joke works every time.
Professor Frink
Over the years, the Jerry Lewis-inspired Professor Frink has grown into a bigger and bigger character. According to lore, he was originally intended to be more an evil, mad scientist, but Hank Azaria's voice immediately made more of a clown and the show is better for it,
Kirk Van Houten
Poor Kirk Van Houten. Not a lot goes right for Milhouse's "weekend dad." After Luann divorced him, he just couldn't catch a break (or borrow a feeling). Azaria's ability to voice the depressed former factory worker and still make him likable is what makes the character so enduring and popular, rather than just annoying
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Owner of the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, was one of the most popular and biggest side characters on The Simpson. That all changed in Season 29 when Hank Azaria stepped away from voicing the Indian character with respect to the character's ethnicity (which Azaria does not share). While you have to respect and understand why the actor decided not to continue voicing Apu, he is a missed character.
Lenny Leonard
Carl and Lenny are inseparable, so it makes sense that Hank Azaria (originally) voiced both of Homer's co-workers. Azaria has since handed off Carl to an African-American voice actor, but he's stuck with Lenny with that high-pitched squeaky voice that always makes us chuckle.
Frank Grimes
Aside from Kirk Van Houten, the saddest character on The Simpsons may be poor Frank Grimes. He lives under a bowling alley, he works too hard, he never gets lobster for dinner, and he tragically dies trying to imitate Homer's stupidity. Though he's really only been in one episode (aside from a couple of mentions and brief scenes in two other episodes), Azaria does such a great job with the character, he's completely unforgettable,
Very Tall Man
The Very Tall Man (or Ian) was first introduced in one of the best Simpsons episodes if you're new to the show, "22 Short Films About Springfield." He's made sporadic appearances since, but that first appearance, palming Nelson's head like a basketball and picking him up for mocking his car and height, is one of the most famous scenes in the show.
Lou
Office Lou, whose last name has never been given, is sometimes the perfect representative of the hapless Springfield police force, and at other times is the most competent on the force, was voiced for 31 seasons by Hank Azaria until he retired the Black officer's voice after Season 31.
Bumblebee Man
Bumblebee Manmany is one of the handful of characters that Hank Azaria has stopped voicing in recent seasons of The Simpsons out of respect for the character's ethnicity that Azaria doesn't share. The character still appears in the show, now voiced by Eric Lopez. Though nothing has been lost in the switch and there is no doubt it's more appropriate for an actor of Latin descent to voice the Mexican TV character on the Spanish-language channel in Springfield, Azaria will always be remembered for defining who the character is.
Arthur Crandall And Gabbo
Audiences first met the ventriloquist/dummy team of Arthur Crandall and Gabbo in "Krusty Gets Kancelled". The two are partly responsible for knocking the famous clown's show off the air. Both are voiced by Hank Azaria and although they remain pretty minor characters, they have continued to appear here and there over the years.
Cletus Spuckler
Cletus Spuckler, the slack-jawed yokel, started more or less as a one-off joke in the classic Season 5 episode "Bart Gets An Elephant," but over the years, he's become one of the most beloved side characters on the show.
Santa's Little Helper
Yep, even the pets are voiced by the cast of The Simpsons. Most of the time the family dog Santa's Little Helper is voiced by another actor, Dan Castellaneta. However in one lone episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXV" in Season 26, the job fell to Azaria to give the dog a voice.
Drederick Tatum
Drederick Tatum is one of the most random characters on The Simpsons who has made semi-regular appearances on the show. The character is a parody of Mike Tyson and is the heavyweight boxing champ in Springfield. Hank Azaria first voiced the character in Season 2, and like his other African-American characters stepped away from voicing Tatum after Season 31. For SNL alum member Jay Pharaoh has voiced him since,
Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.