Top 10 Actors Who Transformed Their Voices for Iconic Roles

Welcome to MsMojo, and today were counting down our picks for the unforgettable roles that saw movie stars changing their entire sound.

#10: Bill Skarsgård

Nosferatu (2024)

Bringing this silent masterpiece back to theaters had director Robert Eggers and actor Bill Skarsgård pulling out all the stops. The director told the actor that he wanted Transylvanian bloodsucker Count Orlok to have the deepest voice he could muster without digital effects. To achieve this, Skarsgård trained with an opera singer. The process saw him activating bass notes that he didnt even think possible. He was even doing Mongolian throat singing to keep his voice low and sonorous. When he speaks in character, his voice is guttural, with exaggerated rolled rs and resonance that only legit vocal training can generate.

#9: Mercedes McCambridge

The Exorcist (1973)

One of the most memorable performances in the 1973 blockbuster horror classic is given by an actress who never even appears on screen. Academy Award winner Mercedes McCambridge provided the voice of the demon-possessed little girl in The Exorcist. According to director William Friedkin, she achieved the demons voice through some unconventional means. McCambridge drank raw eggs and smoked for hours. She even broke her sobriety to swill whiskey to make her voice worn-out and creepy enough. The crew actually tied her to a chair so her voice could reflect the tension of being restrained. McCambridges one request was that her priest should be there with her.

#8: Meryl Streep

The Iron Lady (2011)

Hearing the three-time Oscar winner wearing a different accent is not really new. Meryl Streep can slip into another accent like a pair of comfortable shoes. But with her performance as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, she also taps into more heaviness and gravitas. Theres a harshness to her tone in the role that is unlike many of the parts shes played before. Not only does she have to play Thatcher at the peak of her powers, but she also plays her as an older woman, with a voice weighed down by age, fatigue, and illness.

#7: Lupita Nyongo

Us (2019)

Starring as a woman whose family is terrorized by murderous doppelgangers from below the surface, Lupita Nyongo has to find ways to differentiate the two characters she plays. The voice is key, and adopting an American accent is only half the work. To play Red, her malnourished and neglected Tether, Nyongo studied a condition known as spasmodic dysphonia. As a character who has suffered trauma to the throat, its not far outside the realm of possibility that she could have it. The actresss research into the condition gave her a realistic example to work from. The effect is chilling, but also very authentic.

#6: Johnny Depp

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

The mid-2000s update of Roald Dahls story was a bit more whimsical than the 1971 Gene Wilder version. Johnny Depps take on Willy Wonka was way less angry but somehow even creepier. His characterization has him dropping his normally deep and soulful voice and finding something a little more unsettling. As the eccentric chocolatier, he goes for a light and airy sound, with lots of upward inflection and even a few gleeful squeaks. Depp took inspiration from the forced joy and upbeat personality of a childrens television host. It turns the character into a funhouse version of Mr. Rogers or Captain Kangaroo.

#5: Mia Goth

X franchise (2022-24)

Dual roles are not exactly unheard of, but English actress Mia Goth has to swing wildly between two very different characters. As adult film ingénue Maxine, she employs a high southern twang that often goes shrill. As the elderly Pearl, Goth taps into an entirely different sound. Pearl is a decrepit creation. Everything about her is weathered. That includes her voice, which is heavy with age, disappointment, and eventually deep rage and bitterness. But the real kicker is Mia Goths true voice. You dont really know how crazy her vocal work in the X trilogy is until you hear her speak for real.

#4: Austin Butler

Elvis (2022)

Talk about committing to a role. Fans couldnt help but notice that Austin Butlers speaking voice was notably higher in his younger days. Part of that is age, but a lot of it has to do with his Oscar-nominated role in Elvis. Butlers vocal change outlasted his time on camera. Presleys southern drawl is only one component. The lower pitch of the singers voice was especially important, and Butler nailed it. He lived and breathed the role, even having to perfect his singing voice for the movie, which uses a mix of Butlers own vocals and the original Elvis Presley tracks.

#3: Jim Carrey

Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Embodying Dr. Seusss infamous, Christmas-hating anti-hero took several hours of suffocating makeup every day. Producers actually arranged for Jim Carrey to receive training in enduring torture to cope with it. But whats just as impressive is the vocal embodiment the Grinch required. Carrey imbues the misanthropic creature with a braying, mush-mouthed voice and hard-to-place accent that feels perfectly measured. Instead of skewing villainous, he constantly sounds like a petulant buffoon. Carreys Grinch becomes believably terrifying, but he also sounds too funny to take seriously as a real threat. It is a childrens movie after all.

#2: Robin Williams

Popeye (1980)

We heard him go to the top of his vocal range as Mrs. Doubtfire, but the famously versatile funny man probably had an even bigger challenge in Popeye. It may not be Robin Williams most famous performance, but his take on Popeye the Sailor Man is almost uncanny. Notable for his acidic, gruff vocalizations, the character is iconic, but it cant be easy to put on the voice for hours at a time. Williams manages to completely change his timbre to play the muscle-bound sailor. The cough drop budget on this movie must have been out of control.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie (1982)

Playing Dual Roles, the Actor Shifted His Voice to Portray His Female Alter Ego

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Three-Time Oscar Winner Taps into Something Deeper & Darker as a Vicious Oil Tycoon

Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn (2011)

She Doesnt Just Have to Master Monroes Screen Voice, but Her Real One As Well

Hugh Jackman, X-Men franchise (2000-)

The Wolverine Actors Singing Voice Was Actually Damaged by His Characters Growling

Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump (1994)

Hanks Modeled His Voice After the Boy Cast as the Younger Version of His Character

#1: Heath Ledger

The Dark Knight (2008)

Christian Bale later said he had to deepen his voice for the superhero character of Batman because it was the only way he could believe himself in the role. But its the vocal transformation behind his most formidable supervillain thats the real shocker. Heath Ledgers Joker is chaos incarnate. He is full of tics and dangerous energy, but its his eerily raspy, forced manner of speaking that really sells you on the Jokers volatility. Considering Ledgers usual buttery vocal pitch, it was a huge change to his style. Its one of many reasons were still talking about the performance after all these years.

What actors vocal transformation impressed you the most? Tell us in the comments.