Top 10 Longest-Running Voice Acting Performances in Animation

#10: Dan Castellaneta

Homer Simpson has been a globally adored character since “The Simpsons” first premiered in 1989. Since then, Homer’s been voiced by Dan Castellaneta and no one else for almost 4 straight decades. He doesn’t only voice the loveable Simpson father, but he also plays Abe Simpson, Krusty the Clown, and a plethora of other characters. Castellaneta isn’t the only voice actor to stick with the show this long; the whole family has stuck around. This means that for most of them, they’ve spent more than half of their lives doing voices for “The Simpsons.”

#9: Masako Nozawa

In 1986, the anime for “Dragon Ball” was first released, featuring an adorable young version of Son Goku. Masako Nozawa landed the role and has been the voice of the character for over 4 decades now. She’s easily one of Japan’s most famous and celebrated voice actors. She was the first of her trade to be granted a Person of Cultural Merit by Japan’s government, but that’s barely scratching the surface of her achievements. For instance, she won two Guinness World Records in 2017, first for the longest time voicing a video game character, and another for the longest video game voice acting career.

#8: Tony Anselmo

Since 1985, Disney’s popular character Donald Duck has been brought to life by Ton Anselmo. He was only 20 when he first joined Disney in 1980, but he began as an animator. Anselmo worked on a variety of their greatest productions, and along the way, he became close to Clarence Nash, the original Donald Duck. Nash mentored him, and then, when he sadly died in 1985, Anselmo took the role. If you want to know the secret to pulling off Donald’s unique voice, you’ll have to become Anselmo’s protégé, as it’s a closely guarded secret.

#7: Peter Cullen

The Transformers toy franchise was launched in 1984 and has now become a staple of children’s toy collections. That same year, an animated series was launched, which ran for 4 seasons in total. Peter Cullen was cast as the lead character, Optimus Prime. After the show’s conclusion and a movie, Cullen wouldn’t return to voice Prime until the 2007 reboot. They must have been so impressed by his original performance that they couldn’t give it to anyone else. For his enemy Megatron, they instead cast Hugo Weaving rather than the original actor, Frank Welker. That didn’t remain the case for long, as Welker reprised the role in later movies.

#6: Jim Cummings

Our next star is massive not just for his Disney characters, but also for his Warner Bros. ones. Specifically, we’re talking about the Tasmanian Devil, Tigger, and most famously, Winnie the Pooh. The adorable bear was created by A. A. Milne in 1924, but he was licensed by Disney in the 60s and then came to cinema screens. At first, he was played by Sterling Holloway, then briefly by Hal Smith, until finally Jim Cummings took over in 1988. Since then, he’s been the definitive voice of Pooh, and has worked on almost all Pooh adaptations in the past 4 decades.

#5: Clarence Nash

We’ve talked about Tony Anselmo already, who does a terrific job at voicing Donald Duck, but we have to give even more credit to Clarence Nash, the original Donald. Nash held the role for 51 years, first taking up the mantle in 1934. He spent the rest of his life voicing Donald, and only stopped when he tragically died. Fascinatingly, he didn’t even audition for the role at first. He instead tried to become a casting director, but after doing a billy goat impression of his, they loved it so much he landed the role.

#4: Mel Blanc

Also known as “The Man of the Thousand Voices”, it’s no surprise Blanc is one of history’s most influential voice actors. The Looney Tunes first rose to prominence during the 1930s, then quickly became loved across the planet. A major factor in their success was the incredible talent of voice actor Mel Blanc. He voiced a bunch of the primary Looney Tunes, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Blanc spent roughly half a century giving his voice to these characters, but sadly died in 1989, just one year after reprising his roles for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

#3: Frank Welker

Welker’s films have earned a total of over 17 billion dollars globally, making him one of the most successful voice actors in history. We’ve already mentioned he voices Megatron in “Transformers,” but did you know he’s also played the cuddly Garfield since 2007? His most famous character is probably Fred Jones from “Scooby-Doo”, whom he’s played since 1969. Not only this, but he’s also played the titular dog since 2002. He might be in his 80s, but that hasn’t slowed his career down at all; he still appears in a variety of shows, movies, and video games.

#2: June Foray

According to animator Chuck Jones, “Mel Blanc was the male June Foray.” Her career began in 1929, but she first went into radio rather than voice-overs. That changed in the 40s and 50s, when she pivoted into becoming a Disney staple. One of the roles she kept the longest was Granny from “Looney Tunes,” which she voiced for 58 years in total. Other iconic characters of Foray’s include Rocky the Flying Squirrel, the sinister Lucifer from “Cinderella,” and Cindy Lou Who from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Foray ended up living to the grand age of 99, but she was too passionate about her artistry for old age to stop her, and kept voice acting well into the 2010s.

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

Mark Hamill & Kevin Conroy

This Pair Have Been the Defining Voices of the Batman & Joker Since 1992

Tom Kenny

It Feels Impossible to Imagine Anyone Other Than Tom Kenny as SpongeBob

Mayumi Tanaka

Tanaka Probably Didn’t Expect to Be Voicing Monkey D. Luffy for More Than Half of Her Life

Seth MacFarlane

MacFarlane Has Played Peter, Stewie & Brian Griffin Since 1999

Trey Parker & Matt Stone

This Pair Have Voiced Most of “South Park” for Roughly 3 Decades

#1: Midori Katō

Our top spot was an easy choice, as Katō holds the world record for how long she’s voiced one animated character. Since 1969, she’s voiced the main character Sazae Fuguta in “Sazae-san.” That means she’s voiced the character for almost 60 years, a mindblowing feat. While June Foray technically played Granny for longer, it wasn’t continuously like Katō. It’s doubtful anyone will claim the record anytime soon, especially since “Sazae-san” also holds the record for being the longest-running animated TV series. We also have to praise Katō for her talents, as she’s currently in her 80s, but you wouldn’t be able to guess from Sazae’s voice alone.

Did any of your favorite voice actors make it onto our list, or was there anyone else we missed who you think deserved a mention? Let us know in the comments below!