The voices behind our favorite characters don’t get nearly as much recognition as they deserve. Breathing a life into an animated or non-human character is a challenging job that not everyone is talented enough to do. Take Vin Diesel as an example; Groot is a character who has the same repetitive line throughout the whole Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and yet, he has become a fan favorite. What’s more, Diesel’s voice talent lend Groot a fully-realized personality.
While animated films do have their own separate category at the Oscars, and while non-animated films that employ voice acting performances have been recognized in some form or another (like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), the Academy needs to create a voice acting category solely for vocal-oriented performances. It’s just as challenging to perform a role using only one’s voice as it is to be physically onscreen. Here are eight voice acting performances that prove it and are, indeed, Oscar-worthy.
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8 Scarlett Johansson as Samantha (Her)
Annapurna Pictures
Spike Jonze’s screenwriting debut with Her surprised the majority of the audience with its unique storyline. The skepticism grew mostly because of its premise: a man falling in love with an A.I. personal assistant? But the great performances of Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore and Scarlett Johansson’s captivating voice as Samantha, did actually make it work and have secured some major awards for the movie. Sadly, Johansson wasn’t one of the recipients, despite being on almost everyone’s radar for awards contention that year.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Andy Serkis as Gollum (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
New Line Cinema
We’re not saying that Andy Serkis totally deserved to receive an Oscar for his industry-changing performance of Gollum, no — we’re screaming it at the top of our lungs because it is baffling how his groundbreaking work in the Lord of the Rings franchise, particularly in The Return of the King, went largely unrecognized. Serkis is certainly the actor of actors when it comes to doing voice performance — just listen to him reading The Hobbit! It’s amazing enough that Peter Jackson was the first one in the film industry to properly use motion capture and key frame animation to create Gollum; Serkis simply just breathed life into the creation, and he did an astonishing job.
6 Eddie Murphy as Donkey (Shrek)
It’s safe to say that Eddie Murphy was born to give a voice to Shrek’s Donkey. The Shrek franchise has recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its release and yet, Murphy’s voice stays timeless as ever. The actor was the quickest pick for the role by the then CEO of DreamWorks Animation, a long time friend of his. We can all agree that Murphy has one of the best expressive voices in Hollywood, and he continues to prove it.
5 Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel (Coco)
Coco is one of the most beautifully animated movies by Pixar to this day. From the heartbreaking yet heartwarming plot line, to the songs and the good-natured characters, everything worked perfectly enough for it to become a global blockbuster. The writing is so precise in its earnestness and yet, what truly gives it life, is the voice acting performance of Anthony Gonzalez in the role of the main character Miguel.
4 Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star is expanding her horizons by taking up many distinctive roles that force her to experiment with her voice. In fact, many get surprised to hear the actress’ real higher-pitched voice after getting used to her solemn one in the Fox’s police-themed TV series. But Beatriz is here to prove that she has one of the widest ranges of today’s actresses through her role as Mirabel in Encanto. It’s hard to remember that Rosa Diaz and Mirabel are voiced by the same actress and that alone proves Beatriz’s spectacular talent.
3 Teri Hatcher as Mel Jones (Coraline)
Focus Features
Neil Gaiman’s sinister story is here to remind you that not every animated film is geared towards small children. It tells the story of a small girl named Coraline who finds out there’s an idealized version of her miserable life that she gets to experience. But, the idealized world holds some dark secrets. Teri Hatcher is the one who truly shapes the movie with her voice acting performance as the Nice and the Evil mothers. Her voice of the Other Evil mother terrifies even the strongest of us. You can clearly hear something menacing hiding underneath, and Hatcher performs it perfectly.
2 Tom Hanks as Woody (Toy Story)
Walt Disney Pictures
After watching Tom Hanks yelling at a dog in Turner & Hooch back in 1989, the producers knew they found the perfect Woody. What better way to cast the Toy Story voice actors, right? Hanks is widely known for making us cry with his acting performances, from Forrest Gump to Green Mile to Cast Away and many more; Toy Story is no different. Woody’s loyalty and righteousness speaks fluently through Hanks’ voice. And when his voice isn’t around to do the job, his brother Jim jumps in to voice the beloved character in numerous shorts, video games and movie spin-offs.
1 Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)
It’s crazy to think that when giving his voice to the character of Jefferson Davis in 2018, Henry had only been in his breakthrough period for two years. In terms of design and personality, Jefferson has to be one of our favorite animated dads ever created. His deep and soothing voice perfectly suits the role of a father and a police offer who does things by the book in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. All it takes is to watch a compilation of Jefferson’s quotes in the movie, and you’ll immediately get a sense of comfort.
