Billy West
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Ha! "Billy West"? What a stupid, phoney, made-up name.
—Philip J. Fry, Futurama
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Put this guy in a room, give him a script and a mike and you can do a complete show with 20+ individual voices.
In Futurama alone, he is Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth [1], Zapp Brannigan, Nixon and half of any background/supporting characters you see, and Zoidberg. The role of Zapp Brannigan was originally intended for Phil Hartman but after Hartman's death, Billy West stepped in and did an amazingly good impersonation of Phil Hartman in full-on smug mode.
...and all of this after he first came to public attention as the voice of both Ren and Stimpy after John Kricfalusi (the original voice of Ren) was fired. He (along with Joe Alaskey) has become one of few voice actors who can impersonate Mel Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and other characters from the Looney Tunes. He's also the Red M&M.
Also, even before he was known for animation voicing, West worked in radio, and was actually a cast member of The Howard Stern Show from 1989-1995.
West is an outspoken critic of Celebrity Voice Actors.
He also suffers from depression and had an abusive alcoholic for a father.
Not to be confused with the guy from The Adventures of Bayou Billy.
His brother Mike voiced Fox McCloud in Star Fox 64 (but not in its 3DS remake).
In a 2019 interview with Gilbert Gottfried, West revealed his autism diagnosis.
- ↑ Good news, everyone! You're now reading this article in his voice!