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Billy West and Maurice LaMarche are two of the most well-known voice actors in the business, thanks in no small part to their work together on Futurama, where they collectively voiced Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Richard Nixon's Head, Kif Kroker, Calculon, The Donbot, Clamps, Hedonismbot, and many other characters — but, as they revealed during the Futurama Reunion panel at MCM x EGX 2024, there’s one voice actor they both consider the best in the biz.

“Oh my God, Tress McNeille. We all look up to her. It doesn’t matter — male, female — she is, to me, the most versatile voice actor in the entirety of the voiceover business,” raved LaMarche to moderator Veronica Valencia. “How many actors do you know that do five gravelly-voiced ladies on two different highly-rated shows, and there’s separation and distinctiveness to each of them? I mean, the Crazy Cat Lady doesn’t sound like Skinner’s mom, who doesn’t sound like mom in our show, who doesn’t sound like Hattie in Bender and Fry’s building, who doesn’t sound like Petunia, the, you know, aged woman of loose morals. They’re all Tress.”

“Tress can pick up on the innocence of a character, or the brashness,” agreed West.

“She’s an amazing actor. It’s not just about voices, ‘case all of those five gravelly-voiced ladies I mentioned have, as I said, the same voice print. But the fact that she can play them from the inside and give you a soul for each of them is what makes her a great actor. When people ask, you know, ‘Do you have any tips for voice acting? I want to get into voice acting,’ I always say, become a good actor first. It’s small-V, big-A. A voice actor.”

Popverse members can watch the full panel right here.

Catch up with all out MCM/EGX 2024 coverage here.