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Futurama's Zapp Branigan and Kif (or the men behind their voices, at least) pay tribute to the "most versatile voice actor in the entirety of the voiceover business"

Billy West and Maurice LeMarche told the London audience about their love for Tress McNeille, who's behind some of your Simpsons and Futurama favorites

News by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Mon Oct 28 2024

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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.

About MCM / EGX

MCM is back at ExCeL London this Halloween Weekend – and this time we’re teaming up with EGX for the UK’s biggest pop culture weekend all under one roof and one ticket.

Dates

Oct 25 - Oct 27

Location

ExCel London
England

Visit the event page

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.