Celebrity Voiceover Sound-alikes
- Ian Russell
- Aug 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 22
Celebrity impersonations in sound, looks, or style are a sought-after entity in the entertainment business.
Voice matching, celebrity voice touchstones, celebrity soundalikes, and celebrity impersonations are all titles that casters use to describe wanting a famous sound without hiring the actual celebrity.
Well-known voices are often used as the go-to for casting in movies, animation, and video games. Many projects are created on the spec of who can be cast in the top roles. Who is cast can affect production values, so sound-alikes are used to be more cost-effective and help meet tight deadlines.
Sometimes A-listers are cast in roles, and once the project is finished, there are pickups or script changes. If the celebrity is unavailable, a sound-alike is often used in this way.
Impersonating Famous Voices
Generally speaking, many impersonators may not get permission or a license to imitate a famous voice. However, there are exceptions to the rule, depending on the depth of the impersonation, the personal gain involved, and what it is used for. If you are booking a sound match through SAG-Aftra or your agent, proper permission is likely to have been obtained.
Some celebrities even seem to enjoy other celebrities mimicing them in the limelight, with the case of Jim Carrey's and Bill Hader's many impersonations. Colin Cassidy is known for his incredible impersonation of Morgan Freeman. It is unknown whether he has an informal or formal agreement with Mr. Freeman. Tom Hank's brother, Jim, is also know to impersonate him while his son Chet does parodies of his Dad.
AI Voices
There has been a lot of controversy about AI companies cloning well-known individuals' voices without their consent. Scarlett Johansson and David Attenborough are just a few celebrities who have publicly had their voices cloned without their permission.
Stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Mr. Beast have licensed their voices to Speechify, possibly realizing that for them, it is better to formally join the AI voice revolution than to fight it. The estates of legendary actors like Burt Reynolds, Judy Garland, James Dean, and Sir Laurence Olivier have partnered with ElevenLabs to create AI-generated voices for a reading app.
Veritone, Resemble.ai, and Meta have been touting the ability to digitally clone many famous voices, which can then be licensed for use in various content, offering a way for them to monetize their voice without needing to be present in a recording studio.
Celebrity Sound Alike Success
It is quite common to use celebrity voice references in auditions for gaming and commercial reads. Often, it is a sound signature that casters are looking for. This is where the cadence or inflection is similar to a well-known voice but is not a perfect sound match. This creates a familiarity to the role for audiences, without infringing on the personal rights of the celebrity.