For over 25 years, the voice actors of “Futurama” have brought characters to life from behind the scenes, their identities often obscured by their animated roles. While some have ventured into live-action, their voices have become iconic to fans. To connect the dots between these familiar voices and their animated personas, we’ve spotlighted the eight actors who have appeared in the most episodes of “Futurama” alongside their animated counterparts.

Billy West stands out as a titan in the field of voice acting. Before “Futurama,” he showcased his talents in “The Ren & Stimpy Show” and “Space Jam.” In “Futurama,” West’s versatility shines through characters like Phillip J. Fry, the hapless delivery driver accidentally frozen for a millennium, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Fry’s eccentric scientific relative, and Dr. Zoidberg, the hilariously inept Decapodian doctor. Outside of “Futurama,” West continues to lend his voice to projects like “Avenging Justice,” “Big City Greens,” and Groening’s own “Disenchantment.” Although he primarily works behind the microphone, fans might catch glimpses of him at conventions or through his rare television and podcast appearances. Notably, as a part-time musician, West performed live with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys on “Late Night with David Letterman” in the 1990s, as noted on his website.

In 2023, DiMaggio’s return to “Futurama” was uncertain due to a contract dispute over pay. Fans rallied under the hashtag #Bendergate, advocating for better compensation for the cast. DiMaggio, emphasizing the importance of negotiations in show business, reassured fans in a 2022 post to X that “Bender is part of my soul & nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family.” Ultimately, an agreement was reached with Disney, allowing DiMaggio to return, ensuring Bender’s iconic raspy voice remains a staple of the series.

In recent years, when not busy voicing his many major and minor “Futurama” characters including Richard Nixon’s head, West has found time to voice on “Avenging Justice,” “Big City Greens,” and Matt Groening’s “Disenchantment.” To see him in the flesh usually requires attending a convention or catching him in a rare television or podcast appearance as himself. According to West’s website, the part-time musician also played live with Beach Boy Brian Wilson on a 1990s episode of “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Fry may be the show’s protagonist, but the heart of “Futurama” is Bending Unit 22, better known as Bender Bending Rodriguez, the foul-mouthed misanthropic robot voiced by John DiMaggio. The New Jersey native’s voice has graced countless animated movies and shows such as “Adventure Time,” “Batman: Under the Red Hood,” “Zootopia,” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to name a few. Additionally, DiMaggio is one of “Futurama’s” busier live-action actors; you may have spotted him on recent episodes of “Blue Bloods” or “Mythic Quest.” 

Due to a pay dispute, DiMaggio initially wasn’t set to return to “Futurama” in 2023. But fans rallied to make sure the series wasn’t without its garbage can shaped soul. Encouraged by DiMaggio, fans used the hashtag #Bendergate and lobbied for better pay for the entire cast with a 2022 post to X reading, “Negotiations are a natural part of working in show business. Everyone has a different strategy and different boundaries … Bender is part of my soul & nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family.” DiMaggio and Disney ultimately came to terms in time for the new season, and Bender retained his signature raspy tone.

Katey Sagal was already well-known thanks to her acclaimed performance as Peg Bundy on “Married… With Children.” Two years after that series ended, Sagal voiced Turanga Leela, the one-eyed captain of the Planet Express who consistently proves herself the most capable and dependable crew member. Sagal has appeared in 169 episodes of “Futurama” to date, and over that time Fry’s romantic obsession with her character evolved into an actual relationship. Since the show’s premiere, she has also starred on “8 Simple Rules,” “Sons of Anarchy,” and “The Conners.” Outside of “Futurama,” Sagal’s only other recurring voice role was as minor character Flo Spinelli from the Disney animated series “Recess.”

Sagal’s short stints on “Shameless,” “Dead to Me,” and “Rebel” kept her busy during “Futurama’s” hiatus. During a Q&A at the 2024 FanX comic convention in Salt Lake City, Sagal credited “Futurama” fans for the show’s repeated returns from network abandonment. The actress added that after so many cancellations and rebirths, she and her castmates are no longer bothered by bad news from executives. “It’s funny,” she said. “At this point, we just never believe it, and we’re just sort of waiting and seeing.”

Tress MacNeille has been one of the most accomplished voice performers in the industry. She worked with Matt Groening prior to “Futurama,” having voiced Jimbo Jones, Agnes Skinner, and the Crazy Cat Lady on “The Simpsons” along with countless other minor characters. Coincidentally, MacNeille’s Peggy Bundy in the Season 3 episode “Marge in Chains” shares the name of Katey Sagal’s character in “Married… With Children.” MacNeille has inhabited dozens of “Futurama” characters across her current 167 appearances, most notably Mom, the villainous CEO of MomCorp. She’s also voiced the orphan Tinny Tim, news anchor Linda van Schoonhoven, and the mothers of Fry and Leela. 

MacNeille’s has also voiced Dot Warner in “Animaniacs” and Daisy Duck across various media since 1999’s “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.” Her on-screen appearances are few and far between, with minor credits in “Cheers” and “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.” You’ve more likely seen her being interviewed or an on-stage performance with famed improv group, The Groundlings. In an interview with Nancy Cartwright for Animation World Network, MacNeille said her time with the improv company was a major stepping stone to a prolific voice acting career. There she worked as a casting assistant for agent Bob Lloyd, and said “Working for Bob was The University of Voice-over. I thank him every day.”

Along with his 163 “Futurama” appearances, mainly as Planet Express accountant Hermes Conrad, Phil LaMarr boasts an impressive live-action resume, with credits in “Mad TV,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Step Brothers,” and most memorably, “Pulp Fiction.” But its LaMarr’s voice roles in shows such as “Justice League,” “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends,” and “Static Shock” that made his name. Perhaps his most acclaimed part is that of the titular hero in “Samurai Jack,” having won three Behind the Voice Actors’ Voice Acting awards for the show’s 2017 fifth season, including best voice male lead in a TV series and voice actor of the year. 

When asked by Daily Actor of the key differences between voice and live-action acting, LaMarr answered that voice actors have the luxury of reading their lines instead of memorizing them, but that live-action roles were easier to inhabit. “It means that the size of the character makes a huge difference in how much preparation you have to have and if there are physical elements,” he said. “Here [on “Kaijudo,”], we have fight scenes all the time. I don’t have to stretch.” LaMarr attended Yale University and performed with the Groundlings and Second City improv after graduation.

Across the mid to late ’80s, Lauren Tom first made small appearances on episodes of “The Facts of Life,” “The Cosby Show,” “Sesame Street,” and “Saturday Night Live.” She later appeared in feature films such as “Wall Street” and “Cadillac Man” before her breakout performance as Lena in “The Joy Luck Club.” 

Tom has made 161 voice appearances on “Futurama” as Amy Wong to date, Planet Express’s perky college intern earning her doctorate while working on the ship. Tom also had an eight-episode arc on “Friends” as Julie and voices Kahn, Minh, and Kahn Jr. Souphanousinphone on “King of the Hill.” In 2023 she told Syfy that her experience as a voice actor has been a joy throughout. “I’ve never really met one jerk in my entire career,” she said. “There’s something about the voiceover community that just attracts really down to earth, nice people.” She added that working on animated projects has given her a level of freedom not always possible in live-action. “I’m so grateful for that … being a person of color and of a certain age [64 as of this writing], the best thing in the world about voiceover acting is that I can really play anything and nobody would really know.”

Maurice LaMarche was well-known as the voice of The Brain on “Animaniacs” and “Pinky and the Brain” by the time “Futurama” aired, and since, he has made 159 appearances on the show as various characters. LaMarche is often heard as the voice of Kif Kroker, Morbo, Lrr, and Calculon. His work on the show even won him two outstanding voice actor Primetime Emmy awards in 2011 and 2012. In addition, LaMarche has had numerous roles on both “The Simpsons” and “Rick and Morty,” and voices Mr. Big in “Zootopia” and “Zootopia 2.” Yet, this is another “Futurama” star without many live-action credits.  

However, it’s his Orson Welles-inspired performance as The Brain that remains closest to his heart. In 2023, he explained to ComingSoon.net that the characters of Pinky and The Brain fit into a classic comedy template. “Peter Cook and Dudley Moore nailed it as the uninformed idiot and the informed idiot,” he noted. “While Brain has this really high IQ and understands science like infindibulators and that type of thing, he’s not smart enough to figure out that a two-inch tall lab mouse can’t take over the world. So there’s definitely both genius and insanity there. But the formula, it’s Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton.”

Like Katey Sagal, David Herman is rare amongst “Futurama” actors in that he’s better known for his live-action work. He has made 151 appearances on “Futurama” as dozens characters including the janitor Scruffy, Mayor C. Randall Poopenmeyer, and Dr. Veins McGee. You may have also caught him as a hospital patient in “Born on the Fourth of July” or in one of his 51 appearances on “Mad TV.” Herman is probably most recognizable as disgruntled Initech worker Michael Bolton in the 1999 film “Office Space.”  He also played Nelson in 2000’s “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and the Secretary of State in 2006’s “Idiocracy,” and is credited on over 100 episodes of “Bob’s Burgers” since 2011. 

 In 2024, he described how his approach differs between “Futurama” and “Bob’s Burgers” to ScreenRant. “I do ‘Bob’s Burgers,’” he said. “There’s a lot of off-roading in that. On ‘Futurama,’ the writers come in with really good stuff, and we pretty much stick to it.”