Hank Azaria Fears Shocking Changes Are Coming to Show

The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria fears that artificial intelligence will soon take his job, ending a career of over 35 years on the beloved Fox animated show in which he’s voiced over 100 characters.

In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Azaria, who is known for voicing characters such as bartender Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Bumblebee Man, Comic Book Guy, and formerly Kwik-E Mart operator Apu, said the thought of AI mimicking his iconic voices “makes him sad to think about.”

“I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to recreate the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons over almost four decades,” he wrote. “It makes me sad to think about it. Not to mention, it seems just plain wrong to steal my likeness or sound — or anyone else’s.”

The Brockmire star added, “In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender. He’s appeared in just about every episode of The Simpsons. He’s been terrified, in love, hit in the head and, most often, in a state of bitter hatred. I’ve laughed as Moe in dozens of ways by now. I’ve probably sighed as Moe 100 times. In terms of training AI, that’s a lot to work with.”

Azaria has been a part of The Simpsons cast since the show debuted in 1989 and has voiced more than 100 characters. In addition to the more notable ones mentioned above, Azaria also voices Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Snake Jailbird, Kirk Van Houten, Disco Stu, Superintendent Chalmers, Duffman, and many more.

However, while AI can teach itself how to mimic voices, the Ray Donovan alum revealed there is more to voice acting than just sound, noting how “our bodies and souls” also play a huge role, as well as improvisation.

“I’d like to think that no matter how much an AI version of Moe or Snake or Chief Wiggum will sound like my voice, something will still be missing — the humanness,” he stated. “There’s so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice. How can the computer conjure all that?”

“What will the lack of humanness sound like? How big will the difference be?” he continued. “I honestly don’t know, but I think it will be enough, at least in the near term, that we’ll notice something is off, in the same way that we notice something’s amiss in a subpar film or TV show.”

“It adds up to a sense that what we’re watching isn’t real, and you don’t need to pay attention to it,” the Hello Tomorrow actor concluded. “Believability is earned through craftsmanship, with good storytelling and good performances, good cinematography and good directing and a good script and good music.”

In addition to The Simpsons, Azaria has voiced characters on many other animated shows, including Futurama, Family Guy, Bordertown, Mack & Moxy, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and more.

The Simpsons, Sundays, 8/7 c, Fox