Name a voice more instantly recognizable than George Takei’s. I’ll wait. Okay, I won’t wait, because you could hit me with Morgan Freeman, Dame Judi Dench, James Earl Jones, or Gilbert Gottfried, to name a few. No matter how you slice it, though, George Takei deserves a spot on any list of iconic voices, and today I’m listing five of his best voiceover cameos.
As we’ll soon discover—and as I’m sure any Takei fan already knows—the man’s voice can bring something special to any type of character, genre, or dramatic situation. On this list alone, which is a small sampling of the prolific actor’s work, we’ll get humor, villainy, and more!
Prison Rig Warden, Avatar: The Last Airbender
In my head, I always confuse this warden with the Boiling Rock prison leader. Then I rewatch the episode (“Imprisoned”) and do a double take when I hear Takei’s blissfully villainous baritone sailing over the persecuted earthbenders, trapped aboard the metal cage where they’ve been imprisoned by the Fire Nation.
Takei’s melodic delivery gives the warden an odd, off-putting, but memorable air, establishing the man as a powerful presence within his small portion of the ATLA world. His confidence becomes his downfall, however. After Katara summons heaps of coal and encourages the despondent earthbenders to revolt, Takei’s nameless warden is so sure that their spirits have been broken that he mocks their hopelessness…only for Tyro and Haru to strike up a rebellion just as he sneeringly turns his back. His hubris brings him down in the end, and Takei brings stunning depth to a character who could have been a throwaway.
Bonus: George Takei has been cast in Netflix’s ATLA adaptation as Koh the face-stealing spirit. We’ll see how that goes…
Ricardio, Adventure Time
On paper, Ricardio could be just another one-off monster of the week for the Adventure Time crew. In his first appearance in “Ricardio the Heart Guy,” though, the plot centers on Finn and Jake investigating whether he’s a nice guy cursed to look suspicious or a villain passing as a nice dude. The result is another nuanced take on a silly character idea, a literal heart that’s been brought to life, complete with mysterious desires and motives.
Even the little grunts Takei mutters while Ricardio struggles and withers on the ground inform the way we feel about the character. He’s a product of the Ice King’s latest spell gone awry, and his goals are nefarious, but his existence rests on a flimsy foundation of stray magic. It’s somewhat tragic that Ricardio was never meant to be in the first place. Somehow, through the magic of those booming tones, Takei packs all this into a mere minutes-long performance.
“Kevin” Voicemail, Community
Now we shift into the realm of straight-up comedy. This clip may be less than 10 seconds long, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind when I hear George Takei’s name.
The tongue-in-cheek Community bit plays on the familiar narrative trope in which a disembodied narrator’s voice puts a neat little bow on the end of a complicated story (in this case, a Halloween party besieged by zombie outbreak caused by old military “rations” used as taco meat). What better way to wrap up a half hour of reference-packed absurdity and meta moments than with Takei launching into a bonus voicemail recording for anyone named Kevin? It’s campy. It’s smart, but very silly. It’s everything Community embodied in its heyday, and Takei’s willingness to join the fun makes for one of the high points in one of the show’s best episodes.
Positive Reinforcement Machine: Phineas & Ferb
Phineas & Ferb lovingly subverts its usual formula in episode 149 (“Perry The Actorpus”) with the introduction of the Positive Reinforcement Machine, a doohickey which rewards older sister Candace for shirking her deeply ingrained instinct to constantly snoop on and try to bust her younger brothers.
Takei’s delivery as the voice of the machine is perfect, encouraging Candace’s choices with a joyful and goofy “Oh, who’s a good girl!? You are the good girl, yes you are!”
It’s the only line the machine utters in the entire episode, but it earns a big, well-earned laugh. Plus, it showcases Takei’s ability to breathe life into a single moment without the benefit of lots of screen time.
Self: Futurama
Alright, Trekkies, this one’s for you! Here’s where I admit that I haven’t seen any iteration of Star Trek, and I’m a bit hesitant to ask where I should start—I’m sure it’s as hotly debated as Cosmere reading orders, if not more. Still, if you have suggestions, I’m all ears!
The above clip, another short and sweet Takei cameo, is from Bender’s Game; Takei also voices himself (or, usually, his disembodied head) in four episodes of Futurama as well. I don’t have much to say about the joke beyond its face-level value, which to me is always good for a quick chuckle—the bit lands even for a non-Trekkie, and I can read between the lines enough to appreciate how it might resonate for longtime fans of the franchise.
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OH MY, that was fun! Any Takei cameos I didn’t mention here that are worth a look? Let me know in the comments!
Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. For the most part, you can find those words at The Quill To Live or on Twitter @ColeRush1. He voraciously reads epic fantasy and science-fiction, seeking out stories of gargantuan proportions and devouring them with a bookwormish fervor. His favorite books are: The Divine Cities Series by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.
