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List of Family Guy cast members

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A man with black short hair and a black shirt, with tan skin, laughs into a microphone while leaning forward.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane also provides the voices of Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire.

Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that features five main voice actors, and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars. The principal voice cast consists of show creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis (who replaced Lacey Chabert after the first season (her last episode is "Holy Crap," now marketed as the second episode of season two)), Seth Green, and Mike Henry; Patrick Warburton and Arif Zahir were later added to the main cast (the former being promoted from recurring cast); Recurring voice actors include Adam West, Sam Elliott, John G. Brennan, Nicole Sullivan and Jennifer Tilly, and repeat guest stars include Phyllis Diller, Charles Durning, Rush Limbaugh, James Woods and Phil LaMarr.

Many cast members provide voices for multiple characters. The voice actors, in portraying the various character personalities on the show, draw inspiration from celebrities and pop culture. Family Guy characters have been played by more than one actor, after members of the show left the series or had conflicting obligations.

Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Meg Griffin in the season 5 episode "Barely Legal" and MacFarlane has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production, though no other cast member has won an award for their work on the series.

Current cast

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A young man with red hair smiling
Seth Green provides the voice of Chris Griffin.
A man with close-shaven hair, and a slight beard, looks to his left, with his body turned.
Mike Henry voices various characters in the series.
A woman with her hair tied back, poses while wearing a white dress that slightly exposes her breasts.
Mila Kunis provides the voice of Meg Griffin.
A woman with black hair tied back smiles while sitting behind a microphone.
Alex Borstein provides the voice of Lois Griffin.
A closeup of a man with his head looking forward, smiling and wearing a backwards baseball cap.
Patrick Warburton provides the voice of Joe Swanson.
A man with light colored hair and sunglasses, looks straight forward, with a shocked look on his face.
The actual Adam West provided the voice of Mayor Adam West.

From seasons 1 to 4, Family Guy had four main cast members. Since season 5, there have been five main cast members. The casting of Meg Griffin changed after season 1.

Seth MacFarlane

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Seth MacFarlane voices four of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire.[1] MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he had already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.[2] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.[3] Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison,[4] especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady.[5] The voice for Glenn Quagmire is based on 1940s and 1950s radio commercials.[6] MacFarlane uses his own voice while portraying Brian.[2]

MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, including news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr. Hartman.[7] He is the only cast member to be in every episode.

Alex Borstein

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Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt.[8] Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen".[9] At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redhead mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.[8][9] The voice was originally slower (and deeper for the original season), but when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less fucking annoying ... and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours."[8]

Seth Green

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Seth Green primarily plays Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman.[7][10] Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.[11] His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's.[12]

Mila Kunis

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Mila Kunis voices Meg Griffin.[7] Kunis won the role after the auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.[13] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.[13] Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat". She further explained, "Meg gets picked on a lot. But it's funny. It's like the middle child. She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not. She's just in a perpetual mode of humiliation. And it's fun."[14]

Mike Henry

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Mike Henry is the voice of Cleveland Brown, John Herbert “The Pervert”, Bruce, Consuela, and various other characters. A Family Guy writer and producer, he began acting on the show as part of the recurring cast repertory (see below) but was promoted to main cast member in 2005. Since the cancellation of The Cleveland Show, he also voices Cleveland's step-son Rallo Tubbs on Family Guy. On June 26, 2020, after twenty years of voicing the character, Mike Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color."[15][16] On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the voice of Cleveland.[17]

Recurring cast

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In addition to both its main cast and guest stars, Family Guy utilizes a deep bench of regularly appearing supporting voice actors. Some appear in nearly every episode each season, while others appear less frequently. Some of these actors specifically play recurring characters, while others mainly play background citizens of Quahog or characters in cutaway gags.

The current supporting cast repertory includes the following actors:

Actor Character(s) No. of episodes
(Out of 349 produced) 		Notes
H. Jon Benjamin Carl 22 Since 2006.
Johnny Brennan Mort Goldman, Horace the bartender 90
Steve Callaghan Various 71 Also the current showrunner and executive producer of Family Guy and former showrunner/EP of American Dad!.[18]
Chris Cox Various 111
Damien Fahey Various 27 Also a Family Guy writer.
Ralph Garman Various 213 Since 2001.
Christine Lakin Joyce Kinney and various others 32 Since 2010.
Phil LaMarr Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman 67
Rachael MacFarlane Olivia Fuller and various women 113 Formerly one of the most frequent female voices. She reduced her number of appearances per season after joining American Dad! in 2005 but still appears several times per season. Seth MacFarlane's sister.
Mark Hentemann Opie and various others 74 Ex-producer. Also a Family Guy writer.
Kevin Michael Richardson Jerome the bartender and Cleveland Jr. 82 Since 1999.
Chris Sheridan Various 44 Also a Family Guy writer.
Danny Smith Various, including Evil Monkey, Al Harrington and Ernie, the Giant Chicken 254 Also a Family Guy writer.
Alec Sulkin Jesus Christ and various others 206 Since 2005. Also a Family Guy writer.
Fred Tatasciore Various 92
Josh Robert Thompson Various 56 Since 2011.
Jennifer Tilly Bonnie Swanson 72 Has recurred as the Griffin's neighbor since the first season.
John Viener Various 276 Since 2005, he has been one of the most frequently heard male voices aside from Seth MacFarlane. Also a Family Guy writer.
Patrick Warburton Joe Swanson 250 Has appeared as the Griffins' neighbor since the first season. Warburton is the most frequently appearing one-character actor in the supporting repertory.
Gary Cole Principal Shepherd and various others 65 Since 2000.


In addition to the above, the following actors were formerly regularly recurring voice actors in the series:

Actor Character(s) No. of episodes Notes
Lori Alan Diane Simmons 63 Left the show in season nine when her character was killed off. Was replaced in the series' context by Christine Lakin's Joyce Kinney
Alexandra Breckenridge Various women 64 2005–2018. Formerly voices most female “extras” not voiced by Alex Borstein, Breckenridge is no longer a various characters on Family Guy, She left the show from 13 years.
Carlos Alazraqui Mr. Weed 10 Peter's first boss, Mr. Weed, was killed off early in the series' run.
Drew Barrymore Jillian Russell 12 Played Jillian, Brian's former girlfriend. The character still appears in background roles.
Butch Hartman Various 8
Mike Henry Cleveland Brown, Herbert, Bruce, Consuela, and various others Was promoted to main cast in 2005. Also a Family Guy writer.
Carrie Fisher Angela 19 Recurring role as Peter's boss since 2005. Died in 2016.
Tara Strong Various, as well as Meg's singing voice 24 2000–2018.
Nicole Sullivan Muriel Goldman and various others 33 2000–2022. Muriel was killed off in season nine (2010).
Lisa Wilhoit Connie D'Amico and various others 21 2000–2020.
Adam West Mayor Adam West 118 Played a warped version of himself as the mayor of Quahog. Died in 2017.
Mae Whitman Various 36 Was a recurring female voice for several seasons between 2008–2019 and again for one episode in 2023.
Wally Wingert Various 43 1999–2017.
Wellesley Wild Various 15 2008–2019. Ex-producer.

Recurring guest voices

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Main article: List of Family Guy guest stars

The recurring guest voices include Norm Macdonald and Adam Carolla as Death, Patrick Stewart as Susie Swanson, Scott Grimes as Kevin Swanson, Sanaa Lathan as Donna Tubbs Brown and Emily Osment as Ruth Cochamer. Previous recurring guests included Phyllis Diller in three episodes as Peter's Mother, Thelma, and Charles Durning as Peter's father, Francis. Both characters have since died, but Durning returned once to play Francis as a ghost. Early in the show's run, Fred Willard and Jane Lynch had a recurring role as a family of nudists and James Woods as himself. In 2020, it was announced that Sam Elliott would take over as Quahog's new mayor, Mayor West's estranged cousin Wyld West.

Casting changes

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  • Lacey Chabert voiced Meg for the first production season (14 episodes), but, because of a contractual agreement, was never credited.[19] Chabert left the series due to time constraints with her acting role in Party of Five, as well as schoolwork.[20]
  • Jon Cryer voiced Kevin Swanson in his first appearance before the role passed to Seth MacFarlane. The character was written out of the series for several years, with Scott Grimes taking over the voice when the character returned.
  • Fairuza Balk was the original voice of high school bully Connie D'Amico until Lisa Wilhoit took over the character from the third to eighteenth seasons.
  • Natasha Melnick was the original voice of Meg Griffin's Friend Ruth Cochamer until Emily Osment took over the character in the eleventh season.
  • Beginning in 2021-onward, Arif Zahir took over voicing Cleveland Brown from Mike Henry.

Awards and nominations

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Year Actor Award Category Role Result Ref.
2000 Seth MacFarlane Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Stewie Griffin Won [21]
2009 Seth MacFarlane Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Peter Griffin Won [22]
2006 Seth MacFarlane Annie Award Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Stewie Griffin Won [23]
2007 Mila Kunis Annie Award Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Meg Griffin Won [24]

See also

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icon Television portal

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. E7.
  2. ^ a b Cruz, Gilbert (September 26, 2008). "Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane". Time. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  3. ^ Smith, Andy (April 30, 2005). "A Real Family Reunion". Providence Journal TV. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  4. ^ Dean, John (November 1, 2008). "Seth MacFarlane's $2 Billion Family Guy Empire". Fox Business. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  5. ^ Franklin, Nancy (January 16, 2006). "American Idiots". The New Yorker.
  6. ^ BBC (30 May 2014). "Seth MacFarlane performs his Family Guy voices - The Graham Norton Show: Series 15 - BBC One". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b c "Family Guy Cast and Details". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c Miller, Kirk (November 19, 2008). "Q&A: Alex Borstein". Metromix. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Alex Borstein (Lois) Laughs at the Once-Dead Family Guy's Longevity". TV Guide. November 13, 2006. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  10. ^ Graham, Jefferson (April 9, 1999). "Seth Green fits right in with new Family". USA Today.
  11. ^ "Fans help 'Family Guy' return to Fox". Observer-Reporter. April 29, 2005. p. E5.
  12. ^ Green, Seth (September 27, 2005). Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: Audio Commentary (DVD).
  13. ^ a b Family Guy – Casting Mila Kunis. The Paley Center for Media. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  14. ^ De Leon, Kris (September 25, 2007). "Mila Kunis Talks About Working on Family Guy and Her Upcoming Movie". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  15. ^ Haring, Bruce (June 26, 2020). "'Family Guy' Voice Actor Mike Henry Stepping Down From 'Cleveland Brown' Role". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 26, 2020). "'Family Guy' Star Mike Henry Will No Longer Play Cleveland Brown". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Swift, Andy (September 25, 2020). "Family Guy Reveals New Actor Voicing Cleveland Brown in Season 19". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ^ "Steve Callaghan Named 'American Dad' Showrunner". 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  19. ^ Epstein, Daniel Robert. "Interview with Seth MacFarlane, creator of The Family Guy". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  20. ^ "Sonic the Horndog". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  21. ^ Brian Lowry (2000-08-28). "NBC Leads Tally of Early Emmys, Boosted by 'West Wing'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  22. ^ "The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Nominees are..." Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2009-07-16. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  23. ^ "Annie Award Winners". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  24. ^ "34th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2006)". Annie Awards. 2009-11-05. Archived from the original on 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-11-05.


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