Who Voices The Most Characters On The Simpsons?

The core cast of "The Simpsons" includes Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith (who gets the best episodes), Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria, Maggie Roswell, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, and Harry Shearer. Marcia Wallace was also part of the cast until her death in 2013, playing Bart Simpson's cantankerous teacher Mrs. Krabappel. Albert Brooks frequently guest-starred in the show's early years. There was some controversy in recent years about how several Black characters on "The Simpsons" were played by white actors, so Kevin Michael Richardson now plays Dr. Hibbert (previously voiced by Shearer), and Alex Désert now plays Carl (previously voiced by Azaria). 

Each member of the core cast, however, plays multiple roles throughout "The Simpsons," including single lines from background characters. Yes, this list will include every single role that "Simpsons" actors play, no matter how small. The numbers are culled from various sourced, mostly fan-run wikis, and analyzed through a very careful process of "adding them all up."

Between the eight main cast members, thousands of characters have been created. The actors, it should be noted, are all gloriously versatile. Even Taylor, Kavner, and Smith, who play the fewest roles of the "Simpsons" cast, have stretched. Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, has technically played 52 characters in her "Simpsons" career; this is counting characters like "Lisa's Conscience" and futuristic relatives of Lisa's. Kavner plays Marge on "The Simpsons," as well as her sisters, her mother, and a Marge-like squirrel. Overall, though, she's only voiced 45 characters. Taylor, meanwhile, has played only 17 roles, including the twins, Sherri and Terri, and the German exchange student Üter.

But the question rises: who has played the most roles of them all? Luckily, we have time and deep access to the internet, so we here at /Film can compile that information for you. 

The rundown: 

Maggie Roswell: 65

Maggie Roswell has played Mrs. Hoover, Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten, Mary Bailey, Princess Kashmir, Shary Bobbins, Barbara Bush, Mona Simpson, Martha Quimby, a dermatologist, a mail carrier, a nuclear inspector, and Ned Flanders when he's screaming. According to online fan sites, though, her resume includes a few dozen others, giving a grand total of 65 roles.

Pamela Hayden: 161

Pamela Hayden's most notable role is Milhouse, Bart's best friend. But she, like most of the women on "The Simpsons," also plays a gaggle of child characters, including multiple Milhouse clones and Rod Flanders. She has also played Peggy Bundy, trolls, security guards, and Maya Angelou. All told, she's racked up 161 parts. 

Nancy Cartwright: 162

Nancy Cartwright plays Bart Simpson, as well as side characters like Database, Kearney, the bully Nelson Muntz (whose voice she made up on the spot), Ralph Wiggum, and Todd Flanders. Those are all significant characters, and she spends a lot of time in the recording booth. If we're to expand Cartwright's repertoire to every single guest voice she has done on "The Simpsons," however — including single-line throw-offs in flash-forwards, background children, and alternate universe versions of Bart — then Cartwright's number of characters jumps to an impressive 162, barely nosing out Taylor. 

Harry Shearer: 445

Harry Shearer's deep, radio-friendly voice has permitted him to play striking roles like Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Kang, Principal Skinner, and Kent Brockman. Once one starts scouring through his full voice catalogue, though, one will find that Shearer has lent his voice to a whopping 445 characters. This includes teenagers, radio personalities, the late Dr. Marvin Monroe, O.J. Simpson, and Darth Vader.

Tress MacNeille: 491

MacNeille isn't technically a regular on "The Simpsons," but given her prolific voice acting career, one might be tempted to say she's a regular character on every single animated series to be released since 1990. Most people who grew up watching animated television in the '90s and beyond likely recognize MacNeille's laugh, her Lucille Ball impersonation, her Joan Rivers, her surly teen, and any number of other amazing things she can do with her voice. MacNeille is a titan in the industry. All told, she has played 491 characters on "The Simpsons."

Dan Castellaneta: 717

Dan Castellaneta plays Homer, Grandpa, Mayor Quimby, Kodos, and Krusty the Clown, of course, but looking over his entire filmography is impressive. Once again, counting one-line characters (from Homer Clones to a talking 8-of-Clubs to Richard Nixon), Castellaneta has played a whopping 717 characters over the course of "The Simpsons." The series, as of this writing, has only lasted 782 episodes. 

Hank Azaria: 832

Hank Azaria, however, remains the grandmaster of "Simpsons" characters. He mostly plays Moe the Bartender, Comic Book Guy, Otto, Cletus, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Snake, Kirk Van Houten, Duffman, and several other visible characters, but he also played multiple background characters in every episode, making him the real breakout star of the show. Overall, Hank Azaria has invented 832 roles for "The Simpsons." That's an average of 1.06 new characters per episode. He retired playing Apu and Carl, but he still has a galaxy of "Simpsons" characters to fall back on. He is an invaluable presence on "The Simpsons," which means he is an invaluable presence in American culture. All kudos to Azaria.