Brilliant Disguise

EPISODE 221: The greatest voice actor of his generation.

The reason I’ve invited Hank Azaria to stop by our studio — and the reason I find him so fascinating — is not because I’m a fan of Bruce Springsteen. (Although I am.) And it’s not because Hank’s a huge sports fan. (Although he is.)

I wanted to talk to Hank Azaria because he’s a living, breathing complication of the word voice as a synonym for identity.

Normally, when we say that someone has found their voice, what we’re really saying is that they’ve found themselves.

But Hank’s superpower is that he’s created a whole city of voices, that he summons on command — from Chief Wiggum; to Apu, the manager of the Kwik-E-Mart (who we’ll discuss, thanks to my friend Hari Kondabolu); to Moe the Bartender — in all, more than 100 characters for The Simpsons, over four decades. And beyond.

But now, at age 60, Hank is re-learning how to sing.

As Bruce.

A quest which entails a few exceedingly human concerns at a time when artificial intelligence has also promised to render Hank’s whole superpower obsolete.

And so what I wanted to find out today was how the single most talented voice actor of his generation chooses which voices to embrace.

And whether the EZ Street Band would perform for us, in studio.

YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:

Hoyvin-glavin,

Pablo