Those famous faces who simply didn't fancy a trip to Springfield.
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00:00Few things in life go hand-in-hand as much as The Simpsons does with guest stars.
00:04A quick scan through the official list of guest stars reveals an absolute almanac of
00:08famous faces, from actors to musicians to sports personalities.
00:13But it might surprise you to learn that not everyone was eager to get their name on the
00:17list.
00:18I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Actors Who Turned Down Voicing Characters
00:22on The Simpsons.
00:2310.
00:24William Shatner
00:25William Shatner is the purported first-ever guest star to have turned down The Simpsons,
00:29so it makes sense to talk about him first.
00:32Now it's unknown which episode specifically the writers had penned Shatner into.
00:36Though according to Al Gore, it was very early into the show's run, within the first four
00:41seasons presumably, given the comments were made on the fourth season's DVD release.
00:45Taking to social media in December 2020, Shatner directly responded to a fan, questioning why
00:50he had refused to appear on the Matt Groening-helmed cartoon while signing up as a guest on Futurama.
00:56And quite simply, he didn't know what The Simpsons was.
01:00He said quote,
01:01I didn't know what The Simpsons was and I was told Futurama was a sci-fi cartoon.
01:04There you go.
01:05So yeah, while Shatner did appear on that show, The Simpsons just gave up on trying
01:10and had Hank Azaria voice his character instead.
01:139.
01:14Sir Michael Caine
01:15One of British cinema's greatest minds, Sir Michael Caine's exemplary body of work
01:19dates back to the 40s.
01:21But a ticket to Springfield was not an offer he was willing to accept.
01:24Desperately wanted by the writers for the hilarious season 5 episode, Homer and Apu,
01:29as detailed by David Merkin on the season's DVD release, the role would have seen the
01:33legendary Dark Knight actor star as Apu's celebrity apprentice.
01:37Once he rejected the offer, the role was rewritten to have James Wood slot in instead.
01:42Why exactly Michael Caine declined the opportunity to star in The Simpsons remains unknown to
01:47this day.
01:48A caricature of the Englishman appeared in future season 5 episode, Burns' Heir, though
01:52he was voiced by Dan Castellaneda, as Caine, once more, had declined an invitation.
01:588.
01:59William Hickey
02:00The circumstances surrounding this one are a tad tricky to investigate, with so few details
02:04being publicly known, but William Hickey is believed to have been in the running to voice
02:08Chester J. Lampwick in season 7's The Day the Violence Died.
02:13Reportedly the writers' first choice for the voice, Hickey had to turn the offer down
02:16for reasons currently unknown.
02:18People locally and Josh Weinstein, then writers and producers on The Simpsons, believed that
02:22William Hickey would have been perfect for the role, his harsh, raspy voice being the
02:26style they were aiming for.
02:28And that he was famed for portraying what had been described as grouchy, mean old men
02:33only furthered the justification for Hickey to play the role.
02:36However, the character instead went to Kirk Douglas, who, per Nancy Cartwright in her
02:40excellent My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy book, was a struggle once in the recording studio.
02:47Provided headphones, and rushing through his lines with two takes at most, amongst other
02:52issues.
02:537.
02:54Don Rickles Though a renowned comedian in his own right,
02:56the incomparable Don Rickles took to acting tremendously, perhaps most known for voicing
03:01Mr. Potato Head in the beloved children's franchise Toy Story.
03:05Rickles was reportedly in line for a substantial role in season 4's New Kid on the Block,
03:10tentatively scheduled for the episode's subplot that would see him and Homer come
03:13to blows during one of the former's comedy gigs.
03:16This, it's said in season 4's DVD commentary, would have resulted in the pair attending
03:20court.
03:21Now, Don Rickles ultimately turned the role down, outraged at how he was perceived in
03:25the episode.
03:26Don also accused the writing team of illegally recording his gigs in order to have access
03:31to his material, ready to be implemented into the script to ensure a genuine performance
03:36from the actor.
03:37Of course, this wasn't the case, copies of Rickles' shows had been purchased by
03:41the staff as they were actually fans of his work at the time.
03:44So instead, the subplot, still revolving around Homer, saw the Simpson patriarch and
03:49Marge attending an all-you-can-eat buffet that introduced the recurring sea captain
03:53as a character.
03:546.
03:55Quentin Tarantino
03:56As will become a persistent theme throughout this list, Quentin Tarantino is one of many
04:00familiar faces who has technically appeared in The Simpsons without voicing himself.
04:05And yes, he is an actor by the way, even if the quality of his performances might suggest
04:09otherwise.
04:11Tarantino was asked to guest star in the 8th season's Simpsons' califragilistic expialer
04:16Annoyed Grunt, Ocious, though he rejected the offer after finding issues with his proposed
04:20dialogue.
04:21And by the way, I've never actually thought about how you're supposed to pronounce that
04:24title.
04:25Like, do you do the do, or do you just say Annoyed Grunt?
04:27I don't know what's funnier.
04:29Probably the latter.
04:30Anyway, the episode was slated to see Tarantino as a guest director on the Itchy & Scratchy
04:34show, working on an episode entitled Reservoir Cats, in itself a not-so-subtle nod to his
04:391992 feature film debut, Reservoir Dogs.
04:43Now the famed director turned the opportunity down, but Matt Groening wasn't one to take
04:47no for an answer, so still included the character of Quentin Tarantino, even though they couldn't
04:52get Tarantino.
04:535.
04:54Clint Eastwood
04:55Similarly to fellow Hollywood buff Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood has technically
04:59appeared on The Simpsons, but again, he didn't voice himself.
05:03The skit in question from season 9's All Singing, All Dancing featured the supposed
05:08Eastwood starring as an outlaw in western musical Paint Your Wagon, which saw him confronted
05:12by an unnamed man in a village who informed Clint that his wagon was sorry-looking.
05:17Eastwood then states that it could do with a coat of paint, before bursting into a big
05:21song and dance, hence the episode's name.
05:23Now as far as the actual Clint Eastwood is concerned however, he was offered and subsequently
05:27rejected the role of Dr. Wolf, Lisa's sadistic dentist in season 4's Last Exit to Springfield.
05:34The role went through a number of possible voice artists, as Anthony Hopkins also turned
05:39down the offer following Eastwood's unexpected rejection.
05:42It eventually went to series regular Hank Azaria, who replaced the iconic psycho star
05:46Anthony Perkins after the 6-year-old tragically passed away prior to recording.
05:514.
05:52Sheldon Leonard
05:53Guest appearances on The Simpsons don't always guarantee a recurring role, but it
05:57does happen on occasion.
05:58Notable occurrences include Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel, Phil Hartman as both Lionel
06:03Hutz and Troy McClure, and Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony.
06:06The Simpsons' writers almost had a different idea in mind for the latter of those though,
06:10having reportedly tried, and failed, to obtain the illustrious Sheldon Leonard for the role
06:15of Springfield's mob boss.
06:17Now Sheldon was renowned for playing heavy gangster characters, with his thick New York
06:21accent making him a convincing choice for any such role, Fat Tony included.
06:26Season 3's Bart the Murderer featured the first appearance of the mob gangster, which
06:30sees Bart hired to bartend for the Springfield Mafia at their demand.
06:33It's unknown as to why Sheldon Leonard was unable to appear in the role, though he passed
06:38away just a few years after the character's first appearance at 89 years old.
06:423.
06:43Bruce Willis
06:44Seemingly adamant against The Simpsons as a concept, Bruce Willis was approached on
06:48two known occasions for a guest appearance, both of which were ultimately refuted.
06:52The first saw him, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger requested to star in
06:57Season 5's 10th episode, a spot they had allegedly agreed to so long as their restaurant
07:02brand Planet Hollywood was worked into the script.
07:05This it seems was executed by the writers, written as the subplot for Springfield or
07:10How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling.
07:13Ultimately though, the trio were unable to recall their lines, and their appearances
07:16and associated plot were dropped as a result.
07:19A few seasons later, Bruce Willis was again requested by the writers, this time for Season
07:249's When You Dish Upon a Star.
07:26He, alongside then-wife Demi Moore, was the second choice to play a celebrity couple in
07:30the episode, replaced by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the final product.
07:34Reportedly, numerous other big names were considered for this turbulent role, including
07:38Bruce Springsteen, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
07:43Speaking of…
07:442.
07:45Tom Cruise
07:46The Simpsons' staff shouldn't take it too personally that Tom Cruise has never lent
07:49his voice to their show.
07:51After all, Cruise has yet to sign up for a voiceover role in his career, preferring to
07:55stick to live-action pieces.
07:57Regardless though, twice has Tom Cruise been approached by Matt Groening's team with
08:01a role in mind for him, and twice he has refused their offers.
08:05The first of these came in the aforementioned 10th season episode, When You Dish Upon a
08:08Star.
08:09As mentioned, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were ultimately chosen to play the celebrity
08:13couple in the episode, but Tom Cruise and his then-wife Nicole Kidman were approached
08:17before them, following Bruce Willis and Demi Moore turning the show down.
08:21More notable however, was The Simpsons' first attempt at landing the actor.
08:25The writers had hoped for Cruise to appear in season 4's A Brother From The Same Planet,
08:29and would have seen him play Bart's mentor, purposefully also named Tom.
08:33Once the Mission Impossible star rejected their plans though, the role went to Phil
08:37Hartman.
08:38Despite the lack of Tom Cruise in the episode, the character itself was of course heavily
08:42influenced on Tom Cruise's role in the Top Gun franchise, being an F-14 pilot in the
08:47US Navy and of course riding a motorcycle.
08:501.
08:51O.J. Simpson
08:52Revealed in 2018 by showrunner Al Jean, O.J. Simpson was being eyed up for a potential
08:57appearance on The Simpsons in 1993.
09:00Jean wrote via Twitter on the 11th of March 2018 that it was ironic of Fox to air the
09:052006 O.J. Simpson The Last Confession special 25 years to the day that the Simpsons episode
09:11that he was penned for, that being season 4's classic Last Exit to Springfield, originally
09:16premiered.
09:17And that's because he was set to star as the smartline panelist before Dr. Joyce Brothers
09:20was selected upon Simpson turning down the gig.
09:23And of course, O.J. Simpson himself soon afterwards tried for the murder of his ex-wife and her
09:28friend in 1994.
09:30Needless to say then, O.J.'s acting career was all but finished by the mid-90s.
09:34So that's our list.
09:35I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
09:38Are there any other actors who nearly starred on The Simpsons that I missed off here?
09:41Let me know and while you're down there if you could please give us a like, share,
09:44subscribe and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single
09:48day.
09:49Until next time, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon.