Top 10 Male Actors with Iconic Voices

Here’s a man who likes a little volume with his monologues. It seems that his voice has evolved over the course of his career, as has his penchant for yelling in most of his performances. Not that we’re complaining. There’s really only one way to give a motivational speech to your devil spawn or declare your intentions while holding an automatic firearm, and a whisper just ain’t going to cut it.

He’s the Austrian brick house with a voice that won’t quit. In fact, his voice pretty much made the whole “I’ll be back” line from “The Terminator” as memorable as it is. And let’s not forget how much his accent lends itself to awesome movie moments. Who doesn’t like to see former body builders yelling about tumors with a bunch of kindergarteners? We love it.

His voice epitomizes that of the distinguished English gentleman. And given his classical training in Shakespeare, it’s probably not that far from the truth. While he may make us want to bust out some Earl Grey, let’s not forget that he killed Simba’s dad. It’s all fun and games and cricket until somebody is plotting to have wildebeest trample their brother to death.

You may remember him from when he and some German friends tried to take over Nakatomi Plaza in “Die Hard.” Or maybe from when he kinda wanted to kill Harry Potter but not really. He also managed to put that British baritone to good use as a crotchety caterpillar in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” But really, who could play a disaffected, hookah-smoking larval insect better?

Michael Jackson knew what was up when he had him do the voice-over for “Thriller.” Not to mention, his reading of Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Raven” seems like the poem was written for him and he was born to read it. With a dark and definitely creepy delivery, his is a voice that could lure you quietly to your death while you’re too busy being captivated by its coolness. It’s like a goth siren song.

If someone were to breathe life into a weatherworn piece of tough leather, that piece of leather would probably sound like Mr. Eastwood. With a voice that has evolved over the years to sound like he gargles with sandpaper for fun, there’s no mistaking that this old cowboy means business. And if you couldn’t get that from his gritty vocals, then maybe his perpetually furrowed brow can help you out.

He was your mom’s, and/or grandma’s, favorite sex symbol, playing everyone’s favorite secret agent during the ‘60s. It’s easy to see why, with a decidedly Scottish lilt that is both charming and enviable. If a glass of whisky could talk, he’d probably sound like this guy and we’d be fine with it. Except when he’s trying to bark out orders on a Russian submarine. Then it’s just weird.

It’s hard to pinpoint what it is about his voice that we love so much. Maybe it’s the erratic enunciation. Or maybe it’s the Queens, New York accent paired with his fairly consistent tone. Whatever it is, our ears can call it from a mile away. There’s something enjoyably creepy about his vocal delivery that would let us get a kick out of him just reading the alphabet.

His deep baritone is hard to ignore, not that you would want to. He’s voiced one of film’s greatest villains, as well as one of its greatest lion dads. His voice is so booming and impressive, it’s mind boggling to imagine that he had a debilitating stutter, let alone didn’t speak whatsoever for almost a decade. With a voice like his, we’d probably never shut up.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Liam Neeson
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Alec Baldwin
- Tim Curry
- Sylvester Stallone

Somewhere between “The Shawshank Redemption” and “March of the Penguins,” he became the de facto go-to for narration. His pleasant, soothing voice has a paternal quality that makes it easy to get lost in his storytelling. It’s a voice that can rock you to sleep and also recount the details of a horrific car accident without missing a beat. It’s a quality that’s hard to find in most people, let alone most actors.

Do you agree with our list? What male actor do you think has the most iconic voice? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.