Such an iconic voice. And the fact he got to put voice to so many iconic lines that are hard to imagine coming from anyone else. His speech in Field of Dreams, obviously Vader's "I am your father". Basically all of his lines as Mufasa in Lion King.
I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought. And while his voice was incredible, he clearly mastered it and gave his lines the maximum impact they could have beyond the simple utterance.
I'm not just talking still alive, I mean the younger generation. Like Morgan Freeman is also an iconic all-time voice. Is there even any actor in their 40s let alone 30s or 20s who have such an iconic voice dropping such powerful monologues?
If we're purely talking voice actors, there are SO many incredible talents to choose from: Mark Hamill as The Joker for sure, Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tara Strong as dozens of characters, etc.
Clancy is an incredible actor in his own right both voice and general. I'll always have a soft spot for him as Kurgan in the first Highlander movie. He was so... unsettling.
I don't know. Mark Hamill is a voice acting chameleon. James Earl Jones was himself, which was great for many roles and impossible to improve upon for some. Their strengths lie on different axes.
At a quarter of a century younger, Keith David has, for decades, expertly conveyed the weight of his characters' words in a wide range of genres.
> I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought.
Off the top of my head, there's Peter Cullen, Jeff Bennet, Frank Welker, Tim Curry, Tom Kane (prior to his stroke), Phil Lamarr, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, and John DiMaggio.
I just can't think of any voice from the newer generations of actors/VAs that stands up to what he brought. And while his voice was incredible, he clearly mastered it and gave his lines the maximum impact they could have beyond the simple utterance.