Maurice LaMarche

Maurice LaMarche was born in Toronto in 1958 and spent his youth honing an almost pathological ability to imitate sounds and people. In 1980, he decided to try his luck at comedy clubs in New York. But the reality of the stage was harsher than he expected. After his father's death in 1984, he decided that no one would ever see his face again while he performed.

And the gamble paid off.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 to look for work in animation. His first major role came with The Real Ghostbusters in 1986, where he had to take over the voice originally performed by Harold Ramis. He wasn't looking for an exact copy of the original actor. He was after a dry, scientific essence that ended up defining the character of Egon Spengler over seven seasons.

Seven thousand test recordings came before his busiest stretch of work in American television.

The Man Who Buried His Face to Save His Voice

In 1995, his life changed when Steven Spielberg heard his impression of Orson Welles. That deep, authoritative voice became the basis for Cerebro in the series Pinky and the Brain. He spent hours studying Welles's discarded recordings to capture his mannerisms and breathing patterns (a process that left him physically exhausted).

LaMarche's secret was never parody but technical obsession. In 1994, he lent his vocal cords to Vincent D'Onofrio in the film Ed Wood by Tim Burton so the actor would sound exactly like the director of Citizen Kane. It was a job of sound microsurgery that nobody credited in the film's opening titles.

He owns a throat capable of producing two different notes at the same time.

Matt Groening's Refuge

The arrival of Futurama in 1999 allowed him to showcase a range of supporting characters who carried the show's comedic weight. He voiced Kif Kroker, Morbo and the calculating Calculon. In 2011, he won his first Emmy Award for his work on the episode Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences.

But recognition did not make him relax. Between 2012 and 2022, he took part in more than a hundred different projects, ranging from video games like The Batman to the series Rick and Morty. His method is to never read the full script before stepping into the booth, so he can keep the freshness of the first impact with the text.

Two consecutive Emmy Awards back a career that steers clear of the traditional media spotlight.

In 2023, he reprised all of his classic characters for the return of Futurama on Hulu. He recorded his lines from a private studio at his home in California, under remote direction. The contract for the new episodes was closed with an absolute confidentiality clause covering the hourly recording rate.