Jul 11, 2019

Spongebob Tom Kenny offers voice acting tips

You know you've made it as a voice actor when hordes of fans are uploading impressions of your roles. So it is with Tom Kenny, who is best known as the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, and has lent his distinctive tones to many other animated characters besides.

In a video for Vanity Fair, Kenny reacts to fans' takes on his characters, such as Spongebob, Heffer (Rocko's Modern Life), the Ice King (Adventure Time), and the Mayor of Townsville (The Powerpuff Girls). As he reviews their performances, he gives unprecedented insight into his own approach to voice acting. His advice can be broadly summarized as follows:

Spongebob Squarepants official turns 20 years old this month. To mark the anniversary, the cast - which, remarkably, has remained largely unchanged throughout the show's history - has recorded a special mixed-media episode, “Spongebob's Big Birthday Blowout,” in which they incarnate their animated characters in the flesh. The hour-long special premieres on Friday at 7pm (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The program is dedicated to the show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, who died in November from complications from ALS.