KOOL WEB TOOL

I was trying to find something I was more comfortable with that had more power to it, so I had to drop the voice down. [...] People will say to me, 'Boy, I'm glad they replaced the guy that was there that first season.' That was me!
—Dan Castellaneta[33]

Homer's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who voices numerous other characters, including Abraham Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Voices were needed for the Simpsons shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge rather than hire more actors.[34][33] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts and first few seasons of the half-hour show than it does in the majority of the series. The voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice",[34] and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the nine to ten hour long recording sessions so had to find something easier.[10] Castellaneta "dropped the voice down",[33] and developed it into a more versatile and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.[35]

Castellaneta's normal speaking voice has no similarity to Homer's.[36] To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest,[34] and is said to "let his IQ go".[37] While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer's least intelligent comments,[37] such as the line "I am so smart, s-m-r-t" from the episode "Homer Goes to College" (season five, 1993) which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta during recording.[38] Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions,[39] and tries to visualize a scene in his mind so that he can give the proper voice to it.[40] Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan".[39]

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" (season five, 1993) is the only episode where Homer's voice was provided by someone other than Castellaneta. The episode features Homer forming a barbershop quartet called The Be Sharps and at some points, his singing voice is provided by a member of The Dapper Dans.[41] The Dapper Dans had recorded the singing parts for all four members of The Be Sharps. Their singing was intermixed with the normal voice actor's voices, often with a regular voice actor singing the melody and the Dapper Dans providing backup.[42]

Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.[43] However, the dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[43] The issue was resolved a month later,[44] and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode.[45] After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.[46]