A TV star has revealed that 15 years of playing an iconic cartoon character has left his voice permanently changed.
H Jon Benjamin, 59, is an actor, author, and comedian who has played and voiced several popular TV characters over the years, having started his career in the late 80s and early 90s.
The American actor is known for voicing titular character Sterling Archer on the animated spy spoof series, has played several Family Guy characters, and even voiced a can of vegetables in the 2001 comedy Wet Hot American Summer.
Of all the roles he’s had, it’s 15 years of playing titular character Bob Belcher on Bob’s Burgers that has actually left Benjamin’s voice sounding different.
Bob’s Burgers focuses on the Belcher family, who run the eponymous burger restaurant in the fictional New Jersey shore town of Seymour’s Bay.
Benjamin took on the role of Bob in 2011 alongside John Roberts who plays Bob’s wife Linda, Dan Mintz who plays eldest daughter Tina, Eugene Mirman who plays only son Gene, and Kristen Schaal who voices Louise.
As of 2025, the show has a dedicated international fanbase, having produced almost 300 episodes – something that has apparently changed Benjamin’s everyday voice.
He told Variety: ‘I was living in Boston doing comedy. I just kept working with [comedian Jonathan Katz] So, he gave me the part of Bob, I said yes, and it hasn’t stopped in years.
‘Whenever you start doing a television show, you feel like it’s gonna get canceled after a season. You do one, and you’re happy to get two, then three…
‘[But] I didn’t sound like this at all 15 years ago. Now I talk like Bob. I’ve become him.’
Top 10 Bob’s Burgers episodes on IMDb
An IMDb rating allows users on the website to give a score out of 10 to either a film they have seen or an episode of TV they have watched. The website then works out the average score.
- The Plight Before Christmas (season 13, episode 10) 9.6
- The Hauntening (S6 E3) 9.1
- The Amazing Rudy (S14 E2) 9.0
- Glued, Where’s My Bob? (S6 E19) 9.0
- Amelia (S13 E22) 9.0
- The Oeder Games (S5 E21) 8.7
- Bob Day Afternoon (S2 E2) 8.6
- Housetrap (S5 E19) 8.6
- Boyz 4 Now (S3 E21) 8.5
- Bob Actually (S7 E9) 8.5
He later admitted that playing both Bob and Archer on two long-running sitcoms often left him feeling worn out:
‘I’d have a 10am Archer session, then go to Bob’s, and I’d have no voice left,’ he said.
Archer began in 2009 and eventually ran for 14 seasons, finally coming to an end in 2023 after Benjamin had been in more than 140 episodes, alongside actresses Aisha Tyler and the late Jessica Walter.
In Bob’s Burgers, Bob is often shown to be exasperated by his inadequate work-life balance, leading him to sound depressed, tired, and even hoarse in many scenes.
Fans of Bob’s Burgers have noted that while Bob might have changed Benjamin’s voice over the years, the voice actor has also altered Bob’s voice as the years have gone by.
Reddit user OldPomegranate17 said: ‘I detected Bob’s low-energy voice right away [in season 14]. I have two theories: they’re recording remotely or Bob is simply 14 years older and we are hearing a natural change in his voice.’
Bob’s Burgers has been renewed for another four seasons by Disney Plus, which will keep the show going until at least 2029.
Watch episodes of Bob’s Burgers on Disney Plus and Apple TV.
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