It’s been a while since I’ve done a top-10 list, so here goes:

There are many people with incredible singing voices who have already received much-deserved recognition here. But there is a group of people who fit into the smaller, yet no less distinguished group of men and women who have incredible speaking voices. Because I’m a relentless chauvinist, I have included only the men for now. But the women are out there too (I’m thinking of Judy Dench, Kate Winslet, Scarlett Johanssen among others).

But there’s something about a deep, resonant, almost evil voice that makes you wish one of the following actors was the guy who read your bedtime stories (except number 10- that’d just be creepy). You’ll notice that many of the following actors have played, not just big, but iconic roles in cinematic history. And that says something.


10) William Shatner - He has a style we all mock, which is a sort of staccato, jumbled cadence, which sounds like a plugged toilet trying to unclog itself, but if you listen to his spoken word/music CD, you’ll hear what a musical voice he has.

9) Sean Connery - Once again, the subject of many first-time impressionist, his resonant voice goes down like a fine scotch. Naturally.

8) David Bowie - Known mainly for his singing, Mr. Ziggy Stardust has a rhythmic voice that curls around your head like thin wisps of grey smoke.

7) Orson Welles - He should really be higher up the list, but the man who was once considered for the part of Darth Vader’s voice (and subsequently passed over because it was thought he would be too recognizable) was not as versatile in his tone. Still, who would better utter the infamous last word, “Rosebud.”?

6) Morgan Freeman - Although his voice is not quite as deep as some others on this list, Morgan has a calming tone that makes penguins fun to watch. He has the voice you would choose if you could customize the narrator inside your head.

Gilbert Godfrey - Oops. How’d he get in here?

5) Christopher Lee - Sub-baritone. His basso delivery is instantly recognizable in his over 80 films. There is perhaps only one other person on this list who has a lower register, but Christopher’s tone is rich and melodic. He could not narrate any audio book without rustling all the pages in the room, like an autumn wind. He has the voice of an angel. Or perhaps a demon.

4) James Earl Jones - He has a rich, booming, woody voice. He is the reason we have a level control on the subwoofers in our home theatre systems. Otherwise, our livers would liquefy. He has leant his voice to two of the most masculine, powerful characters on film: King Mufasa on one end, and Darth Vader on the other spectrum.

3) Jeremy Irons - At the other end of Mufasa’s paw was the sniveling, powerless Scar. But what power he had, lay in his voice. The voice of Jeremy Irons. He sometimes lets his lets his talents go to waste (as in the recent movie “Eragon”) but his power is not diminished. He still have a voice of cold steel.

2) Patrick Stewart - Known originally for his theatre performance (I only saw him once as Hamlet’s Cladius), and more famously as Captain of the Starship Enterprise (a role he perfected once he took it over from our number 10), Patrick’s theatre training probably influenced his mannerisms somewhat. But guided by his classically-trained delivery, is a booming, authoritative voice, that has the subtle undertones of an earthquake. Three films tie Patrick Stewart to our number one, who is:

1) Sir Ian McKellan - It is no surprise that two of the voices on this list were featured prominently in the Lord of the Rings movie franchise. Not when you consider the source. But there’s a reason Peter Jackson chose Christopher Lee and Ian McKellan to play his wizards- other than the fact that they are great actors- and that is this: the voice. How convincing it is to have incantations shouted from great towers and mountains when they are shouted with such power and grace as Ian McKellan. He has broken, once and for all, the stereotype of the gay man with a feminine lisp. In fact, he performed a third-level dungeon-master spell on that stereotype. All the while using a gravelly voice that simulates the mating calls of large, woodland creatures. (It’s getting late).


Some runners-up:

Michael Clark Duncan - He sounds like a talking walrus, which is awesome.
John Rhys-Davies - If trees could talk, they’d sound like this.
David Carradine - A lisp, yes, but a kung fu lisp!
Don LaFontaine - Movie voice guy. How can you not list movie voice guy?