List of Thomas & Friends voice actors
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 | This article may contain original research. (March 2025) |
Thomas & Friends is a British children's television series first broadcast on the ITV network on 9 October 1984. It is based on The Railway Series books created by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. The series centers on anthropomorphic vehicles living on the fictional Island of Sodor. Its characters were unvoiced, except for the narrator, until the series switched to computer animation in 2009.
Characters
[edit]| Actor | Region | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph May[1] | US | Thomas | From The Adventure Begins to series 24 |
| John Hasler[2] | UK | ||
| UK/US | Rheneas | Series 20 | |
| Jonathan Broadbent[3] | UK/US | William (Bill), Benjamin (Ben), and the first slip coach | |
| Teresa Gallagher[4] | UK | Emily, Lady Hatt (season 13, "Day of the Diesels" and season 15), Mavis (seasons 13–16), the Duchess of Boxford, Stephen Hatt ("Diesel's Special Delivery"), Bridget Hatt, Bridget Hatt's friends, the teacher, the laundry lady, little boy in white and light-blue striped shirt and red shorts, some children, the school children, little girl in a red dress, the blonde-haired girl, and the blond-haired boy | |
| US | A blonde-haired girl | "Very Important Sheep" | |
| A blond-haired boy | "Very Important Sheep" | ||
| UK/US | Belle, Frieda, Gina (The Great Race), Mavis (FQC 1), Annie, Clarabel, Judy, Cassia (Big World! Big Adventures!), the Duchess of Boxford ("Percy's Lucky Day"), Lady Hatt ("The Afternoon Tea Express" and Season 21 onwards), the teacher (Season 18), the ginger-haired boy, the shouting little boy, a woman with a large hat, some passengers, the Knapford Station speaker ("The Adventure Begins"), some children ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), the school children ("Lost Property"), Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt, a woman in a blue dress, a Barrow fan ("Reds vs. Blues" and "Useful Railway"), Albert's wife ("Thomas the Babysitter" and "Unscheduled Stops"), a woman in a spring-green dress, a puppet-show presenter, a girl in a turquoise dress with pink flowers, a woman in a white dress and gray vest, a woman in a white shirt, light-brown skirt and hat, a woman in a light-gray shirt, dark gray skirt and a pearl necklace, a chubby boy in a dark-green shirt and dark-gray shorts, a woman in a yellow dress and hat, a blonde girl, a woman in a red-and-indigo hat and white-and-gray dress, female passengers Madeleine's mother, Brenda and the Sodor Rangers | ||
| Rasmus Hardiker[5] | UK/US | William (Bill), Philip and the Troublesome Trucks ("The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor") | |
| UK | Monty | ||
| Steven Kynman[6] | UK | Porter, Jack, Racing Car #3 and the Dock Manager ("Tale of the Brave") | |
| US | Charlie | The Great Race | |
| Butch | Series 17–24 | ||
| UK/US | Montague (Duck), Ryan (series 20 onwards), Dart (Season 17 onwards), Paxton ("Blue Mountain Mystery" onwards), Peter Sam, "The Third Slip Coach", a workman ("Journey Beyond Sodor"), railway inspector (Season 17), bird-watcher ("Who's Geoffrey?"), child | ||
| Joe Mills | Donald (series 18—19), Douglas,[7] Oliver, Toad, Welsh bird-watcher ("Thomas and the Emergency Cable"), a Knapford Station yard worker ("Toad and the Whale"), passenger ("Confusion Without Delay") | [8] | |
| Tracy-Ann Oberman | UK/US | Daisy | Series 20–24 |
| Nigel Pilkington[9] | UK | Percy and Trevor | Series 19–24 |
| Christopher Ragland | US | ||
| UK/US | The Troublesome Trucks ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), Racing Car #4, cowboys, passenger | ||
| John Schwab | US | Stanley | Series 20, except "Saving Time"[citation needed] |
| Rob Rackstraw[10] | UK | Toby | |
| UK/US | James (UK "Tit for Tat" series 24; US The Adventure Begins series 24), Stanley, Owen, Donald (series 20 onwards), small controller, Bradford, Hugo, Big Mickey, Bernie, Professor Friederich, thin clergyman, Monty, Thief 1 | ||
| Kerry Shale[11] | UK/US | Diesel (UK series 13–24; US series 19–24) | |
| US | Sir Topham Hatt (Hero of the Rails series 18), Henry, Gordon, James (Hero of the Rails season 18), Kevin | ||
| Martin Sherman | US | Thomas, Percy, Diesel ("King of the Railway", series 18) | Hero of the Rails through series 18[12] |
| Ben Small[13] | UK/US | Rheneas, Flynn (series 17), Owen and Troublesome Trucks | Series 16–18 |
| UK | Thomas, Toby and Ferdinand | Hero of the Rails through series 18 | |
| US | Stanley and Charlie | Series 15–18 | |
| Keith Wickham[14] | UK | Edward, Henry, Gordon, James ("Hero of the Rails", The Great Race except "Tit for Tat"), Percy (Hero of the Rails, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure except series 19), Whiff, Dash, Harold, thin controller, railway coal inspector, man at the fire, Wellsworth Station worker, fat controller's assistant, workers, passengers, Gator's driver, and a steamworks worker | |
| UK/US | Harvey, Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Arlesdale Bert, Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt/fat controller (UK Hero of the Rails series 24; US The Adventure Begins series 24), Dowager Hatt, Sir Lowham Hatt, Lord Callan, photographer ("Wild Water Rescue"), railway inspector, composer, Maron Station speaker, Wellsworth Stationmaster, Thomas' Guard, grumpy passenger, Father Christmas, groundsman, Tom Tipper, Gordon's driver (The Adventure Begins), James' guard (The Adventure Begins), Knapford Station worker (The Adventure Begins), workers, signallers, dock manager ("Who's Geoffrey?" only), a Sodor search & rescue centre worker ("Toad and the Whale"), the policemen, a Diver (Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure), Some Passengers, Albert ("Thomas the Babysitter"), Mr. Bubbles, the Welsh Bird Watcher ("Sidney Sings and Three Steam Engines Gruff"), one of Dowager Hatt's friends ("Best Engine Ever" and "Sidney Sings"), the Museum Manager, the Male Puppet show Entertainer, Willie, Franz, the Station Announcer, a Child ("Gordon Gets the Giggles"), The Mainland Stationmaster, Thomas' Driver, Thomas' Fireman, and the Elderly Man. | ||
| Matt Wilkinson[15] | UK | Spencer, Stanley, Charlie, Bash, Scruff, Rocky, Cranky, Carter, Butch (season 16 onwards), Kevin, Tony, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite"), Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, photographer (series 16), Maithwaite stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, Knapford stationmaster, bird-watcher ("Henry's Good Deeds"), blond boy ("Merry Misty Island"), dock manager, railway inspector, dock workers, island inspector, Sodor search-and-rescue centre manager, Blue Mountain Quarry worker, zookeeper, man with hat | |
| UK/US | Ben, Diesel 10, Winston, Rusty, Merrick, Captain Joe, workers, passengers, man in blue-grey shirt, off-white shorts and aquamarine hat | ||
Narrators
[edit]| Actor | Region | Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | Movies | Notes | |||
| Ringo Starr | UK | 1984–86 | First two series[16] | ||
| US | 1989–90 | Series 1–2. Narrated episodes on Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor; re-recorded parts of narration on request of PBS.[16] | |||
| George Carlin | 1991–96 | Series 3–4 Re-dubbed first two series |
Series 3–4; re-dubbed series 1–2. Narrated episodes of Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor.[17] | ||
| Michael Angelis | US | 2004 | Series 6–7 | Two episodes of series 6 and four episodes of series 7 | |
| UK | 1991–2012 | Series 3–16 | "Calling All Engines", "Hero of the Rails", "Misty Island Rescue", "Day of the Diesels", Blue Mountain Mystery[18] | Series 3–16 | |
| Alec Baldwin | US | 1999–2003 | Series 5–6 | "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" (as Mr. Conductor) | Series 5, "Thomas and the Magic Railroad", series 6 |
| Michael Brandon | 2004–2013 | Series 7–16 Re-dubbed season 6 |
"Calling All Engines", "Hero of the Rails", "Misty Island Rescue", "Day of the Diesels", "Blue Mountain Mystery" | Series 7–16 | |
| Pierce Brosnan | UK, US | 2008 | Original cuts of season 12 | The Great Discovery | The Great Discovery, series 12 (early workprints) |
| Mark Moraghan | 2013–17 | Series 17–21 Re-dubbed series 13–15 |
"King of the Railway", "Tale of the Brave", "The Adventure Begins", "Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure", "The Great Race", "Journey Beyond Sodor"[19] | "King of the Railway" through "Journey Beyond Sodor" | |
| John Hasler | UK | 2018–21 | Series 22–24 | "Big World! Big Adventures!" through series 24 as Thomas the Tank Engine | |
| Joseph May | US | ||||
Timeline
[edit]Series
[edit]| Narrator | Model series: 1984–2008 | CGI series: 2009–21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic series: 1984–2003 | New series: 2004–08 | Big World! Big Adventures!: 2018-2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
| Ringo Starr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Angelis | United Kingdom | UK | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
| US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Carlin | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alec Baldwin | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Brandon | US | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Moraghan | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Hasler | UK | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joseph May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Specials and films
[edit]| Narrator | Model era: 2000–08 | CGI era: 2009–17 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad 2000 | Calling All Engines! 2005 | The Great Discovery 2008 | Hero of the Rails 2009 | Misty Island Rescue 2010 | Day of the Diesels 2011 | Blue Mountain Mystery 2012 | King of the Railway 2013 | Tale of the Brave 2014 | The Adventure Begins | Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure | The Great Race 2016 | Journey Beyond Sodor 2017 | ||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||||
| Alec Baldwin | Mr. C | |||||||||||||
| Michael Angelis | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| Michael Brandon | United States | United States | ||||||||||||
| Pierce Brosnan | ||||||||||||||
| Mark Moraghan | ||||||||||||||
- A green cell indicates the narrator who officially narrated the series.
- An orange cell indicates the narrator who re-narrated the series.
Pierce Brosnan narrated the original cut of series 12, but withdrew from the series, and his narrations were left unreleased.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Joe May". Voice Chasers. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ↑ "John Hasler actor and voiceover artist".
- ↑ ""Jonathan Broadbent"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ "Behind The Voice Actors – Teresa Gallagher". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 8 July 2025. – green check mark indicates roles that have been verified by BTVA through closing credits
- ↑ "Rasmus Hardiker Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ↑ ""Steven Kynman"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ "Movie Watch". Western Mail. 26 March 2016. ProQuest 1775781750.
- ↑ ""Joe Mills"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ "Nigel Pilkington". www.nigelpilkington.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "Rob Rackstraw - 43 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
- ↑ "Kerry Shale - Actor | Kerry Shale". Retrieved 2025-03-23.
- ↑ Woolf, Nicky (22 July 2014). "Voice of Thomas the Tank Engine quits over contract dispute: 'I feel so bullied'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ "Ben Small - 14 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
- ↑ ""Keith Wickham"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ ""Matt Wilkinson"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- 1 2 Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. Virgin Books. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
- ↑ Allcroft, Britt (June 26, 2008). "Los Angeles Times – "The George Carlin I knew"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ↑ Haring, Bruce (31 May 2020). "Michael Angelis Dies: Voice Of 'Thomas The Tank Engine' Was 76". Deadline. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ↑ Agencies (2013-05-17). "Former Brookside actor to be Thomas the Tank Engine narrator". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas and Friends.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Thomas & Friends.
Official websites
[edit]Other site
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