The Simpsons star Harry Shearer breaks silence on white voiceover backlash: ‘Actors play people they are not’

Hank Azaria this year stepped down from Apu role following controversy

The Simpsons actor Harry Shearer has expressed unease over white actors on the show stepping down from voicing characters of colour.

This year, following decades of controversy, the long-running animated comedy confirmed that Hank Azaria would no longer voice Indian shop owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and that other characters of colour would not be portrayed by white actors.

Shearer, who voices black doctor Julius Hibbert on the show, has now suggested he was not happy with the decision.

“I have a very simple belief about acting,” the actor told Times Radio. “The job of the actor is to play someone who they are not. That’s the gig, that’s the job description.”

He added that he would not be financially harmed by no longer voicing Dr Hibbert, as he is not “paid by the voice”.

Shearer has voiced characters on the show since its 1989 debut, most notably Mr Burns, Ned Flanders and Reverend Lovejoy.

While The Simpsons has always drawn controversy for its use of white actors to voice characters of colour, the 2017 release of a documentary about Apu and the representation of Indians in US entertainment sparked calls for permanent change.

In January, Azaria declared that he would no longer voice the character, who has since been phased out of the series. “All we know is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something,” Azaria said.

He added: “We all made the decision together – we all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”

In June, amid outcry over white actors voicing characters of colour in shows including Big Mouth and Central Park, Fox Television said in a statement: “Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.”