Dan Castellaneta

Dan Castellaneta is an American voice actor best known as the voice of Homer Simpson on The Simpsons since the series began in 1989.

Career

Beyond Homer, Castellaneta voices numerous other Simpsons characters, including Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, Mayor Quimby, and Groundskeeper Willie. He also starred in the 2007 The Simpsons Movie and has contributed writing to eight episodes of the series, one of which received a Writers Guild Award nomination.

A Chicago native, Castellaneta trained in improvisation at The Second City under instructors including Paul Sills, crediting Viola Spolin's theatre games with teaching him to find "genuine moments" in performance; he has said "Improvising is a good b.s. detector, because in improv, you know when you're faking it." He originated the stage role of Harvey Pekar in American Splendor and has performed various one-man shows.

The origin of "D'oh"

Castellaneta's signature "D'oh" catchphrase traces back to his memory of Scottish comedian Jim Finlayson's exasperated reaction in 1930s Laurel and Hardy films. When series creator Matt Groening wrote only "frustrated grunt" as a stage direction, Castellaneta adapted Finlayson's delivery and sped it up for animation.