November 14, 2024

Alex Désert takes over for Hank Azaria voicing Carl on ‘The Simpsons’

Hank #Hank

Alex Desert, Hank Azaria posing for the camera: Alex Désert has been cast in Hank Azaria's former role. © Provided by CNN Alex Désert has been cast in Hank Azaria’s former role.

Alex Désert has won rave reviews in his new role as Carl Carlson on “The Simpsons.”

The long running popular Fox animated series debuted Sunday with its 32nd season and Désert voicing the character of Carl.

The actor, who is Black, replaced White actor Hank Azaria as the voice of the Black character and is the latest instance of characters of color being recast.

Positive feedback followed with “Simpsons” producer Al Jean tweeting “a warm Simpsons welcome” to Désert on Sunday.

“Man, Alex Désert really did a great job voicing Carl Carlson!,” one person tweeted in response.

Azaria is the latest White actor to step aside so that an actor of color could take on voicing a character of color.

In June, Jenny Slate announced that she was quitting voicing the character of Missy Foreman-Greenwald, a young mixed-race girl on the animated Netflix comedy “Big Mouth” saying Black characters “should be played by Black actors.”

Soon after Kristen Bell announced her decision to no longer portray mixed-race character Molly on the Apple TV+ animated series, “Central Park.”

“This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege,” Bell wrote in the caption of a photo showing a statement from the series on her verified Instagram account.

Azaria helped kick off the conversation about White actors voicing such roles years ago following controversy over his portraying the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons.”

That controversy hit mainstream thanks to comedian Hari Kondabolu in his 2017 documentary, “The Problem with Apu.”

In January 2020 Azaria said he would step down from the role after 30 years and “The Simpsons” said they would stop casting White actors to play characters of color.

Video: ‘Friends’ gets revamped with all-Black cast in Zoom call (CNN)

‘Friends’ gets revamped with all-Black cast in Zoom call

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