Zahir has already started attending virtual table reads for next season’s episodes, along side some of the “Family Guy” stars he has idolized for years as a fan: Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Patrick Warburton and others. Family Guy actor Mike Henry, who has voiced the character of Cleveland Brown for two decades on the Fox animated series, said he is stepping down from the role. And hopefully, we can make them while keeping the show seamless. https://people.com/tv/family-guy-mike-henry-no-longer-voice-cleveland-brown Mike Henry will no longer voice Family Guy character Cleveland Brown, becoming the latest white actor to step away from playing a character of color on an animated series. "The Simpsons" will "no longer have white actors voice non-white characters" and "Family Guy" will recast the role of Cleveland Brown, a Black character. Currently, Arif Zahir is cast as the new voice actor of Cleveland Brown in the ‘Family guy’. “To be fair to Arif, this was a role that our casting folks cast a wide net. What's going on? Arif Zahir is an amazing voice actor who has voiced in around ten movies and TV series in total. He has posted lots of videos on -Youtube and he has been getting millions of likes on it. THE FAMILY Guy voice actor who plays Cleveland Brown and Consuela has stepped down after 20 years to make way for a minority actor. “We did a deep dive, and certainly decided right then that if we were to recast Cleveland, obviously, we would have to consider him,” Appel said. We all felt and feel with what’s going on in our country, and it seemed like a good opportunity to make some adjustments on our end. Family Guy Casts YouTube Star as New Voice of Cleveland Brown. Family Guy has hired Cleveland Brown impersonator Arif Zahir to do the job for real and replace Mike Henry in the role of the Griffins' neighbor. “I’m just a huge Seth MacFarlane fan, anything he does,” Zahir said. It was “Family Guy” director Greg Colton who stumbled across Zahir’s YouTube videos and alerted the producers to his work. He has not disclosed any information about his siblings and parents in front of others. Executive producers Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin confirmed that everything was on the table, including both phasing out Cleveland or finding a new voice actor to take over the role. “I know it’s his baby and I want to give it my hundred percent. Arif Zahir is even available on his Youtube. The decision comes nearly three months after Mike Henry, 54, announced hi… “It wasn’t, ‘We need to do it no matter what, and we’ll get the best person available. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection “I went from around 700,000 followers to a million and then two million in the same year,” he said. It was a flowchart with one box: Can we find the second most perfect Cleveland — and someone who could live up to Mike’s standards.”, Sulkin noted that in a year of change, the decision to bring in an actor of color to perform Cleveland “felt like a change that we all got behind. 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Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Family Guy have announced that YouTuber Arif Zahir will voice the role of Cleveland Brown on the show going forward. The decision comes nearly three months after Mike Henry, 54, announced his resignation in the wake of George Floyd's death, saying an actor of color should play the character. “And so that by definition precluded any rote impression, or repeating of what someone else who’s very talented may have done. I have a fan base that supports me.”. The fact that we got a guy like Arif, who is fantastic, I think rewarded that decision.”. I played back clips of the show, and matched the pitch as best as I could. “These were scripts he could perform, for which he had zero reference,” Appel said. '” Appel said. Each scene, it wasn’t always exactly to the note of what Mike would have done with it, but it captured Cleveland.”, At that point, MacFarlane, who had been on the fence over whether to keep Cleveland going, was in. Voice Actor Mike Henry has quit his role of Cleveland Brown (Image: WireImage) Read More Related Articles. I’m just ready to do it all.”, Said Appel: “Cinderella wouldn’t have worked if Cinderella weren’t likable. His work is praised by the audience. ), “I thought they were going to write him out and I was like, oh no,” Zahir said. Zahir began doing “Family Guy” voices in middle school to crack up his classmates. Arif Zahir used to make parody videos and did voice mimicry and impersonation of the Cleveland Brown character of the ‘Family guy’ and he actually landed himself that part. “But I was appreciative of that, if that was the choice they were going to make. Family Guy Casts Black Actor Arif Zahir to Voice Cleveland Brown, Mike Henry to Remain Series Regular. Arif Zahir knows he’s living a bit of a Cinderella story: The aspiring young actor has gone from impersonating the “Family Guy” character Cleveland Brown on YouTube to starring as the character’s voice actor starting next season. Inside The Simpsons' biggest controversies from Michael Jackson to racism rows He has earned lots of fame at the present time, his voice is not only in movies but he has also voiced in TV series as well. “I try to put my personality and be really animated in my voices,” he said. “It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” he announced on Twitter Friday. Everything that Mike’s done for the character — I think the most important thing is for people to make sure that he is the original. Family Guy star Mike Henry (Cleveland Brown's voice actor) will no longer be playing the role. He launched a YouTube channel in the early 2010s, and started uploading his impressions — first, “Family Guy” characters like Cleveland, and then others like President Obama. Arif Zahir gives most of his time on Work. His channel grew to the point where it covered the tuition to attend the arts-centric Relativity School (now Hussian College Los Angeles) in Downtown L.A. He is well-known for his Eraser (2016), How It Should Have Ended (2005), and G.P.A. And building a rapport with them.”. Voice actor Mike Henry has announced that he is stepping down from his role as Cleveland Brown on Family Guy. He’s a great character, and great for Peter and Quagmire and Joe to interact with. As each stage of this process progressed, the list narrowed and narrowed until there was one person on that list.”. And his approach to the scripts just floored Seth, me and Alec. Zahir said he studied Cleveland Brown both as a voice impressionist but also as an actor, and that may have been the edge that landed him the part. Back in June, voice actor Mike Henry stepped down from his longtime role as Cleveland Brown on Family Guy, saying, “persons of color should play characters of color.”Now, as NME reports, the show has announced his replacement: YouTube star Arif Zahir.. Zahir, who has done impressions of the character on his YouTube channel, will take over for Henry beginning with Season 19 of the show. Voice actor Mike Henry said Friday on Twitter that he no longer will voice the Cleveland Brown character on Fox’s animated Family Guy. Variety reports comedian and YouTube star Arif Zahir will be taking over the role of Cleveland Brown from Mike Henry. cleveland brown voice actor videos and latest news articles; GlobalNews.ca your source for the latest news on cleveland brown voice actor . “Seth was always very specific that he said, we would never just cast a great impressionist who wasn’t also a really talented comic actor,” Appel said. Voice actor Arif Zahir has landed the … “But between now and then, it’s about recording and getting everything done. “And I kept growing and growing and I’ve just gone full time on YouTube since then. He is well-known for his Eraser (2016), How It Should Have Ended (2005), and G.P.A. “I can’t wait to be so busy and to the point where I only have time to sleep and work. A post shared by Arif Zahir (@azerrz.4rif) on Sep 18, 2020 at 12:53pm PDT, Arif Zahir: 10 Facts on the New Cleveland Brown Voice Actor. Arif Zahir is an amazing voice actor who is starred as a new voice actor for the Cleveland Brown in ‘Family Guy’. “I felt like a lot of people who did Cleveland Brown’s impression lacked that. As soon as physical table reads can once again happen, Zahir looks forward to meeting with Henry in person. He has got lots of viewers and subscribers on his Youtube Channel. Now, after The Simpsons found a new actor to voice Homer’s friend Carl, Family Guy has done the same by announcing a new voice for Cleveland Brown. “And we wouldn’t cast a great comic actor who couldn’t capture not just the voice, but some of the part of the role that Mike Henry had nurtured for almost 20 years.”. Moving on to his relationship status he has not revealed whether he has been dating any girlfriend or not. But when attending classes limited his time making videos — and his YouTube audience dipped — Zahir dropped out to focus on the channel. At the present time, he has, Talking about his net worth, he has got 6.26 million subscribers on his Youtube Channel, besides this, he even has been voicing on the movies, he has been earning a lot, his. Zahir said he was convinced that “Family Guy” would retire the character after Mike Henry, who originated the role, stepped down in June. Watch Tyrone Magnus's video on Cleveland Brown's Voice Actor Stepping Down! Henry said he wanted to give the opportunity to play the character to a black actor. I couldn’t help but think a lot of people that probably had auditioned didn’t really take the notes as much as I did. “One of the biggest things was I didn’t want to tarnish the character’s legacy or Mike’s legacy,” he said. When you have the luxury of having 20 seasons, it’s nice that you can rely on the shared history of those four characters. He is young and handsome who was born on April 15, 1994, in Berkeley, California. Family Guy’s new Cleveland voice actor revealed his version of the character and fans are thrilled about it. Michael Robert Henry (born November 7, 1965) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, director, writer and producer. It’s hard not to root for him.”. After a controversy over the casting of White actors in non-White roles, Family Guy has announced the new voice of Cleveland Brown. Henry has also been supportive of the change, and is still very much a part of “Family Guy” as a regular cast member performing other voices. Arif Zahir is set to replace Mike Henry as the voice of Cleveland Brown in 'Family Guy'. FAMILY Guy producers have cast YouTuber Arif Zahir as the new voice of Cleveland Brown after the original voice actor quit. Mike Henry, 54, announced his resignation after voicing the chara… He is active on his social media like Youtube. Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry said Friday that he is stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown on the Fox animated series. “My mama almost had a heart attack when I told her!”, When the “Family Guy” producers first emailed Zahir about auditioning to take over as the voice of Cleveland Brown, the young YouTube star thought it was a joke. I studied it from the beginning of the ‘Cleveland Show’ to watching ‘Family Guy’ back in the late ’90s and seeing [Henry’s] performance change over the years. Henry, who … I really studied every little nuance that Mike’s performance had as Cleveland. It’s really lived-in more than it was. And we had a bunch of really talented actors audition for. FAMILY Guy producers have cast YouTuber Arif Zahir as the new voice of Cleveland Brown after the original voice actor quit. When the “Family Guy” producers first emailed Zahir about auditioning to take over as the voice of Cleveland Brown, the young YouTube star thought it was a joke. He has earned lots of fame at the present time, his voice is not only in movies but he has also voiced in TV series as well. If Mike didn’t want anyone else to do this character it’s completely understandable.”. The decision is just the latest in an avalanche of White voice actors leaving roles that should be played by Black voice actors. (2018). Appel and Sulkin said they weren’t aware of Zahir until they started looking for a new Cleveland, but quickly became enamored by his YouTube page and impersonations. (2018). “Once that episode finally airs, and seeing my name next to these legends that I’ve grown up with, it’s going to be another level of surrealism for me,” he said. But some information is available on. Arif Zahir has been cast as the new voice of Cleveland Brown on Fox's Family Guy following Mike Henry stepping down from the role. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. He really is Cleveland Brown and I’m just continuing the legacy.”, Meanwhile, it’s been a whirlwind since the Cleveland announcement for Zahir, who has now signed with CAA and has started dreaming big: “Whether it be film, stage, voice, video game acting, the sky’s the limit,” he said. Voice actor Mike Henry announced he would leave the role of Cleveland Brown on 'Family Guy' to allow a black actor to play the character. He is known for his work on the animated TV series Family Guy (1999–present), where he writes and produces episodes along with … The 54-year-old voice actor, who is … © Copyright 2020 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. Arif Zahir is an amazing voice actor who is starred as a new voice actor for the Cleveland Brown in ‘Family Guy’. The 54-year-old voice actor announced in June he would be stepping down as the voice of the popular 'Family Guy' character - who once had his own spin-off in the form of the since-axed 'Cleveland Show' - as he no longer felt it was right for him to voice a Black character. Family Guy has found its new Cleveland Brown.Voice actor Arif Zahir, also known as Azerrz, who does impressions of Cleveland on YouTube, has been tapped to replace Mike Henry, Cleveland… “And I think we just found the four-leaf clover.”, Added Appel: “I think a lot of the fans would have been really sorry to see Cleveland leave Quahog. I would just sit there for hours and just play it, pause, play it, pause.”, After several rounds of auditions, the producers gave Zahir unaired episodes to perform. By Holden Walter-Warner Jun 26, 2020 A big change is coming to Family Guy, as the actor who voices Cleveland Brown quits in order to allow a Black actor to take over the role. “We were talking about other possible solutions to a life without Cleveland, such as a new character, whatever it might be, while a parallel track continued of auditions.”, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane set the bar high, however. (Henry joined several white performers on animated series who have agreed to no longer voice characters of color. His information is not available on Wikipedia. “Seth’s bottom line was during those conversations that, if we’re going to do this, we need to have somebody great,” Sulkin said. “It doesn’t seem real,” said Zahir, who officially landed the gig last month, as “Family Guy” was renewed for its 19th and 20th seasons. Reports comedian and YouTube star Arif Zahir is an amazing voice actor who is starred as a new of. 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