List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

Last updated

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.

Contents

The characters were unvoiced with the exception of the narrator until the series switched to computer animation in 2009.

Cast

Voices

Actor/ActressRegionRole(s)Notes
Joseph May [1] US Thomas From The Adventure Begins until series 24
John Hasler [2] UK
UK/USRheneas Series 20 only
Jonathan Broadbent [3] UK/USWilliam "Bill", Benjamin "Ben" and the First Slip Coach
Teresa Gallagher [4] UKEmily, Lady Hatt (Season 13, "Day of the Diesels" and Season 15), Mavis (Season 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 light white and light blue stripes shirt and red shorts, some children, the school children, little girl in the red dress, the blonde-hair girl, and the blonde-hair boy
USA blond-haired girl"Very Important Sheep"
A blonde-haired boy"Very Important Sheep" only
UK/USBelle, Frieda, Gina (The Great Race only), Mavis (FQC 1), Annie, Clarabel, Judy, Cassia (Big World! Big Adventures! only), The Duchess of Boxford ("Percy's Lucky Day" only), Lady Hatt ("The Afternoon Tea Express" only and Season 21 onwards), the teacher (Season 18 only), the ginger-hair boy, the shouting little boy, the lady with the big 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, the lady in the blue dress, the barrow fan ("Reds vs. Blues" and "Useful Railway"), Albert's wife ("Thomas the Babysitter" and "Unscheduled Stops"), the lady in spring green dress, the female puppet show entertainer, little girl in the turquoise dress with pink flowers, the lady in the white dress and gray vest, the lady in the white shirt, light brown skirt and hat, the lady in the grayish white shirt, blackish gray skirt, and white pearl necklace, the chubby little boy in dark green shirt and dark gray shorts, the lady in the yellow dress and hat, The Blonde Haired Girl, The Lady in Red and Indigo Hat and White Dress with Gray lines, 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" only)
UK Monty [ broken anchor ]
Steven Kynman [6] UKPorter, Jack [ broken anchor ], Racing Car #3 and the Dock Manager ("Tale of the Brave" only)
USCharlie"The Great Race" only
ButchSeries 17 to 24.
UK/USMontague "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), a railway inspector (Season 17), the bird watcher ("Who's Geoffrey?"), and a Child
Joe MillsDonald (series 18—series 19), Douglas, [7] Oliver, Toad, the Welsh bird watcher ("Thomas and the Emergency Cable"), a Knapford Station yard workman ("Toad and the Whale"), and a Passenger ("Confusion Without Delay") [8]
Tracy-Ann Oberman UK/US Daisy Series 20 through Series 24
Nigel Pilkington [9] UKPercy and TrevorSeries 19 through Series 24
Christopher Ragland US
UK/USThe Troublesome Trucks ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), Racing Car #4, some Cowboys, and a Passenger
John Schwab USStanleySeries 20 only, excluding "Saving Time"[ citation needed ]
Rob Rackstraw [10] UKToby
UK/US James (UK: "Tit for Tat"–series 24/US: The Adventure Begins–series 24), Stanley, Owen, Donald (Series 20 onwards), The Small Controller, Bradford, Hugo, Big Mickey, Bernie, Professor Friederich, The Thin Clergyman, Monty, Thief 1
Kerry Shale [11] UK/USDiesel (UK: Series 13–24/US: Series 19–24)
USSir Topham Hatt (Hero of the Rails-series 18), Henry, Gordon, James (Hero of the Rails-series 18), Kevin
Martin Sherman USThomas, Percy, Diesel (King of the Railway–series 18)Hero of the Rails through series 18 [12]
Ben Small [13] UK/USRheneas, Flynn (series 17), Owen and Troublesome TrucksSeries 16 through series 18
UKThomas, Toby and FerdinandHero of the Rails through series 18
USStanley and CharlieSeries 15 through series 18
Keith Wickham [14] UKEdward, Henry, Gordon, James ("Hero of the Rails"-"The Great Race"; excluding "Tit for Tat"), Percy (Hero of the Rails-Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure; excluding Series 19), Whiff, Dash, Harold, The Thin Controller, the railway coal inspector, the man at the fire, the Wellsworth Station Worker, the Fat Controller's Assistant, some Workmen, some Passengers, Gator's Driver, and a Steamworks Workman
UK/USHarvey, Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Arlesdale Bert, Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt/The Fat Controller (UK; Hero of the Rails-series 24/US; The Adventure Begins-series 24), Dowager Hatt, Sir Lowham Hatt, Lord Callan, the photographer ("Wild Water Rescue"), a Railway Inspector, the Great Composer, the Maron Station Speaker, the Wellsworth Stationmaster, Thomas' Guard, the Grumpy Passenger, Father Christmas, the Groundsman, Tom Tipper, Gordon's driver (The Adventure Begins), James' guard (The Adventure Begins), a Knapford station worker (The Adventure Begins), some Workmen, some Signalmen, the 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] UKSpencer, Stanley, Charlie, Bash, Scruff, Rocky, Cranky, Carter, Butch [ broken anchor ] (Season 16 onwards), Kevin, Tony, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite"), Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, the photographer (series 16), the Maithwaite stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, the Knapford stationmaster, the bird watcher ("Henry's Good Deeds"), the blond-haired boy ("Merry Misty Island"), the dock manager, a railway inspector, some dock workers, the island inspector, the Sodor search & rescue centre manager, the Blue Mountain Quarry workman, the zoo keeper and the man with the hat
UK/US Ben, Diesel 10, Winston, Rusty, Merrick, Captain Joe, some workmen, Male Passengers, and The Man in Blueish Grey Shirt, Whitish Cream shorts, and Aquamarine hat

Narrators

Actor(s)RegionYearsPeriod
SeriesMoviesNotes
Ringo Starr UK1984–86The first 2 Series [16]
US1989–90 Series 1 through 2. Narrated episodes on Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor; re-recorded parts of narration at the request of PBS [16]
George Carlin 1991–96Series 3 and 4
Re-dubbed The first 2 Series
Series 3 through 4; re-dubbed series 1 and 2. Narrated episodes on Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor [17]
Michael Angelis US2004Series 6 and 7Two episodes of series 6 and four episodes of series 7 only
UK1991–2012Series 3–16Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain Mystery [18] Series 3 through 16
Alec Baldwin US1999–2003Series 5 and 6Thomas and the Magic Railroad (as Mr. Conductor)Series 5, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Series 6
Michael Brandon 2004–12Series 7–16
Re-dubbed Season 6
Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain MysterySeries 7 through 16
Pierce Brosnan UK/US2008Original cuts of Season 12The Great DiscoveryThe Great Discovery, Series 12 (early workprints)
Mark Moraghan 2013–17Series 17–21
Re-dubbed Series 13, 14 and 15
King of the Railway; Tale of the Brave; Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure; The Adventure Begins; The Great Race; Journey Beyond Sodor [19] King of the Railway through Journey Beyond Sodor
John Hasler UK2018–21Series 22, 23 and 24Big World! Big Adventures! through Series 24. As Thomas the Tank Engine
Joseph May US

Timeline

Series

Narrator(s)Model Series: 1984–2008CGI Series: 2009–21
Classic Series: 1984–2003New Series: 2004–08
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 StarrUK/US
Michael AngelisUnited
Kingdom
UKUnited Kingdom
US
George CarlinUS
United States
Alec BaldwinUS
Michael BrandonUSUnited States
Pierce Brosnan* *
Mark MoraghanUSUnited Kingdom/United States
John HaslerUK
Thomas
Joseph May
US

Specials and films

Narrator(s)Model era: 2000–08CGI era: 2009–18
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
Big World!, Big Adventures!
2018
2015
Alec BaldwinMr. C
Michael AngelisUKUnited Kingdom
Michael BrandonUSUnited States
Pierce BrosnanUK/US
Mark MoraghanUnited Kingdom/United States
John HaslerUK
Joseph MayUS
  • A green cell indicates the narrator who officially narrated the series.
  • An orange cell indicates the narrator who re-narrated the series.
  • A red cell indicates Series and films for which a narrator's role was cancelled.

* Pierce Brosnan narrated the original cut of series 12, but withdrew from the series, and his narrations were left unreleased.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. "Joe May". Voice Chasers. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  2. "John Hasler actor and voiceover artist".
  3. ""Jonathan Broadbent"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  4. "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
  5. "Rasmus Hardiker Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ""Steven Kynman"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  7. "Movie Watch". Western Mail. 26 March 2016. ProQuest   1775781750.
  8. ""Joe Mills"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  9. http://www.nigelpilkington.com/
  10. "Rob Rackstraw - 43 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
  11. "Kerry Shale - Actor | Kerry Shale" . Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  12. 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.
  13. "Ben Small - 14 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
  14. ""Keith Wickham"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  15. ""Matt Wilkinson"". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  16. 1 2 Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. Virgin Books. p. 314. ISBN   978-0-7535-0843-5.
  17. Allcroft, Britt (June 26, 2008). "Los Angeles Times – "The George Carlin I knew"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  18. Haring, Bruce (31 May 2020). "Michael Angelis Dies: Voice Of 'Thomas The Tank Engine' Was 76". Deadline. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  19. Agencies (2013-05-17). "Former Brookside actor to be Thomas the Tank Engine narrator". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-31.

Official websites

Other sites