List of Family Guy cast members

Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Stewie Griffin.[1] MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he had already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.[2] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.[3] Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison,[4] especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady.[5] MacFarlane uses his own voice while portraying Brian.[2]

MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, most prominently those of neighbour Glenn Quagmire, news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr. Hartman.[6] He explained on the Graham Norton Show that the voice for Glenn Quagmire is based on 1940s and 1950s radio commercials.[7] He is the only cast member to be in every episode.

Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt.[8] Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen".[9] At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redhead mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.[8][9] The voice was originally slower (and deeper for the original season), but when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less fucking annoying ... and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours."[8]

Mila Kunis voices Meg Griffin.[6] Kunis won the role after the auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.[10] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.[10] Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat". She further explained, "Meg gets picked on a lot. But it's funny. It's like the middle child. She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not. She's just in a perpetual mode of humiliation. And it's fun."[11]

Seth Green primarily plays Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman.[6][12] Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.[13] His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's.[14]

Mike Henry is the voice of Cleveland Brown, John Herbert The Pervert and various other characters. A Family Guy writer and producer, he began acting on the show as part of the recurring cast repertory (see below) but was promoted to main cast member in 2005. Since the cancellation of The Cleveland Show, he also voices Cleveland's step-son Rallo Tubbs on Family Guy.