A deep voice in an actor conveys authority, power, a large frame, and a person of knowledge and leadership. It is an attention-getter. Actors with such great voices are generally viewed as serious, well-established, and demanding respect, thought, and consideration for their performances.
Many stage actors with deep voices can project their voices from the front of the auditorium to the back so well, that it seems the people sitting in the back row have front-row seats to their performances.
Updated on December 25th, 2020 by Mark Birrell: There are so many great actors with memorably deep voices that we couldn't limit our list to just 10 and have added an extra 5 to better shine a light on the performers who so delight audiences with their bass and baritone. From iconic voice roles to huge movie characters, these actors have blessed the eardrums of fans for many years and deserve some greater recognition for their work, even if a few of them already are Oscar-winning legends.
Keith David
Keith David is a recognizable face from movies and TV, starring cult favorite Community and movies like John Carpenter's The Thing and They Live. David's voice may be even more well-known, however, with numerous voice roles such as Arbiter from the Halo games.
The actor hit the ground running with his movie roles, playing the unforgettable Childs in The Thing for his first credited movie role ever.
Powers Boothe
A native Texan, Powers Boothe has risen to fame thanks in part to his commanding voice, which has made him a perfect fit for many great roles as authority figures in TV and movies such as the role of the shadowy Gideon Malick in the MCU world, first appearing in The Avengers.
Boothe's performances are so memorable that he became immortalized as one of the internet's most trusty memes, taking his line of "Well... bye." from the popular 1993 Western Tombstone.
Sam Elliott
The only thing more famous than Sam Elliott's impressive mustache is his deep and characterful voice. Elliott has achieved great success in authoritative roles, as many actors with very deep voices do, but he's perhaps best known to modern audiences for his comedic characters.
He played the mirror version of Ron Swanson in the hit show Parks and Recreation and the role of the narrating cowboy from the Coen brothers' cult favorite The Big Lebowski. His achievements in acting were finally recognized by the Academy Awards when he was nominated for Best ing Actor for his role in 2018's A Star is Born.
Stacy Keach
An equally prominent figure from both stage and screen, Stacy Keach has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as being inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
As a movie actor, Keach has been in classic low-budget movies and huge franchise blockbusters like the Jason Bourne franchise.
Patrick Warburton
Probably best known to movie and TV fans as the voice of cop Joe Swanson from the hugely popular animated comedy show Family Guy, Patrick Warburton has a voice that is often imitated by irers.
Warburton has many other beloved characters to his name, however, such as Kronk from the Disney animated movie The Emperor's New Groove and David Puddy from the iconic sitcom series Seinfeld.
Kevin Michael Richardson
To see him, people may not know him. But to hear him, they will certainly identify his voice. Kevin Michael Richardson's deep voice has been featured as the Joker in the animated series Batman in which he was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards. Other notable voice-overs have been Bill Cosby on The Boondocks. Richardson was nominated twice in 2012 and 2013 for Voice Actor of the Year by Behind the Voice Actors.
He played small roles in television shows like How I Met Your Mother and Malcolm in the Middle. Richardson has also been featured in the movies Clerks II, The Cleaner, and BASEketball.
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is a highly recognized and honored English born actor, known for his role as Magneto in the X-Men franchise. The Academy Award-winning thespian has been acting for over 60 years and has won the bulk of his major theatrical awards in the United Kingdom.
His eloquent voice and English accent have been a trademark in movies. McKellen is also known for his role as the wizard, Gandalf, in The Lord of the Rings movie series.
Terrance Stamp
Acclaimed actor extraordinaire, known for various films including Billy Budd, for which he was nominated for Best ing Actor, is probably known by comic book irers as General Zod, the arch-villain in Superman 2.
Stamp had one of the most iconic quotes by a villain in a superhero movie when he told Superman in a soft, profound voice, " Take my hand and swear internal loyalty to Zod." But the son of Jor-El tricks him and crushes his hand, defeating him in the end.
Vin Diesel
The ultimate bad boy with a warm heart, Vin Diesel has helped lead the Fast and Furious franchise to astronomical success. The bouncer turned actor, with his deep, raspy voice and his muscular physique, got his start as Private Caparzo in Saving Private Ryan.
From his role in Saving Private Ryan, executives took notice of his deep bellowing voice, and subsequently, he landed the voice in the Warner Brothers film, The Iron Giant. Diesel has also voiced Groot in both of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Christopher Lee
British actor Christopher Lee, with his deep, monotone, strong voice, is arguably the best Dracula of all-time. Because of his voice and his presence, Lee fell victim to typecasting, playing the role of either Dracula or villains in several movies.
Lee's voice is also heard on various heavy metal albums and as characters in video games. He was the voice of Dooku for the animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2009.
