List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

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.

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

Cast

[edit]

Voices

[edit]
Actor/Actress Region Role(s) Notes
Joseph May[1] US Thomas From The Adventure Begins until series 24
John Hasler[2] UK
UK/US Rheneas Series 20 only
Jonathan Broadbent[3] UK/US William "Bill", Benjamin "Ben" and the First Slip Coach
Teresa Gallagher[4] UK Emily, 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
US A blond-haired girl "Very Important Sheep"
A blonde-haired boy "Very Important Sheep" only
UK/US Belle, 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] UK Porter, Jack[broken anchor], Racing Car #3 and the Dock Manager ("Tale of the Brave" only)
US Charlie "The Great Race" only
Butch Series 17 to 24.
UK/US Montague "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 Mills Donald (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] UK Percy and Trevor Series 19 through Series 24
Christopher Ragland US
UK/US The Troublesome Trucks ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), Racing Car #4, some Cowboys, and a Passenger
John Schwab US Stanley Series 20 only, excluding "Saving Time"[citation needed]
Rob Rackstraw[10] UK Toby
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/US Diesel (UK: Series 13–24/US: Series 19–24)
US Sir Topham Hatt (Hero of the Rails-series 18), Henry, Gordon, James (Hero of the Rails-series 18), Kevin
Martin Sherman US Thomas, Percy, Diesel (King of the Railway–series 18) Hero of the Rails through series 18[12]
Ben Small[13] UK/US Rheneas, Flynn (series 17), Owen and Troublesome Trucks Series 16 through series 18
UK Thomas, Toby and Ferdinand Hero of the Rails through series 18
US Stanley and Charlie Series 15 through series 18
Keith Wickham[14] UK Edward, 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/US Harvey, 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] UK Spencer, 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

[edit]
Actor(s) Region Years Period
Series Movies Notes
Ringo Starr UK 1984–86 The first 2 Series [16]
US 1989–90 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 1991–96 Series 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 US 2004 Series 6 and 7 Two episodes of series 6 and four episodes of series 7 only
UK 1991–2012 Series 3–16 Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain Mystery[18] Series 3 through 16
Alec Baldwin US 1999–2003 Series 5 and 6 Thomas and the Magic Railroad (as Mr. Conductor) Series 5, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Series 6
Michael Brandon 2004–12 Series 7–16
Re-dubbed Season 6 		Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain Mystery Series 7 through 16
Pierce Brosnan UK/US 2008 Original cuts of Season 12 The Great Discovery The Great Discovery, Series 12 (early workprints)
Mark Moraghan 2013–17 Series 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 UK 2018–21 Series 22, 23 and 24 Big World! Big Adventures! through Series 24. As Thomas the Tank Engine
Joseph May US

Timeline

[edit]

Series

[edit]
Narrator(s) Model Series: 1984–2008 CGI Series: 2009–21
Classic Series: 1984–2003 New 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 Starr UK/US
Michael Angelis United
Kingdom		 UK United Kingdom
US
George Carlin US
United States
Alec Baldwin US
Michael Brandon US United States
Pierce Brosnan * *
Mark Moraghan US United Kingdom/United States
John Hasler UK
Thomas
Joseph May
US

Specials and films

[edit]
Narrator(s) Model era: 2000–08 CGI 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 Baldwin Mr. C
Michael Angelis UK United Kingdom
Michael Brandon US United States
Pierce Brosnan UK/US
Mark Moraghan United Kingdom/United States
John Hasler UK
Joseph May US
  • 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

[edit]
  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. ^ a b 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.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas and Friends.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Thomas and Friends.

Official websites

[edit]

Other sites

[edit]