Where are they now?

One of the main attractions of the series was the long list of celebrities providing the voices for it. The idea of this page is to look at where those same English actors are now, or as recent as possible. The big celebrity voices appear quite frequently on Television, as they are.... well, big celebrities, however alot of the voiceover cast never show up. Despite this, I will keep my eyes open for some of the lesser known voices, and if I spot them turning up on UK TV/Radio, I'll try and add it here.

 Dawn French - Dawn French popped up as a guest actor for the Christmas episodes of Watership Down, providing the voice of Buttercup. As a comedian, she has starred in many comedies for the BBC since then, including a series of 4 programmes of her popular 'Vicar of Dibley' sitcom, and another series of the comedy 'French and Saunders'. The most recent appearance is in a new BBC comedy called 'Wild West', as the character Mary. Recently, In Christmas 2002, she appeared in a Christmas special of the French and Saunders comedy. 

Then:   Dawn French -Filesize - 854k    Length - 0.45minsAs Buttercup (2000)
Now:  Dawn French -Filesize - 1.3mb    Length - 2.11minsAs Mary in 'Wild West' (22/10/2002) + Filesize - 762k    Length - 0.40minsAs er... French in 'French and Saunders' (25/12/2002)
+Filesize - 693k    Length - 1.09minsAs Harry Potter - Comic Relief 2003 (14/3/2003)




Stephen Fry - Stephen provided the occasional voiceover for the character Cowslip in the series. Whereas he used to be a frequent appearance on BBC comedies, we havent seen much of him lately. He did, however, appear in the specially commissioned Black Adder film for the Millenium Dome. The most recent example of his work is from Classic FM, where he runs a Sunday programme called 'The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music'.

Then:  Stephen Fry -Filesize - 684k    Length - 0.36minsAs Cowslip (2000)
Now:  Stephen Fry -Filesize - 375k    Length - 1.03minsClassic FM (27/10/2002) + Filesize - 581k    Length - 0.58minsBafta Awards 2003 + Filesize - 459k    Length - 0.46minsComic Relief 2003 (14/3/2003)



Jane Horrocks - Jane Horrocks provided the voice for Hannah in the series. Since then, she has appeared frequently in Dramas on both ITV and the BBC. The most recent appearance I noticed her was as a guest star in an episode of the BBC programme 'Linda Green' broadcast at the end of October 2002. When you hear her voice on this new clip, you can definately tell its the same voice!!

Then:  Jane Horrocks -Filesize - 693k    Length - 0.38minsAs Hannah (2000)
Now:  Jane Horrocks -Filesize - 1.32mb    Length - 1.12minsAs Theresa in 'Linda Green' (29/10/2002)



Phill Jupitus - Phill Jupitus provided the voiceover for Dandelion (apparently!!) in the series. Since then, he's been a regular comedian on both 'It's only TV But I like it' and 'Never mind the Buzzcocks', both produced by the BBC. He also acts as a radio host in the mornings on the BBC digital radio station 6Music. I have 2 clips for him, both from October 2002, one of them featuring him on the Buzzcocks programme, and the other for the radio. I have to say, I can see absolutely no similarity between this and the voice of Dandelion, but I'm just going off what the cast list says.

Then:  Phill Jupitus -Filesize - 1.07mb    Length - 1.40minsAs Dandelion (2000)
Now:  Phill Jupitus - Filesize - 371k    Length - 0.20mins'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' (28/10/2002) + Filesize - 417k    Length - 1.11mins6Music (Oct 2002)


Added 1/1/2003


John Hurt - John is a veteran when it comes to Watership Down voiceovers. He provided the voice of Hazel in the original 1978 film, as well as the voice of General Woundwort in the TV Series. Since then he has starred in several productions, including the film Harry Potter. This most recent example is from BBC Four, in the Alan Clark Diaries, with Mr Hurt in the title role.

Way Back:  John Hurt -Filesize - 710k    Length - 0.38minsAs Hazel (1978)
Then:  John Hurt -Filesize - 873k    Length - 0.47minsAs General Woundwort (2000)
Now:  John Hurt -Filesize - 705k    Length - 0.38minsAs Mr Blick in 'Bait' (27/12/2002) + Filesize - 817k    Length - 0.45minsAs Alan Clark (19/2/2004)



Rob Rackstraw - I couldn't find a picture for him, as I cant actually find out much about this voiceover actor. All I know for certain, thanks mainly to a 1 minute clip from Lavender Castle, is that he provides the voice for Campion. Since the series, he was provided numerous voices for the BBC programme Bob The Builder. It's from that which this more recent clip comes. Although it was aired on the BBC in Christmas 2002, I am led to believe this special episode was actually shown first the previous Christmas. Both Spud (The Scarecrow) and Travis (The Tractor) are played by him.

Then:  Rob Rackstraw -Filesize - 736k    Length - 0.45minsAs Campion (2000)
Now:  Rob Rackstraw -Filesize - 735k    Length - 0.40minsAs Spud/Travis in Bob The Builder (Xmas 2002)

 

Added 18/2/2003

Kiefer Sutherland - Kiefer provided the voice in 3 episodes of series 2, as Hickory - one of the rabbits who leaves Cowslip's Warren and moves to Redstone, in order to lead a life free from the shining wires. Since then, Mr Sutherland has appeared in numerous films, such as Desert Saints and Behind the Red Door. Neither of these are exactly blockbuster films, however he has also appeared recently in the well-known and award winning series '24', as Jack Bauer. After the massive success of the 1st series, Fox decided to produce a second series. This began airing in the UK on the 16th February, and it's from that which this clip comes.

Then:  Kiefer Sutherland -Filesize - 970k    Length - 0.53minsAs Hickory (2000)
Now:  Kiefer Sutherland -Filesize - 861k    Length - 0.48minsAs Jack Bauer in 24 (16/2/2003)

Added 1/10/2003

Tom Eastwood - A British Voiceover artist, Tom provided the voice of Corporal Moss in Series 1 and 2 of Watership Down. Since then, he has provided the voice of Bragan on the TV Series Xcalibur in 2000 (currently being repeated on Channel 5), as well as for several computer games. One of his most recent appearances has been as the voice of Clifford in the UK Version of Clifford The Big Red Dog (where this clip originates from).

Then:  Tom Eastwood -Filesize - 736k    Length - 0.45minsAs Moss (2000)
Now:  Tom Eastwood -Filesize - 735k    Length - 0.40minsAs Clifford (September 2003)

Added 19/2/2004

Richard Briers - Like John Hurt, Richard Briers has appeared in both the film and series adaptions of Watership Down. In the film, as the paranoid voice of Fiver, and in the series as plucky Captain Broom from Redstone. He's one of the only famous names who returned for the third series too. Since the series, he has appeared in several films, as well as providing voiceovers for various adverts. In 2004, his voice was heard again, this time on the promotional trailer for the new Digital Terrestrial Pay-TV service Top-Up TV. Quite a change in fortune for such a talented actor.


Way Back:  Richard Briers -Filesize - 649k    Length - 0.35minsAs Fiver (1978)
Then:  Richard Briers -Filesize - 894k    Length - 0.45minsAs Captain Broom (2001)
Now:  Richard Briers -Filesize - 822k    Length - 0.30minsPromoting Top-Up TV (19/2/2004)

 

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