Honestly, it’s kinda wild to think that it took thirteen years for Pixar to finally give us a sequel to Finding Nemo. By the time 2016 rolled around, we were all a little older, maybe a little more cynical, but the moment Ellen DeGeneres’ voice hit the speakers, everyone was right back in the ocean. The actors in Finding Dory had a massive job. They weren't just voicing fish; they were anchoring a story about disability, memory loss, and the weird, messy definitions of family.
Pixar is famous for its "voice-first" casting. They don't just grab the biggest TikTok star of the week. They look for a specific timbre. A certain gravel. Or in the case of the lead, a very specific kind of frantic optimism.
Ellen DeGeneres and the Weight of Dory
It’s impossible to talk about the actors in Finding Dory without starting with Ellen. She basically willed this movie into existence by joking about the lack of a sequel on her talk show for a decade. But when you actually listen to her performance, it’s deeper than her stand-up persona. Dory has "short-term memory loss," which could easily be played just for laughs. Instead, Ellen brings this quiet, underlying anxiety to the role.
You can hear it in the way her voice cracks when she realizes she’s lost her parents. Again.
It’s a performance rooted in the fear of being a burden. Albert Brooks returns as Marlin, and his chemistry with Ellen is basically the engine of the first half of the film. Brooks is the king of the "neurotic dad" archetype. He’s grumpy, he’s terrified of the open ocean, and he provides the perfect cynical foil to Dory's sunshine.
The New Class: Ed O'Neill and the Septopus
The real standout among the new actors in Finding Dory has to be Ed O'Neill. Most people know him as Al Bundy or Jay Pritchett, but in the world of Pixar, he’s Hank. Hank is a "septopus"—an octopus who lost a limb and his sense of humor somewhere along the way.
O'Neill’s voice is perfect for this. It’s gravelly. It sounds like a guy who’s had a long day at the DMV and just wants to be left alone in a glass jar.
The recording process for Hank was actually pretty legendary in animation circles. Because the character is so physically complex—animators had to figure out how a creature with no bones moves through a Marine Life Institute—O'Neill had to provide a lot of "grunt work" audio. It’s not just lines; it’s the sighs, the heaving breaths, and the sound of a grumpy invertebrate squeezing through a pipe.
👉 See also: Christopher McDonald in Lemonade Mouth: Why This Villain Still Works
Kaitlin Olson and Ty Burrell: The Echo-Location Duo
Then you've got the comedy heavyweights. Kaitlin Olson, known for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plays Destiny, a near-sighted whale shark. Beside her is Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale who thinks his sonar is broken.
- Destiny (Kaitlin Olson): She brings a clumsy, earnest energy.
- Bailey (Ty Burrell): He plays the hypochondriac perfectly.
Their back-and-forth is some of the fastest dialogue in the movie. It feels improvised, even though Pixar scripts are usually tight. They capture that vibe of two friends who have been stuck in neighboring tanks for way too long.
The Parents: Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy
Finding the right voices for Dory's parents, Jenny and Charlie, was crucial for the emotional payoff. You need voices that sound... safe.
Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy were inspired choices. Levy has those iconic, thick-eyebrowed vocal inflections that make him sound like the world's most supportive dad. Keaton brings her classic "Keaton-isms"—the fluttering sentences and warm, scatterbrained charm. When Dory finally finds the trail of shells they’ve been laying out for years, their voices provide the emotional anchor the whole movie was building toward. It's subtle. It's not over-the-top. It just feels like home.
The Recasting of Nemo
Here is a bit of trivia that surprises people: Alexander Gould, the original voice of Nemo, didn't return.
Well, he couldn't.
Time is a jerk. Gould grew up, his voice dropped an octave, and he no longer sounded like a young clownfish. He does have a cameo, though! Look out for the voice of Carl, one of the humans driving a truck near the end. Instead, Hayden Rolence took over the role. Rolence did such a good job mimicking Gould's original cadence that most audiences didn't even notice the switch. It’s a seamless transition, which is a testament to the voice directing of Andrew Stanton.
✨ Don't miss: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne: Why His Performance Still Holds Up in 2026
Idris Elba and Dominic West: A The Wire Reunion
This is my favorite "Easter egg" regarding the actors in Finding Dory.
If you’ve ever watched the gritty HBO drama The Wire, you know Stringer Bell and Jimmy McNulty. They are bitter rivals. In Finding Dory, the actors who played them—Idris Elba and Dominic West—are reunited as Fluke and Rudder, the lazy sea lions who hang out on a rock.
Hearing these two world-class dramatic actors argue over a rock ("Off! Off! Off!") is pure fanservice. It’s a hilarious nod to their shared history, even if kids in the audience have no idea why their parents are laughing so hard at a couple of sea lions.
Sigourney Weaver as... Sigourney Weaver
We have to mention the "Voice of the Marine Life Institute."
In the film, Sigourney Weaver plays herself. Well, she plays the recorded voice of the park's intercom system. It’s a recurring gag where Dory hears her and thinks of her as a friend. "Hello, I'm Sigourney Weaver," becomes a beacon of hope.
Interestingly, in the international versions of the film, this role was often dubbed by famous local naturalists. In the French version, it's Claire Keim. In the German version, it's Franziska van Almsick. But for the English-speaking world, Sigourney is the ultimate voice of authority and environmentalism.
Why the Voice Acting Matters for SEO and Beyond
When we look at the success of Finding Dory, it’s easy to credit the gorgeous water physics or the brand recognition. But the performances of these actors are why the movie has "legs" (or tentacles).
🔗 Read more: Chris Robinson and The Bold and the Beautiful: What Really Happened to Jack Hamilton
Voice acting is often overlooked during awards season, but consider the challenge. These actors aren't in a room together most of the time. They are in a padded booth, wearing headphones, staring at a script, and trying to imagine they are being chased by a giant squid.
The actors in Finding Dory had to bridge the gap between a goofy comedy and a serious look at living with a disability.
Key Takeaways from the Cast
- Nuance over Stardom: While the cast is famous, they were chosen for their tone. Ed O'Neill's grumpiness is a specific texture that the movie needed.
- Consistency: Recasting Nemo was handled with extreme care to maintain the audience's immersion.
- Crossover Appeal: Casting Elba and West shows that Pixar writes for the parents as much as the kids.
Final Practical Insights
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of these actors, there are a few things you can do. First, check out the "behind the scenes" features on Disney+. They show the side-by-side footage of the actors recording their lines while the animators watch their facial expressions. It’s fascinating to see how much of Ellen's physical squinting or Ed O'Neill's mouth movements ended up on the screen.
Also, if you're a fan of the specific brand of humor in this film, look into the work of Bill Hader and Kate McKinnon, who both have minor but hilarious cameos as a couple of fish (Stan and his wife) that Dory encounters early on.
The legacy of the actors in Finding Dory is really about empathy. They took a story that could have been a simple "cash-grab" sequel and turned it into something that resonates with anyone who has ever felt "less than" or worried about their own mind. That’s not just animation; that’s craft.
To truly appreciate the vocal performances, watch the film once with your eyes closed during a dialogue-heavy scene. You'll hear the micro-expressions, the stammers, and the heavy breathing that make these digital fish feel more human than most live-action characters.