You’re sitting in the theater, the bass is rattling your teeth, and this massive, oily alien head is screaming about eating brains. It’s terrifying. It’s also kinda hilarious. But if you’ve ever found yourself squinting at the screen wondering exactly whose vocal cords are being shredded to make that sound, you aren't alone. Most people assume it’s a purely digital creation—a computer-generated growl designed in a lab.
Actually? It’s mostly just one guy talking to himself.
In the blockbuster movie trilogy, including the 2024 finale Venom: The Last Dance, the man behind the mask is Tom Hardy. He doesn't just play the sweating, panicked reporter Eddie Brock; he is the voice of the symbiote too. It’s a dual performance that has basically defined the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU).
Who plays venoms voice in the movies?
When Tom Hardy signed on for the first film back in 2018, he didn’t want to just stand there and wait for a voice actor to be dubbed in later. He wanted the bickering to feel real. Honestly, the "odd couple" dynamic is the only reason those movies work as well as they do.
To make it happen, Hardy uses a pretty unique process. Before a scene even starts filming, he goes into a recording booth and lays down all of Venom’s lines. Then, while he's actually on set playing Eddie Brock, sound technicians play those recordings back into a tiny earpiece he’s wearing.
It sounds chaotic. Imagine trying to act out a high-speed chase or a serious emotional breakdown while a monster version of your own voice is screaming "HUNGRY" in your ear.
Hardy has been vocal about his inspirations for the sound, and they are... weird. He didn't just go for "scary monster." He told Screen Rant and other outlets that he mixed a few specific vibes:
- The raw aggression of UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
- The neurotic, high-strung energy of Woody Allen.
- The soul-heavy grit of James Brown.
- A dash of rappers like Redman and Busta Rhymes.
It’s a cocktail of chaos. You can really hear that "playful but dangerous" lilt in the later movies like Let There Be Carnage.
The Secret Help in the First Movie
While Hardy is the face and the primary voice, the first Venom film actually had a little help. The late Brad Venable, a legendary voice actor in the gaming and anime world, provided uncredited vocal layers for the 2018 movie. His deep, guttural textures were blended with Hardy’s performance to give it that extra "not-of-this-world" resonance.
After Venable passed away in 2021, Hardy took over the duties entirely. If you noticed the voice sounded a bit different—maybe a little more "human" or chatty—in the sequels, that’s why. It was just Tom, his earpiece, and a lot of post-production magic.
The Voice of Venom in Video Games
Movies are one thing, but the gaming world is a whole different beast. If you played Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5, you definitely noticed a shift. The voice there is much darker, much heavier.
That’s because it’s played by Tony Todd.
If that name sounds familiar, it should. He’s a horror icon, most famous for playing Candyman. Todd brought a level of "impending doom" to the character that Hardy’s version usually trades for jokes. In the game, Venom isn't a goofy anti-hero; he’s a terrifying force of nature.
Todd’s natural voice is already deep enough to shake a house, but for the game, they layered it to make it sound like a swarm of voices speaking at once. It’s iconic.
Other Notable Voice Actors
Venom has been around since the 80s, so Hardy and Todd are just the latest in a long line of performers.
- Hank Azaria: Yeah, the guy from The Simpsons. He voiced Venom in the 90s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He gave the character a strained, wet-sounding voice that still haunts the nightmares of 90s kids.
- Topher Grace: We don't talk about Spider-Man 3 much, but Grace did the voice there. It was basically just his normal voice with a slight filter. Fans... had thoughts. Most of them weren't great.
- Benjamin Diskin: He voiced the character in The Spectacular Spider-Man, giving him a more methodical, vengeful tone.
- Danny Trejo: Believe it or not, Machete himself voiced Venom in a Phineas and Ferb Marvel crossover.
Why the voice keeps changing
You might wonder why we can't just have one "official" Venom voice.
The truth is that Venom is a symbiote. He’s a reflection of his host. When he’s with Eddie Brock in the movies, he’s a bit of a reflection of Eddie’s own frantic, slightly unhinged personality. When he’s the villain in a video game, he needs to sound like a final boss.
Sound designers use a technique called pitch shifting and granular synthesis to create the final effect. They take the actor's raw recording—whether it's Hardy's growl or Todd's rumble—and they break it apart. They add "wet" textures (think squelching sounds) and low-frequency oscillations.
It’s meant to sound like something that doesn't have a throat. Because, technically, it doesn't.
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What to watch (or play) next
If you want to hear the absolute peak of these performances, here is where to go:
- For the "Goofy Best Friend" vibe: Watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The kitchen scene where they're making breakfast is the best example of Hardy's dual-voice work.
- For the "Nightmare Monster" vibe: Play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Tony Todd’s performance in the final act is arguably the scariest the character has ever been.
- For the "Classic Comic" vibe: Track down the 1994 animated series. Hank Azaria’s "Parker!" scream is legendary for a reason.
If you’re looking to replicate the voice yourself for a project or just for fun, don't just try to scream. Most of these actors use a "vocal fry" technique—speaking through the back of the throat with very little air—to get that gravelly texture without losing their voice by the end of the day.
The "voice" of Venom isn't just one person or one sound. It’s a legacy of actors trying to sound like a sentient pile of space goo, and honestly, Tom Hardy has set a bar that’s going to be really hard for anyone else to clear.
Keep an eye on the credits of any upcoming Spider-Man projects. With the multiverse being a thing, we might see these different voices start to clash sooner than you think.
To dive deeper into the technical side of how these sounds are made, look into the sound design interviews for the SSU films—specifically the work of the Foley artists who use everything from slime to wet rags to create Venom's "movement" sounds. It’s gross, fascinating, and exactly what makes the character feel alive.