You know that sound. It’s like a blender full of gravel and expensive bourbon. It’s the voice that sells you a GMC Sierra, then tries to convince you that a "peanut butter cup" is a personality trait, before spiraling into a 20-minute monologue about generational trauma.
Will Arnett has one of those voices.
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Honestly, it’s inescapable. You’ve heard him. Even if you haven't seen a single episode of Arrested Development, you’ve felt the vibration of that baritone in your living room during a commercial break. But there’s a massive misconception that Will Arnett voice acting is just him showing up, growling into a microphone for twenty minutes, and cashing a check.
It’s actually way more complicated than that.
The Physics of the Gravel
Most people think he’s doing a bit. They assume he’s straining to hit those low notes or that he spent his youth smoking three packs a day to achieve that specific "distressed leather" texture.
He didn't.
Arnett has been pretty open about the fact that his voice just... fell off a cliff during puberty. He once joked that he drinks a "steaming cup of crushed glass" in the morning to keep the rasp, but the reality is pure genetics. His dad has a similarly deep voice. It’s a biological inheritance that turned into a financial empire.
But having a deep voice isn't the same as being a good voice actor. There are plenty of guys with deep voices working at insurance companies. What Arnett does is different because of the timing.
Why the "Growl" Works
If you listen closely to his work as LEGO Batman, he isn't just being "dark." He’s parodying the very idea of being dark. He takes the Christian Bale "where are the drugs" rasp and turns it into a character who is so insecure he has to sing a heavy metal song about how he's an orphan.
It's a delicate balance.
If he played it too straight, it wouldn't be funny. If he played it too silly, the gravel would feel like a gimmick. Instead, he uses the weight of his voice to anchor the absurdity.
The BoJack Shift: When the Voice Got Heavy
We have to talk about the horse.
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BoJack Horseman is arguably where Will Arnett voice acting stopped being a "funny deep voice" and became a masterclass in emotional endurance. If you've seen the show, you know it gets dark. Like, "staring into the abyss of your own failures" dark.
Arnett has mentioned in interviews—specifically a deep dive with The Ringer—that recording BoJack was actually physically and mentally exhausting. He’d leave the booth in a daze.
Think about it.
You’re in a small, padded room for hours. You’re screaming at people you love (in the script). You’re sobbing. You’re portraying a character who is pathologically self-destructive. Arnett didn't just "voice" BoJack; he lived in that headspace.
The "Free Churro" Incident
There is an entire episode of BoJack Horseman called "Free Churro." It is basically just one long monologue. No cutaways. No B-plot. Just Arnett’s voice, a casket, and twenty-some minutes of grief, resentment, and a joke about a snack.
That is an insane feat for a voice actor.
Without the crutch of physical acting or facial expressions, he had to carry an entire narrative arc using nothing but cadence. It proved he wasn't just the "GMC guy" or the "LEGO guy." He was an elite-tier dramatic lead who just happened to be animated.
The Commercial King (and the Knight Rider Disaster)
You can’t talk about his career without the ads.
- GMC Trucks: He’s been the voice of GMC for over 25 years.
- Reese’s: "Not sorry."
- Dunkin' Donuts: He’s been popping up there too.
He is everywhere.
But this ubiquity actually cost him a huge job once. He was originally cast as the voice of K.I.T.T. in the 2008 Knight Rider revival. He’d already finished the work. Then, General Motors (GMC) found out.
They weren't happy.
Since K.I.T.T. was a Ford Mustang in that version, GM saw it as a massive conflict of interest. Arnett had to step down, and Val Kilmer ended up replacing him at the last second. It's a weird reminder that in the world of high-stakes voiceovers, your voice is a brand asset as much as it is an instrument.
More Than Just One Note
Despite the "gravelly" label, his range is actually pretty sneaky.
Look at his role in Ratatouille as Horst, the German sous-chef who claims he killed a man with his thumb. Or his turn as Slade in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. He can do "menacing" just as well as he does "pathetic."
In Twisted Metal, he provides the voice for Sweet Tooth (the physical performance is wrestler Samoa Joe). He manages to make a homicidal clown sound oddly charismatic and terrifying at the same time. It’s all in the breathiness.
What You Should Actually Pay Attention To
Next time you hear him, listen for the breaks in his voice. Arnett is a master of the "vocal fry" and the "crackle." He uses those little imperfections to show when a character is lying or when they’re about to break down.
It’s not just a deep voice. It’s a highly tuned tool for subtext.
How to Appreciate the Craft
If you’re looking to really understand why he’s the top of the food chain, don't just watch the big movies.
- Watch "Free Churro" (BoJack Horseman, Season 5, Episode 6): It’s the ultimate test of voice acting.
- Listen to the SmartLess Podcast: You get to hear his "real" voice, which is still deep, but you see how he uses his natural wit to manipulate the tone of a room.
- Compare Batman to BoJack: It’s the same "voice," but the soul behind it is completely different. One is a parody of ego; the other is a deconstruction of it.
The takeaway here is simple: Will Arnett voice acting isn't a gimmick. It’s a career built on understanding that a voice can be a character’s entire world, especially when that character is a 1,200-pound horse or a billionaire made of plastic bricks.
To really level up your appreciation, start noticing the specific rhythm he uses in the Reese's ads—it's a deliberate choice to sound both dismissive and inviting. If you're an aspiring creator, study his "Free Churro" performance to see how to hold an audience's attention with zero visual movement.
Next Steps for the Fan: Check out the 2026 GMC commercials to see if you can spot any shifts in his delivery compared to his 2010s era—it's a great exercise in hearing how an actor's "money maker" evolves with age. You might also want to look into his work on the Twisted Metal series, where he balances the voice-over with a physical double, which is a whole different type of acting challenge.