Seth MacFarlane, the creator and voice actor behind the long-running animated series “Family Guy,” has revealed that voicing Tom Tucker, the local news anchor on the show, is the easiest character for him to perform. MacFarlane disclosed this information in a recent interview with IGN, attributing the ease to the character’s consistently “newsy” and deadpan delivery.
“You know what’s strange? Tom Tucker, the news guy, was always the easiest character of all to do for some reason,” MacFarlane said. “I guess it was because everything is delivered in that newsy [deadpan tone of] ‘this is all very formal and everything is 100% under control, and this is what’s going on.’” He further explained that the voice was inspired by “a cigarette spokesman from the 1940s commercials.”
Tom Tucker is a recurring character on “Family Guy,” known for his often outlandish news reports and frequent on-air disagreements with his co-anchor, Diane Simmons. The character’s consistent tone, according to MacFarlane, makes it a straightforward vocal performance.
In contrast to Tom Tucker, MacFarlane identified Stewie and Brian Griffin as the most challenging characters to voice. He described Stewie and Peter as “high energy characters,” requiring significant vocal exertion. “Just as far as sheer exhaustion, Stewie was definitely at the top of the list. I was usually red in the face after I got done with Stewie scenes,” MacFarlane stated.
Voicing Brian Griffin presents a different set of challenges. MacFarlane noted that Brian’s character often requires delivering emotional or meaningful lines without the benefit of a distinct, comedic voice. “There was no silly voice to hide behind. You know, Brian’s voice is slightly altered, but essentially my own voice,” he explained. The necessitate to convey sincerity and emotion in his natural speaking voice makes Brian a particularly demanding role.
Dimitrios Kambouris, a photographer with Getty Images, has documented MacFarlane and other actors at numerous events, including the 2025 Met Gala where Nicole Kidman was in attendance, as well as earlier events like the 2004 MTV Movie Awards where MacFarlane was present with Scarlett Johansson and Jake Gyllenhaal. Kambouris’ work has too captured images of other celebrities such as Jada Pinkett Smith, Conan O’Brien, and Kyra Sedgwick at various industry events.
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