Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar had a Morgan Freeman crab cameo. Sort of. Although it sure did sound a lot like the famous actor’s booming voice, it was actually not Freeman viewers heard in the film. To be sure, Freeman’s voice is one of the most recognizable in the film industry. The actor has over 130 acting credits to his name, he’s narrated documentaries about penguins, Neil Armstrong, and has even become the voice of God thanks to Bruce Almighty. However, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar opted to hire an impersonator for the voice cameo.
For some background, the film — which stars Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo as the titular characters who go on vacation and wind up in the midst of an unexpected adventure — has a scene near the end in which a crab, who’s credited as Morgan Freemond with a “D,” gives a monologue while speaking to Star, advising her on whether she should follow her heart and be with Edgar (Jamie Dornan). It’s one of the many wilder aspects of Barb and Star and it’s understandable why one would mistake the crustacean’s voice as Freeman’s. Beyond the timbre, the creature talks to Star about all that he’s done, including going to prison and driving around an old lady, both of which are obviously references to Freeman’s work in The Shawshank Redemption and Driving Miss Daisy.
As it turns out, the actor who does the voice of Morgan the crab is actually Josh Robert Thompson, a voice actor who’s been impersonating Freeman’s voice for years now. Thompson has voiced Freeman’s The Lego Movie character Vitruvius in the film’s video game and has most notably impersonated the actor in Family Guy. In fact, Thompson once impersonated Freeman’s voice to the actor himself when he made a guest appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2011. Freeman thought Thompson’s impression of him was “outstanding.” In addition to Freeman, Thompson has done voice impersonations of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Biden, Christoph Waltz, Liam Neeson, and Robert De Niro.
Thompson wasn’t originally credited on IMDb as the voice of Morgan the crab, but he’s since been listed on the site. Credit where credit is due. In an interview with Film School Rejects, Thompson also reveals that he’s been hired to “do a lot of dialogue replacement for [Freeman] on films” and even did an impression of his voice for the insurance company More Than Insurance in the UK. Thompson has been given permission to use his Freeman voice, with the actor being well compensated for it as well.
All told, it’s a pretty fascinating story and Thompson does such a fantastic job with his Morgan Freeman impression that he can easily be mistaken for the actor himself. As for Morgan Freemond, the crustacean from Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar has already become a hit with movie fans and critics alike, making a strong impression during his cameo. It’s certainly a scene that will continue to be talked about for some time and, at the very least, has drawn attention to the man behind the voice.