While “Samurai Jack” featured plenty of action, it was more deliberate and stylish than other shows. Jack often fought robots, allowing for more intense, graphic action sequences suitable for a younger audience. The series excelled in visual storytelling, focusing on Jack’s solitary journey with minimal dialogue. This captivating animation and grand narrative have cemented “Samurai Jack” as a classic, bolstered by an outstanding voice cast. If you’re curious about the voices behind these iconic characters, you’re in the right place.

Jack, the protagonist, is known for his minimal dialogue and introspective nature. Throughout the series, he navigates post-apocalyptic and futuristic settings, moving from barren deserts to sprawling cities. When Jack does speak, his words carry significant weight, thanks to the brilliant voice acting of Phil LaMarr, a veteran with over 600 credits, primarily in animation.

After four seasons, “Samurai Jack” concluded without a definitive ending until it was revived by Adult Swim in 2017 with a darker edge. For LaMarr, this return was an opportunity to revisit a cherished role. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, LaMarr expressed his admiration for the revival, calling it “a work of art” and highlighting the necessity of the comeback, echoing the show’s theme song: “Gotta get back.”

LaMarr’s major breakthrough actually came in a live-action series: “MadTV.” The sketch comedy show was like the obscure cousin of “Saturday Night Live,” but it still made a legacy for itself — in fact, “MadTV” produced plenty of its own stars who continue to work in film and television. You’ve probably heard LaMarr dozens of times before without even realizing it. He’s behind Hermes Conrad on “Futurama,” Bail Organa on “Star Wars: Rebels,” and Wilt on “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends,” to name but a few. 

“Samurai Jack” wasn’t renewed after Season 4, leaving its resolution open-ended for years until Adult Swim brought it back with a darker tone in 2017. For LaMarr, the revival was a chance to return to a character he loved very much, as he explained during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I consider it a work of art,” the California native said, adding, “There was a need for this comeback. I mean, it’s in the theme song: ‘Gotta get back.’”

Every great hero needs an exceptional adversary to go up against. Jack tried for years to stop Aku, voiced by the mononymous Japanese-American actor Mako. Aku is basically the Joker to Jack’s Batman. If Jack is world-weary and stoic, Aku is a trickster who’s not above reading fairy tales to children to convince them that Jack is actually the evil one. Mako (who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in the 1966 Steve McQueen movie “The Sand Pebbles”) imbued the character with both a sense of menace and humor.

Sadly, Mako had to be replaced for Season 5 of “Samurai Jack” as he passed away in 2006, two years after the show’s cancellation. Fortunately, the creators had a ready-made replacement in the form of Greg Baldwin. Mako also voiced Uncle Iroh in “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a much more kindly figure than Aku. He died in the middle of that show’s run, and Baldwin proved to be the perfect replacement for Iroh since he had already mastered a Mako impression by listening to a soundtrack featuring his voice years prior. 

Of course, it was a big undertaking filling Mako’s shoes as Aku in “Samurai Jack,” but Baldwin got the highest honor imaginable — in an interview with Dot and Line, Baldwin described going into the recording booth for the revival with Mako’s daughter and grandson watching. “Afterwards, I walk back out and his daughter gave me a hug and said that I’d made her cry,” Baldwin explained. “I think it was one of the greatest professional moments of my life.”

During the first four seasons of “Samurai Jack,” the titular character didn’t have much time for love. He was too busy slicing through robots and trying to find a way to beat Aku. But Season 5 gave him a proper love interest in the form of Ashi, voiced by Tara Strong. Despite being a Daughter of Aku, she joins forces with Jack, helping him defeat the ultimate evil and traveling back in time with him where they get married. Sadly, the union doesn’t last long, as “Samurai Jack” ends with Ashi fading from existence since Aku would’ve died before creating her in the timeline. 

Strong has ample experience voicing both heroes and villains, which came in handy with Ashi. She was Bubbles in “The Powerpuff Girls” as well as Raven in “Teen Titans” and “Teen Titans Go!” She’s also played the famous DC anti-hero Harley Quinn in various pieces of media, from the “Batman: Arkham” video games to the animated series “DC Super Hero Girls” (here’s where she ranks against every other on-screen version of Harley Quinn).

Ashi was a crucial piece of the puzzle when it came to defeating Aku. She and Jack had a doomed romance from the start, so perhaps that’s why she gets a happier send-off in the 2020 video game “Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time” — there’s a secret ending where Ashi and Jack live happily ever after even with Aku defeated. Hey, with time travel paradoxes, anything’s possible.

“Samurai Jack” made excellent use of one-off characters. Many of the folks that Jack meets on his adventures swing by for an episode never to be seen again (until the finale where many familiar faces return to aid Jack and Ashi). But Jack had a regular ally even before that point in the form of the Scotsman, voiced by John DiMaggio. A formidable Scot with a machine gun for a leg, he aids Jack throughout the series, including Season 5.

Aku obliterates the Scotsman, but he returns as a ghost to guide his daughters and help Jack in stopping the villain. Like Phil LaMarr and Tara Strong, John DiMaggio is something of a modern voice acting legend. He voices Bender in “Futurama,” and if you listen closely enough, the Scotsman kind of sounds like Bender with a Scottish accent. He’s also the man behind Jake the Dog in “Adventure Time” and Dr. Drakken in “Kim Possible.”

The Scotsman represents a different kind of hero in “Samurai Jack.” While Jack is quiet and thoughtful, the Scotsman is loud, brash, and a tad crude at times. But, even so, his heart remains in the right place, and the love he has for his daughters jumps off the screen in Season 5. It goes to show how there are many different types of strength when it comes to doing the right thing and standing up against evil.

If you’re a fan of animated shows, then Tom Kenny will need no introduction. He’s a voice acting legend and the man who’s voiced SpongeBob SquarePants for decades now. That’s far from his only gig, as he’s also worked on hundreds of other animated series, including “Samurai Jack.” Kenny plied his trade on the first, second, and fourth seasons of the show in one-off appearances. For example, in Season 1’s “VIII,” he voices two bounty hunters — the Chewbacca-looking Og and the primate-inspired Monkar.

Kenny finally got a recurring role on the show starting in the final season when he voiced the robotic bounty hunter Scaramouche, who’s introduced in the Season 5 premiere. Scaramouche is unlike the myriad other robots we’ve seen throughout “Samurai Jack,” having far more personality. The character’s speech patterns were actually inspired by Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. and he has a penchant for calling everyone “babe.” It’s the kind of meaty, comedic role that makes perfect use of Kenny’s talents and it allowed him to really factor into the final outing of the legendary show.