Once upon a time, four-time Academy Award-winner Woody Allen was considered one of America’s finest filmmakers. There was a realistic and lived-in feeling to his characters, all of whom were armed with a tongue so sharp they could shred a piece of paper into confetti. Allen often acted in his films, and his distinct vocal inflections and pattern of speaking made him a figure like William Shatner, Christopher Walken, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in that just about everyone has a Woody Allen impression. But the now semi-retired filmmaker is known for more than just his filmography, trademark stammer, or repetitive statements — Allen has also been accused of sexually assaulting his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow and made headlines when he married his former partner Mia Farrow’s adoptive step-daughter Soon-Yi Previn, despite having known her since she was 10 years old.
To call Woody Allen a controversial figure is a massive understatement, but he’s also someone who was so prolific and so popular that he’s become embedded in pop culture. So much so, he has reached the true sign of being a “somebody,” by being name-checked and subsequently showing up as a character on “The Simpsons.” First appearing in the episode “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” Allen has been mentioned multiple times throughout the series, including the time he was doing a commercial for Fujikawa Rice Crackers dressed like a boxer. Unlike other celebrities who cameo as themselves, Allen never stepped foot in the voiceover booth for the show. That’s because according to the book “Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons” by Mike Reiss and Mathew Klickstein, the creative team already had a great Woody Allen impressionist in-house.
Who needs Woody Allen?
Woody Allen had been name-checked on “The Simpsons” before it became publicly known that he was, to put it kindly, such a creep. So some fans might think the decision to not include the actual Woody Allen on the show was a decision made on moral grounds. In reality, it’s because “The Simpsons” has a ridiculously talented voiceover cast that can do their own celebrity impressions just fine. Instead of paying the premium for an in-demand director to take time out of their busy schedules to record lines, they can just use their daily employees to do just as good of a job.
“All of this raises the pertinent question: Why do we even use guest stars? After all, our cast can imitate anyone on earth,” the book stated. “In fact, we once wrote a whole show for Woody Allen, but Dan Castellaneta did such a spot-on impression at rehearsals, we decided, ‘Who needs Woody?'”
This practice isn’t unique to “The Simpsons,” either. “Family Guy” has been utilizing comedian Josh Robert Thompson to voice God (aka Morgan Freeman) for years, and plenty of fans have been none the wiser. It’s not just a smart and cost-effective measure for the series, but it also allows the talent that keeps the show running without celebrity additions to flex their skills beyond their day-to-day characters.
Woody Allen doesn’t get an additional paycheck, and voiceover actors get to add a new character to their roster. That’s a win all around.