Although Arif Zahir started his YouTube career impersonating Cleveland, he continued to pursue other ambitions. 'The Simpsons': The New Voice Of Hank Azaria's Carl Is Revealed, “I welcome Arif to the Family Guy team,” Henry said. Arif Zahir, a YouTuber who has made a name for himself doing impressions of Family Guy's Cleveland Brown, has been officially cast as the character. Arif Zahir (right) will be taking on the role of Cleveland (Picture: Fox/Getty/LA Pictures3) YouTuber Arif Zahir has been announced as the new voice … “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color,” Henry, who is white, said in his announcement about playing Cleveland, who is black. Copyright © 2020 Penske Business Media, LLC. “Arif’s vocal talent is obvious, but his understanding of Cleveland and his respect for the character give me confidence that he is in the right hands. In June, Kristen Bell revealed she would not return as the voice of Central Park‘s mixed race Molly after the first season. Family Guy has hired Cleveland Brown impersonator Arif Zahir to do the job for real and replace Mike Henry in the role of the Griffins' neighbor. Arif Zahir will take over the role from Mike Henry. Overabundant gratitude. Mike Henry, who had voiced Brown since the show’s inception in 1999, announced in June that he was stepping down from the role. Related Story YouTube star Arif Zahir will be replacing Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown on Fox's animated series Family Guy after Henry announced in June that he would be stepping down from the role. All Rights reserved. The town that doesn't believe in COVID: 'Off-the-rails' mayor of tiny Washington community keeps open its 30... More than 80% of Americans say they WILL get a COVID-19 vaccine - but most want to 'wait a bit' - as Fauci... Bah HumBUG! To Mike, you created something truly special, and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy. Zahir has gained on following on YouTube for his wide range of impressions which include Cleveland Brown, Barrack Obama, Donald Trump, Stewie Griffin, 21 … 'I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. And to the millions of fans who love this show, I promise not to let you down.”. Family Guy has found the actor who will replace Mike Henry, who has voiced Cleveland for the last 20 years. Arif Zahir is a voice actor known for voicing Cleveland Brown. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role. The Simpsons bring on black actor Alex Desert to voice Carl... Is Bella wishing he'd been The Bachelor instead? The casting news comes nearly three months to the day after "Family Guy" writer Mike Henry, who is white, said he would he would no longer voice Cleveland Brown, who is Black. The changes are part of a movement to end voiceover whitewashing in TV animation. EXCLUSIVE: 'Where are you and where is my money?' Maskless Santa and Mrs. Claus test positive for COVID-19 two days after taking photos with at least 50 kids sitting on their laps at Georgia parade, NYC prepares for its heaviest December snowfall in a DECADE: Nor'easter to dump up to 18 inches statewide tomorrow with up to 2 foot in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Missile scare at US Air Force base in Germany after false alarm goes off telling crews to 'seek cover' from an aerial attack. You will be redirected back to your article in, Jimmy Horowitz Named Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal Business Affairs & Operations, Lily James And Sebastian Stan Tapped To Play Pam Anderson And Tommy Lee In Hulu Event Series 'Pam & Tommy', ‘Mr. YouTuber Arif Zahir will take over Mike Henry's role on Family Guy's 19th season, which is set to air in the 2021-22 season. EXCLUSIVE: 'I still struggle with it - but I'm okay.' YouTube star Arif Zahir has been announced as the new voice of Cleveland Brown in Family Guy. Im Arif Zahir, an aspiring actor/voice actor. We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Family Guy have announced that YouTuber Arif Zahir will voice the role of Cleveland Brown on the show going forward.. Family Guy is available to stream on Stan in Australia, More inclusive: The casting of Zahir comes as a number of animated shows have committed to casting actors of color to voice non-White roles. The comments below have not been moderated. Hey everybody! Mike Henry had voiced Cleveland since 1999, but announced he was stepping down in June. Arif Zahir, beginning in Season 19 (Broadcast season 20), will be the new voice of Cleveland Brown, taking over from Mike Henry. For Arif, it wasn’t necessarily intentional. “When I heard that Mike Henry was stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown — my favorite cartoon character of all time — I was shocked and saddened, assuming we’d never see him again. Fox has landed YouTube star Arif Zahir as the new voice of Family Guy's Cleveland Brown.Zahir will be taking the character over from Mike Henry, who announced in … The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. We’ve mentioned other content creators using their new media platform to expand their success in other ventures. "I love this character, but persons of colour should play characters of colour," Henry said at the time. ', Advocate: The announcement comes months after Henry, who previously voiced Cleveland Brown on the animated series for more two decades, revealed he would be stepping down, Saying goodbye: Henry appeared pleased with his replacement, as he welcomed Zahir, who is repped by CAA, to the 'Family Guy team' and praised his 'obvious' vocal talent and understanding of Cleveland Brown; seen in 2018. Mike Henry, who is white, has voiced Brown since the Seth MacFarlane-helmed show began in 1999. Contact Info: Fox’s Family Guy has recast the role of Cleveland Brown with YouTube star Arif Zahir. Zahir, a black man, promised Twitter users on Friday that he won't let them down and shared a public statement about his new role Credit: Youtube/Arif Zahir. ', 'I was shocked and saddened, assuming we’d never see him again,' Zahir said in a statement, obtained by THR. Voice actor Arif Zahir, who does impressions of Cleveland on YouTube, has been tapped to replace Mike Henry, Cleveland's original portrayer, who stepped down from the … However, Henry was among the white voice-actors who stepped down from playing African-American characters this past summer so performers of color could take on the roles. Arif Zahir, known for his impressions of Cleveland Brown from "Family Guy," has gone from mimicking the character to actually playing him. Overabundant gratitude'. You can watch one of the videos below. "I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. In a June Twitter post, Henry wrote: "It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Arif Zahir started his YouTube channel with the name Azerrz in December 2012. 'When I learned I would get to take over the role? I look forward to getting to know Arif and working with him to make sure Cleveland stays every bit as awesome as he has always been.”. Henry appeared pleased with his replacement, as he welcomed Zahir, who is repped by CAA, to the 'Family Guy team' and praised his 'obvious' vocal talent and understanding of Cleveland Brown. Mike Henry was the original voice actor for the character of Cleveland Brown, joining the cast of Family Guy all the way back when it premiered in 1999. Zahir, a black man, promised Twitter users on Friday that he won't let them down and shared a public statement about his new role Credit: Youtube/Arif Zahir. Overabundant gratitude. Zahir had previously done imitations of Cleveland on his YouTube channel under the name of 'Azzerz'. The announcement comes just months after Henry, who previously voiced Cleveland Brown on the animated series for more two decades, revealed he would be stepping down. 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