50 Roles for 50 Actors: Dream casting the Star Wars saga

Dream casting the Star Wars saga: Harvey Fierstein as Admiral Ackbar

Once again, we’re looking for a voice. We don’t want to ruin Admiral Ackbar’s signature line (“It’s a trip!” No, that’s not it. I’m sure it’ll come to me.), so we’d best consider carefully.

Actor Erik Bauersfeld came up with Ackbar’s voice after looking at a picture of the character. The resulting voice was raspy and guttural, the kind of voice you might hear from someone whose meals consist mostly of whiskey and cigarettes. When paired with the visual of Ackbar himself, who kind of looks like alien shellfish, the effect was pretty memorable.

Harvey Fierstein has one of the more epic smoker’s voices in show business. Also, in case the voice alone isn’t enough, Fierstein comes well-equipped to handle any acting challenges the role presents, having worked extensively in TV, movies, videogames, and on the stage for decades.

As long as we’re talking about him, Fierstein’s raspy voice would also be a good fit for Sebulba the pod racer, Anakin’s alien rival from the The Phantom Menace.

Next: The rest the universe has to offer