Benoit Rousseau, a beloved veteran voice actor known for his work on the French-Canadian versions of Toy Story and Austin Powers, has died.
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While the cause of his April 24 death was not disclosed, Rousseau had been battling cancer, according to The Sun. He was 66.
For generations of French-speaking Simpsons fans, Rousseau was a cornerstone of the show, lending his voice to characters like Lenny, Mr. Burns, Duffman, and Abraham Simpson. He worked on the series alongside his wife, Johanne Léveillé, who voices Bart Simpson.
Rousseau also brought many English-speaking classics to French-Canadian audiences. Starting in the ‘90s, he voiced characters in Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Incredibles 2.
He also took on Marvel, dubbing Thor: Ragnarok and Ant-Man and The Wasp. To Quebecois audiences, Rousseau was most recognizable as the French-Canadian voice of Nicolas Cage, Kevin Bacon, and Dwayne Johnson. He also provided Mike Myers’ voice in the aforementioned Austin Powers franchise.
Meanwhile, in 2018, he worked on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, dubbing the voice of record executive Ray Foster.
Rousseau also appeared on screen, featuring in the 2022 dramedy Trois Fois Rien and the TV shows Lâcher Prise and Avant le Crash.
Colleagues Pay Tribute to Beloved Voice Actor Benoit Rousseau
Avant le Crash director Stéphane Lapointe paid tribute to Rousseau in a Facebook post.
“Ohhh, what a shock this morning. Our friend Benoit Rousseau has left us,” he wrote, per The Sun.
I often went to hockey games with him; he’d yell hilarious things at the opposing team’s players. In the same snarky Simpsons style, which he adapted to Quebec, he continued. “We often filmed together, too. A cultured, f—g funny, sensitive guy… Wow. I’m going to miss him. RIP Ben!!”
The Union des Artistes also paid tribute to the actor on Facebook.
“We learned with sadness the death of actor, stuntman, set director, adaptor, and musician Benoit Rousseau,” they began.
“Known by the general public for dubbing the voices of Nicolas Cage and Dwayne Johnson, among others in cinema, and more especially in Quebec, the voices of Mr. Burns and Abraham Simpson in The Simpsons series, on which he worked for over 30 years.”
“Our deepest thoughts go out to his relatives, family, and his colleagues,” they concluded.
Rousseau is survived by his wife.