You might think you know every major Hollywood star’s face, but you’d be wrong. Frank Welker has starred in Transformers films, Pixar and Disney pictures, and a wealth of other contributions to the highest-grossing movies, but you wouldn’t know him walking down the street.
This is because he’s a voice-actor, and comfortably one of the highest earning in the profession. If you watch the Transformers movies in order, you’ve heard him many times in Shockwave, Soundwave, Galvatron, Megatron, and more. He actually originally gave life to Megatron in Transformer: The Movie, one of the best animated movies ever.
Speaking of the best movies, Welker’s talents were used in the likes of Mars Attacks!, Spawn, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, The Rescuers Down Under, and plenty more cult classics from the ’80s and ’90s. He’s also featured in some of the best Disney movies, like Hercules. You might not think it, but Welker’s been a comforting presence in your childhood if you’re of a certain age.
His cumulative credits place him third in the hierarchy of highest-grossing actors, according to The Numbers. Above him are Samuel L Jackson’s, whose credits in Star Wars and the MCU have made him one of the biggest performers ever, and Stan Lee, who’s number one thanks to all his cameos.
Welker’s still working too, providing vocal performances for the Scooby-Doo franchise as Fred Jones, as well as the Curious George films. He’s done some onscreen work, but nothing especially prolific, so you almost definitely don’t know his face. Having been in some of the best animated series alongside some of the best family movies, he’s a Hollywood fixture now, rightfully earning his place among the highest-earning stars.
If you’d like to keep up with who’s making the big bucks, keep an eye on our guides to the Avatar 3 release date and Marvel Phase 5. We have lists of the James Cameron movies ranked, and the best action movies so you can check more of the biggest stars ever as well.