Who voices Bluey and Bingo? Bluey creator Joe Brumm shares behind-the-scenes secrets
There is a reason why the kids’ identities are not revealed.
Bluey, the beloved Australian animated series about a playful Blue Heeler pup and her family, first hit screens on ABC Kids in October 2018. By 2019, it had gone global, captivating audiences worldwide and showing no signs of losing momentum.
With millions of views on ABC iview, Bluey has become the platform’s most-watched program ever. Its heartwarming portrayal of a close-knit dog family continues to resonate with fans of all ages.
Disney brought Bluey to the United States in September 2019 after licensing the series from BBC Studios. Additionally, the show streams on Youku in China, where it’s dubbed into Mandarin.
Who inspired Bluey and Bingo?
The creator of the hit show, Joe Brumm says Bluey is based on his own experiences raising two daughters.
Bluey explores everyday life and follows sisters, Bingo and Bluey spending a lot of their time in unstructured, self-directed play at home.
“Playing seems as natural to them as breathing,” explains Joe.
“It’s fascinating seeing how much they learn from devising and playing their own games, especially the more elaborate and social ones.”
Like Joe, executive producer Charlie Aspinwall has two daughters and this inspired the show to be about girl siblings.
Who voices Bluey and Bingo?
Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, has shared that the voices behind Bluey and Bingo come from children connected to the show’s production team.
“Bluey, Bingo and some of their friends are voiced by children of the production crew,” he said.
However, the kids aren’t credited on the show as their identities are kept secret to shield them from the public eye.
Are the Bluey voice actors kids?
Yes, kids voice many of the beloved characters on Bluey! Bluey and Bingo, along with some of their friends, are voiced by children connected to the show’s production team. According to Joe Brumm, the show’s creator, these young voice actors are the children of the crew.
Why are Bluey voice actors not credited?
To protect their privacy, the show keeps their identities a secret, ensuring they can enjoy their childhood away from the public eye. This unique approach adds an extra layer of authenticity to the characters, making Bluey even more relatable for its young audience.
Bandit is voiced by David McCormack
Bluey’s dad, Bandit, proudly features the voice of David McCormack, the lead singer of the ’90s indie rock band Custard.
The 54-year-old singer-songwriter admitted he never anticipated Bluey becoming a smash hit. He also shared that landing the role happened purely by chance.
“I’m not an actor. I don’t know how to do that! But a friend of a friend said someone was doing a show about a cartoon dog and can I read? I said, ‘Yeah, I can read’. And that was about it.”
In fact, the father-of-two thought the show might be a “webisode, like a one off, because we only did one episode to start with,” he explained.
“Now here we are, it’s bigger than all of us!”
Chilli is voiced by Melanie Zanetti
Chilli, the mum, is voiced by actor, Melanie Zanetti who also admits that while she knew the show was special, she was not expecting it to become the global phenomenon that it is.
“I had no idea it was going to blow up the way it has,” said the 37-year-old.
“But I did know it was something really special when I first read and the pilot. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.”
“It’s so true to life,” she explained.
“And I think parents look at it and say, this is my reality.”
Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti meet for the first time
David McCormack and Melanie Zanetti finally met in November 2022 after spending four years recording their voiceovers for Bandit and Chilli separately.
During their appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Melanie shared with the host: “(We met) two days ago, for the first time. We record separately, we live in different cities and I travel a lot for work,” she explained.
Dave added that he had not expected to do the voiceover on his own when signed on for Bluey.
“I thought it would be all of us sitting around a table, you know, like in the movies,” he said. “But we’re just isolated in our booths.”
Melanie and Dave opened up about how they landed their roles on Bluey. Dave explained that someone casually asked him in an elevator to read for Bandit. After recording the pilot, he assumed it was just a “one-off short animation” and never imagined it would become “bigger than the Beatles.”
Meanwhile, Melanie revealed that producers held auditions for months before calling her back to voice Chilli. They told her they “couldn’t find the same warmth from anyone else.” Awww!
WATCH: Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Celebrity guests on Bluey
The show regularly features guest appearances from celebrities, adding even more excitement for fans. For example, Hamish Blake and Eva Mendes have both voiced characters on Bluey. Let’s dive into the famous faces who have brought these lovable characters to life!
Australian stars voicing Bluey characters
Hamish Blake and Zoë Foster Blake
Australia’s golden couple, Hamish Blake and Zoë Foster Blake, brought their talents to the second season of Bluey. Hamish, crowned the 2023 Australian Father of the Year, and his wife, Zoë, a successful skincare founder, lent their voices to characters in the episode Hammerbarn.
In this hardware shop adventure, Hamish voiced a Labrador working as a Hammerbarn employee, while Zoë played a checkout dog poodle. Talk about a power couple!
Myf Warhurst
Australian radio announcer and television personality, Myf Warhurst lends her voice to a couple of characters, including Aunt Trixie and Indy’s mum.
Megan Washington
Australian musician and songwriter, Megan Washington has a reccuring guest role voicing a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd named Calypso, who is Bluey’s teacher.
Rose Byrne
The Bridesmaids star voiced Chilli’s older sister, Brandy in season three’s Onesies episode. We were all overcome with emotion when we learnt of Brandy’s fertility struggles and that she couldn’t have children.
Layne Beachley
Australian former professional surfer and seven-time world surfing champion, Layne Beachley voices a surfer ins season one’s The Beach episode.
Anthony Field from The Wiggles
Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field has provided a couple of voices for the hit show. The founding member of The Wiggles featured in season two’s Dance Mode episode, playing a post office employee who has to deal with Bluey’s dad, Bandit, when he refuses to stop dancing. He later lent his voice as Rusty’s dad, a Red Kelpie and army man.
Leigh Sales
Australian journalist, writer, illustrator, and author Leigh Sales voices Coco’s mum in season two’s Baby Race episode and again later that season, as an ice-cream lady in the Ice Cream episode.
Patrick Brammall
Colin from Account‘s star Patrick Brammall voices Uncle Rad in season two’s Double Babysitter episode.
Miranda Tapsell
Australian actress Miranda Tapsell voices Dougie’s mum in season three’s Turtleboy episode.
Carrie Bickmore
Radio host and television presenter, Carrie Bickmore provides the voice of the Terrier triplets’ mum in season three’s TV Shop episode.
Robert Irwin
The son of the late Steve Irwin lends his voice to Alfie, a toy store employee in season two’s The Quiet Game episode.
Mick Molloy
Australian comedian and media personality, Mick Molly voices Sparky (an Australian slang term for an electrician) in season three’s Tradies episode.
Adam Hills
Australian comedian Adam Hills voices a cricket commentator in season three’s Cubby episode.
Kate Miller-Heidke
Singer Kate Miller-Heidke voices Chilli’s mum in the Dragon epsiode of season three.
Darren Hanlon
Singer-songwriter, Darren Hanlon voices Alt Energy Dog in season three episode Sheep Dog.
International celebrity cameos in Bluey
Natalie Portman
Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman lent her voice to season three’s Whale Watching episode where she can be heard narrating a whale documentary.
Eva Mendes
Hollywood actress Eva Mendes also brought her voice to season three of Bluey, playing a glamorous yoga instructor in the episode Born Yesterday.
According to Sam Moor, Bluey‘s producer, Eva Mendes is just one of many celebrity fans eager to make a cameo in the wildly popular series.
“We’ve been very lucky to attract the attention of a few celebs now and when we discover that they are a fan of the show, like Eva said her and her family were, we just take the plunge to reach out to them and ask if they would like to voice a cameo role. We were delighted when Eva agreed, and we thought this role would be perfect for her.”
Neil Finn
New Zealand musical icon Neil Finn voices a doctor in season three’s Exercise episode.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the mastermind behind smash-hit musicals Hamilton and In the Heights, brought his talents to season three of Bluey. He voiced a friendly horse named Major Tom in one of the episodes.
As a dad of two, Lin-Manuel shared that Bluey became a massive hit in his household, dominating their screen time during the pandemic.
While visiting Australia and Ludo Studio in Brisbane, where Bluey comes to life, Lin-Manuel expressed his deep affection for the show.
“It was really special, really kismet, that the show that got us through the pandemic and, really, the only show everyone in our family can agree on … is made here in Brisbane.”
