Renowned scientist and genius Stephen Hawking auditioned several Hollywood A-listers to become his new voice in a hilarious (and fictitious) sketch for Comic Relief. Professor Hawking, also known for his incredible sense of humor and for guest starring in sitcoms like The Simpsons, Futurama, and The Big Bang Theory, has used his iconic computerized voice for over 30 years. In the sketch, he says that he feels it is “time for an upgrade.”
Check out 10 of the celebrities who auditioned to be Hawking’s new voice:
1. Liam Neeson did his bit from “Taken” to highlight how “deep and sexy” his voice is.
2. Rebel Wilson auditioned like it was a film project, but pronounced Hawking’s name wrong.
3. Anna Kendrick tried selling her good traits–kind of.
4. Gordon Ramsay’s audition clip was full of expletives, as expected.
5. Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to sing a rephrased version of his own song “Memory.”
6. Miss Piggy of The Muppets promised to make science sexy.
7. Lin Manuel Miranda brought his A-game and rapped to express why he should be Hawking’s new voice.
8. Felicity Jones tried to bring her Star Wars cred into the audition and said that she’s the only one from that franchise offering her services for free, but–
9. John Boyega also auditioned, saying that he is the best man for the job.
10. Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” and won an Oscar for it, was insulted that he even had to audition to be the new voice.
Professor Hawking seemed to be unimpressed with the audition clips, saying things like “I don’t think anyone would take me seriously if I sounded like that,” and “I’d sound like an idiot if that was my voice.”
Hawking did choose a new voice at the end of the clip. We think it’s this British fellow. What do you think?
You can watch the video here:
Note: Comic Relief is a British charity whose mission is to “drive positive change through the power of entertainment.” Remember the video “Coldplay’s Game of Thrones: The Musical”? That’s one of their projects for Red Nose Day, a yearly fundraiser that they organize.
