Rick and Morty revealed its new voice actors during the show’s season 7 premiere.
Though the series trailer dropped in September, fans were left in suspense over whose voices they heard. After the first episode of new season aired on Sunday, viewers have now learned that Ian Cardoni voices Rick and Harry Belden portrays Morty.
Previously, scientist Rick and his grandson Morty were both voiced by co-creator Justin Roiland. However, Roiland was let go from the cartoon following accusations of domestic violence.
Rick and Morty showrunner Scott Marder said he heard thousands of actors in the casting process, which went on for six months.
“It was harder than we thought. I thought it’d have been easier,” Marder told The Hollywood Reporter. “Rick was a lot harder than I expected; everyone sounded like Macho Man Randy Savage or like a cousin of his. No one sounded exactly like Rick. It was tricky. People had it in splashes, but once you bring them back in, they couldn’t do it conversationally, which is what we needed. It was exhaustive.”
Who Is Ian Cardoni?
Cardoni is a “history and sci-fi buff” as well as a “shameless foodie,” according to his Instagram bio. Cardoni was raised in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, IMDb states.
On Sunday, the voice actor took to Instagram to share the news of his new role with his followers.
“Excited. Grateful. Schwifty,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to Cardoni via email for comment.
Who Is Harry Belden?
Belden, meanwhile, grew up in Chicago, Illinois and caught the acting bug early on.
“From a young age he has loved two things: performing and superheroes. Until age seven, Harry dressed as a different superhero every day of his life, until his teachers told him he had to comply with the ‘dress code’ like all the other students,” his website reads. “In order to find a socially acceptable way to dress up in costumes and pretend to be somebody else, he decided to pursue acting as a profession.”
The actor got his BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he appeared in commercials as well as television dramas like Chicago Med and Chicago Fire.
Newsweek reached out to Belden via email for comment.
It was revealed in January 2023 that Roiland was facing multiple counts of domestic abuse charges. In 2020, Roiland had indeed been charged with domestic battery with corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.
In January 2023, Marie Moore, senior vice president of communications at Warner Media, had said in a brief statement to Newsweek at the time: “Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland.”
Roiland pleaded not guilty at a pre-trial, and the charges were dropped in March 2023.
“I’m thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process,” Roiland wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on March 22.
In September, an NBC News report alleged that Roiland used his fame throughout the years to pursue young, including underage, fans on social media. One of the women alleged he had sexually assaulted her. According to NBC News, citing his attorney, Roiland has denied the allegations.