Best Documentary Narrators

If there’s one thing most documentary filmmakers know, it’s that a great narrator can salvage a crappy film just as easily as a crappy narrator can ruin one. Yes, there are those rare gems that manage to ignore a narrator entirely, but for the vast majority of films in our beloved genre, there’s generally a voice behind the pictures. With this in mind, our team has developed a list of great narrators that have blessed the documentary genre. Admittedly, at times, we allowed non-documentary work to influence us (our greatest sin is loving fictional films almost as much as those that capture real life). Now, on to the list!

Morgan Freeman

1. James Earl Jones

Hands down, the easiest decision of this list was putting Jones in the number one spot. How can you deny the legendary voice of both Darth Vader and CNN? Besides, the man just has the perfect voice to keep anyone enthralled. Whether he’s narrating Disney’s Earth or his earlier career work on When it was a Game and Malcolm X, one thing is certain: James Earl Jones is the king of narration.

2. Morgan Freeman

Barely edging out the competition to win the number two spot Freeman wins based on the variety and impact of his voice. He’s done countless narrations for documentaries, but none more famous then March of the Penguins, where his warm voice brought life and personality to those tuxedo wearing birds. He’ll never beat out James Earl Jones, but it’s doubtful anyone will ever surpass Freeman either.

David Attenborough

3. David Attenborough

Nature lovers will feel slighted seeing Attenborough drop to the number three spot, and it’s true no one is more deserving of the medal stand than the voice of all things wildlife. The man is so good at his job he’s actually been knighted (something no one else on this list can claim). Headlining for such award winning documentary series as Planet Earth, Nova, Life of Birds, The Blue Planet and countless others, Attenborough has more than demonstrated his legendary status.

4. Tom Hanks

Hanks is known for two things in the documentary world: war and space travel. Seriously, that’s all the man cares about it seems. Never the less, we love the films he narrates- especially Magnificent Desolation. His voice can seamlessly transition from playful humor to serious empathy in the blink of an eye. He may not be as well known a narrator as the top three on this list, but for our money, Hanks is our man for anything space or war related.

Sigourney Weaver

5. Sigourney Weaver

Hated by some, loved by others, Weaver can be a dividing force in the world of documentary narration. She has a tendency to force the seriousness of an issue and probably never will be able to grasp the lighthearted side of voice work (most likely an unavoidable result of her performances in the Alien series). But despite these limitations we just flat out like Weaver’s narration, particularly in Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth series. If you need a female voice, look no further than this Hollywood starlet.

6. Lawrence Fishburne

The guy narrated the Michael Jordan documentary for IMAX (appropriately titled, Michael Jordan: to the Max). Enough said. Sure that may sound like an insanely shallow reason to put someone in the top ten, but Fishbourne is no slouch when it comes to voice work. He’s like a poor man’s James Earl Jones. Give the man a phrase and you’ll think he’s reading the most fascinating subject ever written. How else can you explain his ability to retain the attention of the otherwise brain dead Keanu Reeves (Woah!)?

Liam Neeson

7. Liam Neeson

A personal surprise for us was the amount of documentaries Neeson as actually narrated- in particular, his involvement with the IMAX sensation Everest. The Irish actor is known for being able to play any role and this distinction translates to his voice work as well. His documentary repertoire varies from Everest to Martin Luther to Evolution to Black Holes to even a film about a notorious prison involved in the Northern Ireland conflict (The Maze). Whew! Let’s just call Neeson the decathlete of documentary narration.

8. Liev Schreiber

The greatest narrator no one has ever heard of. Schreiber is probably best known for playing supporting roles in action films, but he should be remembered for his voice work on countless award winning documentary series. In fact, he’s so good at captivating audiences that he has practically become HBO Sports go-to-guy for any film they’ve made in the past decade. One day Schreiber will be recognized for his talents, and we believe that starts by making this list.

Ken Watanabe

9. Susan Sarandon

Sarandon could very well be the hardest working narrator on this list as she as voiced at least one (and usually two or three) documentaries a year since 1993. Though none of her films are truly memorable, we feel we owe this blue collar narrator some respect for the work she’s done. Known outside of Hollywood for her activist stance on numerous liberal issues, it’s surprising she hasn’t found work on more well known documentaries. Never the less, Sarandon’s dependability earns plenty of praise.

10. Ken Watanabe

This is easily the most controversial pick on the list as Watanabe has only done a handful of small documentaries, and none of them in English. But Watanabe has proven how his voice can captivate in any language. His narration work in Ashes and Snow demonstrates how his voice perfectly complements even the most breathtaking of visuals. His potential to be one of the greatest narrators of all time earns him the final spot on this list over other “voice-veterans” of the documentary world.

10 Notable exclusions:

  1. Michael Moore – unmistakable, but frankly a little annoying, just missed the top ten
  2. David McCullough – despite being tied to Ken Burns films (Civil War, The Congress, Huey Long) and being involved with 3 Oscar nominated documentaries, he’s just a tad too dry for our tastes
  3. Alexander Scourby – yes, he is the first voice of the Bible (he provided the very first audio recordings of that mammoth religious text), but much like McCullough, his voice work is quite dry. *

NB: The following aren’t in any particular order. Though there voice work in documentaries is generally quite positive, they’ve just done too few documentary narrations to make a lasting impression (also, Tom Cruise is crazy, and that hurts his stock)

  1. Martin Sheen (Who Killed the Electric Car)
  2. Peter Coyote (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room)
  3. Robert Redford (Incident at Oglala)
  4. Brad Pitt (E2)
  5. Tom Cruise (Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures)
  6. Leo Dicaprio (11th Hour)
  7. Nicole Kidman (I Have Never Forgotten You: the Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal)