The Venture Bros Cast, Character, and Season Guide

When it comes to adult cartoons and superhero shows, The Venture Bros. (created by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer) has one of the biggest and most creative casts of superheroes, supervillains, and civilians ever seen. As such, every character had a unique voice and manner of speaking. It's because of the characters' distinct voices and word choices that it was easy to mistakenly think that the Adult Swim superhero satire hired more voice actors than it really did.

In truth, many of The Venture Bros.' most important characters were voiced by the same three actors. The rest were split among guest actors, who only needed to show for at least one episode per season. This didn't diminish the quality of The Venture Bros. as a series and finale movie (Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart), but it could be confusing to figure out where exactly an actor performed. It should be noted that the listed actors and roles are just the most prominent ones; The Venture Bros. literally has too many actors and characters to list in one place.

James Urbaniak As Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture & Others

James Urbaniak is The Venture Bros.' most important actor. Not only did he portray Dr. "Rusty" Venture, but he also voiced some of the series' other most important characters. Urbaniak lent his voice to Rusty's perfect foil Dr. Jonas Venture Jr., the high-ranking villain Phantom Limb, and the Guild of Calamitous Intent's long-time leader, The Sovereign. He also voiced minor roles like the Underland villain Catclops, and Billy Quizboy's nemesis Augustus St. Cloud before Christopher McCulloch took over.

By performing the cynical and sarcastic Rusty with an underlying streak of genuine humanity and emotion, Urbaniak gave The Venture Bros. its soul. If not for Urbaniak, Rusty would've been just another one-dimensional adult cartoon protagonist who only existed to be a thinly-veiled and self-indulgent mouthpiece for the writers. Without Urbaniak, Rusty and The Venture Bros. wouldn't have been the icons they are.

Patrick Warburton as Brock Samson

Appeared in 7 seasons and 1 movie

Patrick Warburton only had one role in The Venture Bros., but it was more than enough to turn the cartoon into a hit and immortalize him in pop culture. Brock Samson was the Venture family's bodyguard and secondary parental figure. He started out as a parodic exaggeration of yesteryear's overly macho adventurers, but then he grew into a complex anti-hero with depth and humanity.

None of these would've been possible without Warburton, who was practically born for the role. Warburton is best known for voicing similarly hypermasculine characters, but Brock Samson was easily the most iconic and critically-acclaimed version of his niche.

Michael Sinterniklaas as Dean Venture

Appeared in 7 seasons and 1 movie

Much like Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas only had one role in The Venture Bros. that became inseparable from him and the show. Sinterniklaas voiced Dean Venture: the other half of the show's titular pair, and the son whom Rusty felt would follow in his footsteps.

Sinterniklaas voiced Dean with the kind of innocence and vulnerability that were absent in most of The Venture Bros.' cast, and he was one of the show's most naive characters. Still, he enjoyed and participated in some of his family's wilder adventures. More importantly, Dean was not above making the same selfish mistakes that The Venture Bros.' more eccentric characters made. In fact, he even committed worse ones.

Christopher McCulloch as Hank Venture, The Monarch, & Others

Christopher McCulloch arguably voiced the most characters on The Venture Bros. Obviously, his biggest contributions were Hank Venture and The Monarch. Hank was responsible for most of the show's heart and humor, and The Monarch was one of the best-written supervillains. McCulloch also voiced Henchman 24, who with Henchman 21 (Doc Hammer) were emblematic of the show's sardonic, pop culture-loving humor. This wasn't the only time that McCulloch and Hammer voiced a comedic duo in The Venture Bros.

McCulloch's most overlooked contributions were taking over Sergeant Hatred following Brendon Small's departure, and voicing H.E.L.P.e.R. while credited as "Soul-Bot." After Stephen Colbert's absence, McCulloch voiced recurring heroes like Professor Richard Impossible before his villainous turn. McCulloch also voiced The Action Man and Colonel Gentleman from the original Team Venture, the magical Dr. Henry Killinger, the retired scientist Dr. Z, and the vengeful henchman Zero.

Doc Hammer as Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Henchman 21, & Others

Doc Hammer was synonymous with The Venture Bros. because he was its co-creator, and because he voiced some of its most important characters. His most significant and well-known performances were undoubtedly Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, better known as Dr. Girlfriend, and Henchman 21. Dr. Girlfriend started as a one-note joke female character voiced by a man. Similarly, Henchman 21 was portrayed as a parody of pop culture-savvy nerds. However, they both evolved into some of the most well-developed characters ever seen on TV. Hammer achieved this through his clever writing and stellar voice work.

Hammer also voiced important characters like Rusty's third son Dermott Fictel, Team Venture's resident genius Billy "Quizboy" Whalen, and the badass OSI sniper Shoreleave, the latter of whom became a gay icon. Hammer's smaller yet notable supporting roles included Kevin of Dr. Girlfriend's Murderous Moppets, the Guild council member Red Mantle, and the Guild communications expert Ward—all of whom were one half of comedic duos Hammer voiced alongside Christopher McCulloch. Hammer also voiced minor characters like Caecius of the demonic Investors, Dr. Orpheus' former student The Outrider, and the Guild council member Vendetta (who was really an undead Blue Morpho, turned into a cyborg by Dr. Jonas Venture Sr.).

Other Notable Voice Actors & Characters

Although most of The Venture Bros' characters were voiced by just three actors, there was still enough room for some veteran actors and guest comedians to portray at least one guest hero and/or villain. These actors only appeared at least once in a season, but they still left an impression on the cartoon, its world, and its fans. Even if their characters' screen time was brief, it's hard to imagine anyone other than these actors voicing their respective heroes and villains.

Some notable guests included comedians like Stephen Colbert as the original Professor Impossible, Kate McKinnon in various roles, and Patton Oswalt—a big fan of the show—as the second person to be dubbed Wonder Boy by Captain Sunshine. Colbert was meant to voice Professor Impossible, but his scheduling conflicts necessitated that the character be voiced by a total of four actors. Actors like Nathan Fillion and Jeffrey Wright were also invited to voice a tertiary hero and villain, respectively. Similarly, Jane Lynch and Nina Arianda were cast as The Venture Bros.' most important newcomers for the series finale Radians Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart.

Two of The Venture Bros.' most well-known guests were Kevin Conroy as the superhero spoof Captain Sunshine, and Clancy Brown as the feared Red Death. Conroy's and Brown's inclusion was fitting, since they were best known for starring in the most influential superhero cartoons ever made. Conroy was Batman in Batman: The Animated Series, while Brown was Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series. They were so synonymous with their roles that they became inseparable from their characters, and they reprised them countless times after their original shows ended.