Hazbin Hotel’s return to the streaming platforms after a debut back in 2019 has been nothing short of astonishing, with fans and critics already in love with A24’s adult-animated series. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for demons to be rehabilitated and subsequently allowed into heaven.
One of the things that fans have noticed in the new episodes of Hazbin Hotel is the voice of the character, Zestial Morde, one of the minor protagonists in Hazbin Hotel’s first season. Immediately after the character spoke, fans seemed to assume that it was Crank star Jason Statham in the voice role.
The action star is an unlikely choice for the role, but this observation sparked rumors across the internet, with fans of the show expressing their shock all over social media sites like Twitter. Statham’s previous stint voicing Sergeant Waters in the first Call of Duty also led to some speculation, where fans claimed to be sure that it was Statham’s voice.
Sadly, for the fans of the veteran actor, Hazbin Hotel does not feature Jason Statham, despite the voice of Zestial Morde sounding quite close to that of Statham’s.
As fans are finding out that Jason Statham is not the voice actor behind this iconic character of the show, the natural follow-up question is about the actor who is voicing it.
The actual voice actor playing the role of Zestial is James Monroe Iglehart, a renowned actor on TV and stage. James Monroe Iglehart’s take on Zestial is so refined that it could be mistaken for Jason Statham. The timber of their voices also matches eerily, making it clear why fans mistook this.
James Monroe Iglehart is best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as the Genie in the original Broadway production of Aladdin. The actor also appeared as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway company of Hamilton in April 2017 and King Arthur in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot. The actor is also famous for his voice roles, which he pulls off to perfection.
Hazbin Hotel was created by Vivienne “VivziePop” Medrano. The pilot episode of the show was released on YouTube in October 2019. The pilot was made entirely by freelance animators and was largely financed by Medrano’s Patreon followers.
The popularity and success of the pilot allowed Medrano to create a spin-off series called Helluva Boss, which premiered on October 31, 2020, followed by the re-establishment of the original series by A24 and Amazon MGM Studios.
The quirky animated series follows Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, who opens a hotel that offers demons a chance at redemption, to be better people, and ultimately to go to heaven.
The series is led by Erika Henningsen as Princess Charlie Morningstar, alongside Stephanie Beatriz as Vagatha, Blake Roman as Anthony, Amir Talai, Kimiko Glenn as Niffty, Keith David as Husk, and Alex Brightman as Sir Pentious, among many other actors.