YouTube Star Arif Zahir Has Been Cast as the Voice of Cleveland Brown on ‘Family Guy’

The popular animated sitcom ‘Family Guy’ has recently cast a new voice for the character of Cleveland Brown.

Early this summer, voice actor Mike Henry announced his resignation of voicing character Cleveland Brown. Henry had been voicing the well known African American character since the start of Family Guy in 1999 and also voiced both Brown and his son in the spinoff series, The Cleveland Show.

While this character surely has a place in Henry’s heart, he as a white man believed that the character should be voiced by a person of color. He will remain the voice of other characters in the series.

It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role. pic.twitter.com/FmKasWITKT

— Mike Henry (@mikehenrybro) June 26, 2020

Arif Zahir is known for his impression on his Youtube channel. With over six million subscribers, some of Zahir’s most popular videos involve him impersonating Cleveland Brown doing various things such as playing a game of Modern Warfare or Call of Duty. Be sure to check out the videos on his channel here.

It has recently been announced that Zahir has been cast as the new voice of Cleveland Brown on Family Guy. Zahir and Henry will work together to ensure a smooth continuation of the beloved character. The new voice actor is extremely grateful for the opportunity and hopes to make the viewers and everyone involved proud.

Hey new comers! I won’t let you down! pic.twitter.com/rFPv1Lk5GW

— Arif Zahir (@Azerrz) September 25, 2020

You will hear Zahir take over the voice of Cleveland Brown beginning in Season 19 of Family Guy on FOX. The start of the new season, which also happens to be the 350th episode of the series, is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, September 27.