“Futurama” came out of a particularly high concept. Fry (Billy West), a slacker pizza delivery guy in 1999, takes on a prank call that leads him directly to a cryogenics lab. He falls in a chamber and wakes up 1,000 years in the future, where he’s given the chance to live life the exact same way, working and ultimately falling in love with one-eyed Captain Leela (Katey Sagal).
Both characters are impossible to divorce from their vocal performances. Fry, in particular, is one of a million Billy West voices, but also one close to the heart of the legendary voice actor, who at the time was being feted as a natural successor to Mel Blanc. As he told the New York Times, the performance “became a high-pitched version of me, trying to remember the dumb innocence of being 25.” For as versatile as West is (his other significant “Futurama” credits include Professor Farnsworth, Zoidberg, and Zapp Brannigan), his performance as Fry is possibly his most impressive, creating impeccable and memorable deliveries even while sounding like a normal, kind of “dumb” guy.
Katey Sagal might lack the vocal versatility of West, or other utility cast members in the show like Phil LaMarr, Lauren Tom, and John DiMaggio. But she was an established actress, and her work on Fox’s “Married… with Children” in particular had fine-tuned her comedy chops. Out of her distinctive voice came Leela’s mix of no-nonsense professionalism and neuroses, creating a unique character with strength and the occasional bit of misplaced confidence.
Because both actors are so crucial to the show, it’s hard to imagine any other voices mixed with those characters. Originally, the show was going to feature Charlie Schlatter as Fry, and Nicole Sullivan would be Leela. But in the development phase, that changed.