Morgan Freeman as the voice of God

October 8, 2011 9:19 PM

Where can I find audio by actors with awesome voices reading various stuff?

I would like to listen to them while I work and/or before I fall asleep. I have the Il Postino soundtrack, and I enjoy listening to Ralph Fiennes and Glenn Close reading poetry. But are there other actors who have done similar things? Like Morgan Freeman, perhaps? And where can I find/download/buy them?

I am more inclined to listen to poetry or fiction, but that is because that is the only thing I know. What's that? There's a recording somewhere of Alan Rickman reading a dissertation? I'll tap that.
Other voices I like: Jeremy Irons, Stephen Fry, Rowan Atkinson, Sean Connery, Holly Hunter, Patricia Clarkson, and many more.

posted by pleasebekind to Media & Arts (17 answers total)

Richard Burton is good.

And Word Jazz is pretty perfect for your purposes.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:24 PM on October 8, 2011

"March of the Penguins" is basically 80 (depressing, soul-crushing) minutes of Morgan Freeman talking. Might be worth checking out the IMDb pages for other actors whose voices you like and seeing if they've done the narration for any documentaries.

And here's Alan Rickman reading Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.
posted by enlarged to show texture at 9:26 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

James Earl Jones reads The Raven
posted by louche mustachio at 9:30 PM on October 8, 2011

There are plenty of actors that record audio books. I've been listening to Will Patton, lately, who is excellent. But there are tons of others. Go to Audible and you can search by reader. You can listen to several minutes of sample for free. And then if you find ones you like, you can borrow them from your library system, perhaps.
posted by clone boulevard at 9:32 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Stephen Fry reads the Harry Potter audiobooks.
posted by Logophiliac at 9:44 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sean Connery -- Ithaca
posted by prenominal at 9:48 PM on October 8, 2011

I love listening to (over and over) my copy of Kenneth Branaugh reading selections from the diary of Samuel Pepys.

Awesome to actually listen to, but also very rhythmic calm for great background audio.
posted by clerestory at 10:49 PM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Christopher Walken reads The Raven, too.
posted by ouke at 12:11 AM on October 9, 2011

Jeremy Irons is wonderful reading The Alchemist.
posted by spasm at 1:13 AM on October 9, 2011

Stephen Fry reads the Harry Potter audiobooks.

Jim Dale reads the Harry Potter audiobooks.
posted by not that girl at 7:10 AM on October 9, 2011

Both Jim Dale and Stephen Fry read them. Dale does the US versions and Fry does the British. Jim Dale has won a handful of Emmys for doing it, so I've never bothered seeking out Fry's version.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 7:21 AM on October 9, 2011

Dale does the US versions and Fry does the British

Now I want to hear the Fry version, too.

My local paper just ran this story this morning about audible.com signing name actors to read books of their choice. Sounds like you'll have to wait until next year for the first ones to come out, but it might be something to watch for.
posted by not that girl at 10:53 AM on October 9, 2011

I can listen Javier Bardem reciting Reinaldo Arenas on repeat forever.
posted by leigh1 at 12:17 PM on October 9, 2011

I really like Matt Dillon reading On the Road. I've listened to it a dozen times and it never gets old.
posted by mattbucher at 6:21 PM on October 9, 2011

I would get audiobooks with Joan Greenwood reading, like Alice in Wonderland and Terry Jones Fairy Tales.
posted by pracowity at 3:37 AM on October 10, 2011

Alan Rickman, The Return of the Native.
posted by apartment dweller at 10:08 AM on October 10, 2011

The podcast Selected Shorts has had some good actors reading stories: Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, and Parker Posey were all terrific.
posted by mumblingmynah at 2:01 PM on October 14, 2011