What The Cast Of Adventure Time Looks Like In Real Life

A team of remarkable talents brought the Cartoon Network animated series "Adventure Time" to viewers for 10 seasons between 2010 and 2018. The fantasy-adventure follows human teenager Finn and his talking, shape-shifting dog/brother Jake through the surreal Land of Ooo, where they encounter many strange beings. Though set in a mythical and often ridiculous world, "Adventure Time" also addresses emotionally charged subjects, including sexuality, gender, mental health, and the perils of growing up. The balance between its absurd characters and serious travails made "Adventure Time" a favorite with viewers and critics alike (it tops Looper's ranking of the 25 best Cartoon Network shows of all time), with the show netting numerous awards, including eight Emmys.

Working behind the scenes on "Adventure Time" were creator Pendleton Ward and a number of others who went on to create their own well-regarded animated series, like Rebecca Sugar ("Steven Universe") and Patrick McHale ("Over the Garden Wall"). A small army of talented voice actors also worked hard to bring the show to life, though they don't look anything like the characters they portrayed. Here's a list of "Adventure Time" cast members and what they look like in real life.

Jeremy Shada was already an accomplished voice actor and live-action performer by the time he began playing Finn in "Adventure Time." He had logged appearances on series like "Lost" (as the younger version of Dominic Monaghan's Charlie Pace) and provided voices for "Team America: World Police," "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," and "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," in which he played the young Robin. When Cartoon Network greenlit a series based on Pendleton Ward's 2007 animated short "Adventure Time," he replaced his own brother, Zack Shada, as the voice of Finn.

Shada remains active in both live-action and animated projects: He was the voice of Tom Kullersen on "Dragons: The Nine Realms" and Lance on "Voltron: Legendary Defender," and he continues to voice Finn on the "Adventure Time" spin-off series "Fionna & Cake," as well as video games based on the franchise. Shada also plays Phantoms bassist Reggie Peters in the Netflix series "Julie and the Phantoms," and he maintains his own music career, first as a member of the band Make Out Monday with his brother Zack, and later as a solo artist.

John DiMaggio's name has been well-known to animation fans for decades thanks to dozens of acting credits in animated series, feature films, and video games. The Annie Award-winning actor, who voiced Jake the Dog in "Adventure Time," was famously the voice of Bender in "Futurama," which forged a surprising connection to "Adventure Time" when Finn and Jake showed up for a brief cameo in the Season 7 episode "Leela and the Genestalk." DiMaggio is also known for playing Rico in "The Penguins of Madagascar" but he's voiced hundreds of characters over the years, including some powerful DC villains.

DiMaggio — who continues to voice Jake the Dog in "Fionna & Cake" — began his career as a stand-up comic and enjoyed a recurring role on the medical drama "Chicago Hope" before launching his career in voice acting. He can also be heard in numerous feature films, both animated and live-action, including "Wreck-It Ralph," "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," and "Despicable Me 4." His on-screen work includes turns in the likes of "Better Call Saul," "Modern Family," "Blue Bloods," "Mythic Quest," and AMC's "Interview with the Vampire" series, in which he plays Alderman Fenwick.

Hynden Walch was a fan of "Adventure Time" before she auditioned for the role of Princess Bubblegum. "I loved the whole idea of the show," she told Media Mikes. "I tried to give them the most put together yet out-there princess that would fit into their world." Walch — a veteran voice actor whose long list of film and TV credits include Starfire on "Teen Titans" and "Teen Titans Go!" — played the ruler of the Candy Kingdom in "Adventure Time," as well as the spin-off series "Distant Lands" and "Fionna & Cake." She also voiced additional "Adventure Time" characters, like a bespectacled gumdrop lass and the reptilian clone that replaced the princess in Season 5's "We Fixed a Truck."

In addition to Princess Bubblegum and Starfire (as well as her sister, Blackfire), Walch's credits include turns as Black Order alum Supergiant in "Avengers Assemble," Hitomi in various iterations of the "Dead or Alive" video game franchise, and the robots Platinum and Carbon Dioxide in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." She's also voiced Harley Quinn in several DC projects, including 2020's "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War." In terms of live-action work, she's appeared in features such as "Groundhog Day" and "Jerry Maguire" and on series like "Law & Order."

Marceline the Vampire Queen is without a doubt one of the most popular "Adventure Time" characters. She's a 1,000-year-old bass-wielding vampire hunter and a frequent friend and foil to Finn and Jake, as well as the partner of Princess Bubblegum come the series finale. Actor, writer, and singer Olivia Olson voiced Marceline in "Adventure Time" and the spin-off series "Distant Lands" and "Fionna & Cake." Olson first came to audiences' attention as Joanna Anderson in "Love Actually," with her rendition of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" among the highlights of the 2003 film. Her solo album debut, "Nowhereland," was released in 2018.

Olson began her voice acting career as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz on "Phineas and Ferb" and reprised the character for the 2020  feature "Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe," as well as the 2025 series revival. Her work on "Phineas and Ferb" caught the attention of "Adventure Time" creator Pendleton Ward, who cast her as Marceline. In addition to Marceline, Olson was the voice of Bliss in the 2017 revival of "The Powerpuff Girls," and she's also voiced characters in "Robot Chicken" and "We Baby Bears."

Look no further for proof of Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Tom Kenny's talents as a voice performer than his two best known characters: The eternally sunny and childlike Spongebob Squarepants and the mad, anxiety-plagued Ice King in "Adventure Time." The one-time villain's backstory slowly reveals him to be a lot more nuanced than he initially appears — in fact, the Ice King is the most tragic character in "Adventure Time." Kenny also voiced the Ice King's more melancholy alter ego Simon Petrikov, who became a protagonist in "Fionna & Cake" — the universe of the spin-off series is spawned from a hidden region in the Ice King's brain.

Kenny, whose live-action work includes the cult sketch comedy series "Mr. Show with Bob and David," has voiced countless animated characters on TV and in feature films over the years, including the Mayor of Townsville in "The Powerpuff Girls," which he also narrated. "Transformers" fans will recognize his voice as that of Wheelie in the live-action movies, and he has also voiced dozens of minor "Rick & Morty" characters: Kenny is behind the mild-mannered Gene, the TV host Mr. Stabby, and the hard-partying cat-like creature Squanchy, one of the best supporting characters in "Rick & Morty."

South Korean voice actor Niki Yang started out as a storyboard artist, which brought her into contact with "Adventure Time" creator Pendleton Ward. They worked on a short together, and when Ward began looking for someone who could speak Korean for the part of Princess Bubblegum's faithful steed, Lady Rainicorn, he asked Yang to try out. She got the part, and when they were struggling to find a voice actor for the part of utilitarian robot BMO (or Beemo), Yang took on that role, too.

A graduate of Cal Arts, Yang began her career on "Family Guy" before joining the "Adventure Time" team. She continued to serve as a storyboard artist and writer on such popular animated series as "Gravity Falls" and "Craig of the Creek," and later acted as a supervising director on episodes of "Clarence" and "Summer Camp Island." Her voice-over career also expanded to include Mabel's friend Candy Chiu on "Gravity Falls," as well as roles on "We Bare Bears" and "Infinity Train."

The short-tempered, self-centered character Lumpy Space Princess, whose rude behavior masked her negative self-image, was voiced by "Adventure Time" creator Pendleton Ward, who served as showrunner for "Adventure Time" through Season 5 and remained an executive producer until the finale in 2018. The Cal Arts graduate created the animated short that would serve as the pilot for "Adventure Time" for Nicktoons and later pitched Nickelodeon on a full series, to no avail. "Adventure Time" ended up on Cartoon Network and would go on to become one of its most beloved shows.

"Adventure Time" isn't the only Pendleton Ward creation that debuted on the Nicktoons anthology series "Random! Cartoons." That's also where "Bravest Warriors" got its start, and, like "Adventure Time," it went on to find a fanbase elsewhere, first on YouTube and then on VRV. In 2020, Ward teamed up with Duncan Trussell to create the Netflix series "The Midnight Gospel," in which real podcast conversations are animated in surreal fashion. Since then he's been busy with the "Adventure Time" spin-offs, having created both "Distant Lands" and "Fionna and Cake."

A list of credits for Jessica DiCicco is almost too long to encompass: The voice actor, who played the headstrong Flame Princess on "Adventure Time," has voiced hundreds of characters, perhaps most notably Lynn and Lucy Loud on "The Loud House" and Malina in "The Emperor's New School," which earned her an Emmy nomination. She's played Supergirl and Star Sapphire in DC projects, and she provided the English-language voice for Shigeru Kamado in the hit anime movie "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle," which blew everyone away at the box office.

The daughter of actor Bobby DiCiccio (who appeared in films such as "Splash" and "The Philadelphia Experiment"), she began her screen career as a child performer, even briefly appearing in "The Godfather Part III." She debuted as a voice-over talent while studying at Syracuse University, recording promos for the then-fledgling children's network Noggin. Voice acting roles on "Loonatics Unleashed" and "The Mighty B!" preceded her run as the Flame Princess on "Adventure Time."

An animated character as fearsome as The Lich needs an equally imposing voice, so for its primary antagonist, "Adventure Time" turned to Ron Perlman. The veteran character actor was no stranger to larger-than-life roles — his turns as Mike Mignola's demonic anti-hero Hellboy and as motorcycle club chief Clay Morrow on "Sons of Anarchy" prove as much — and he brought his signature gravitas to "Adventure Time."

Though Perlman has a long and diverse career as a live-action performer — he won a Golden Globe for his sensitive turn in the 1987 series "Beauty and the Beast" and has collaborated frequently with Guillermo del Toro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet — he has also been a voice actor for decades. Among his most memorable animated roles are Slade Wilson in "Teen Titans," the Stabbington Brothers in the "Tangled" film and series, and Optimus Primal in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" and "Transformers: Power of the Primes." He's also voiced numerous villains and heroes for DC (Clayface, Bane) and Marvel (Bruce Banner/Hulk) animated projects.

Initially a slow-witted and short-tempered member of Bubblegum Princess's Candy People, Cinnamon Bun — who was, as its name suggests, an anthropomorphic sweet roll — later gained both intelligence and fortitude after being struck by flame and "baked." He went on to become Flame Princess' stalwart champion and protector, especially in regard to her romantic entanglements with Finn. The prolific voice actor Dee Bradley Baker played Cinnamon Bun and several other "Adventure Time" characters, including Party God, Mr. Cupcake, and the wish-granting Aquandrius. He also voiced Lady Rainicorn in the 2007 "Adventure Time" short that served as the series' pilot.

Baker's voice can be heard in several live-action superhero projects, including "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (as Blurp), "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (as Morris), and the HBO Max series "Peacemaker" (as Eagly, Peacemaker's pet and beloved sidekick). Prior to that, he voiced several characters in the original "Space Jam" movie, including Daffy Duck and Taz. His other animated roles include an Emmy-nominated turn as Klaus on "American Dad" and Captain Rex in numerous "Star Wars" series. Gamers may know Baker from "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," in which he voices one of the Zeffo Sages.

Several minor and supporting characters in "Adventure Time" are voiced by comedian Maria Bamford, a celebrated figure to both stand-up fans and animation devotees. Bamford played a number of the show's many princesses — on top of Slime Princess, she voiced Ghost Princess, Engagement Ring Princess, Wildberry Princess, and Raggedy Princess, to name but a few. She was also behind some eccentric supporting players, such as the somewhat unstable Witch. Bamford's stand-up, which explores in often surreal terms her own struggles with mental health issues, has been showcased in the "Comedians of Comedy" documentary series and in several comedy specials.

As a live-action performer, Bamford starred in the loosely autobiographical Netflix series "Lady Dynamite" and was a memorable guest star on "Arrested Development," among other series. Her other notable voice acting roles include the blonde poodle Shriek DuBois in "CatDog," Tito the Anxiety Mosquito in "Big Mouth," and Tenzin's wife Pema in "The Legend of Korra." Bamford was recognized for her hard work in 2016 when she won the BTVA award for best female vocal performance in a television series in a guest role for her turn as Ma Hamshank in the Nickelodeon series "Pig Goat Banana Cricket."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Like many of the performers who brought "Adventure Time" to life, Steve Little voices several characters in the show, though he's best known for playing Princess Bubblegum's loyal hard candy servant Peppermint Butler. In addition to the cheery yet mysterious Pep, Little also lends his tones to the helium-voiced Duke of Nuts, Turtle Princess, Abracadaniel, and the helpful Nurse Pound Cake.

Little parlayed his training with the famous improv comedy troupe the Groundlings into work as both a writer and performer on television and in film. His career in animation began in 2005 with Joe Murray's Emmy-winning "Camp Lazlo," playing the dull-witted dung beetles Chip and Skip. Away from "Adventure Time," he's best known for voicing the likes of Cleve Menu in "Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter," Dr. Clod in "The Mighty Ones," and Glarbin Gloobin in "Kiff."

There's a good chance you've seen Little in live-action, as he has plenty of in-person roles on his resume. He's worked with Danny McBride on a number of occasions, including a recurring role as Kenny Powers' assistant Stevie Janowski in "Eastbound & Down," and he played Uncle Jim in "Haters Back Off." He's also made guest appearances on series like "Fresh Off the Boat," "30 Rock," and "St. Denis Medical," and in the Melissa McCarthy movies "Identity Thief" and "Tammy."

One of the many Cosmic Entities that populate the world of "Adventure Time," Prismo is a two-dimensional being with the power to grant wishes. Spawned from the dream of an elderly sleeping man, Prismo's powers are expanded greatly in the "Adventure Time" spin-off "Fionna & Cake," where he is revealed to be the architect of the lead characters' entire universe, which he implanted into the mind of the Ice King.

Oscar-nominated actor, writer, and comedian Kumail Nanjiani voiced Prismo in "Adventure Time," and he reprised the role in Season 2 of "Fionna & Cake" (Sean Rohani played Prismo in Season 1). He parlayed his popularity on the stand-up circuit into appearances on series like "Portlandia" and films like "The Five-Year Engagement" before landing a breakout role as programmer Dinesh Chugtai on "Silicon Valley." This led to high-profile film projects like "Eternals" and "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."

In 2016, Nanjiani starred in and co-wrote "The Big Sick" with his wife, Emily V. Gordon. The indie comedy, based on their own experiences with a health crisis, netted them both Oscar nominations. Nanjiani later earned Emmy nominations for a guest appearance in Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot of "The Twilight Zone" and for a dramatic turn on the true crime miniseries "Welcome to Chippendales."

A robot constructed by Finn for the express purpose of pranking Jake, N.E.P.T.R. (Never-Ending Pie-Throwing Robot) was brought to life by lightning provided in part by the Ice King. He becomes a close companion to Finn and a source of irritation for Jake. N.E.P.T.R. (or Neptr) also has a complicated relationship with the Ice King, whom it views as his father, a role that the wizard does not wholeheartedly embrace.

Andy Milonakis voiced N.E.P.T.R in multiple episodes of "Adventure Time." The actor and comedian is best known for his anarchic sketch comedy series "The Andy Milonakis Show," which aired on MTV from 2005 to 2007. In terms of films, he's been in some all-out comedies like "Extreme Movie," but he's also appeared in some films that mix comedy with drama, such as the Eminem-produced "Bodied" and the surrealist road trip film "The Sweet East."

Milonakis has also released music as part of the comedy act Three Loco! and as a solo hip-hop artist, with early songs such as "Let Me Twitter That" and "Red Lean Purple Lean" establishing his skills as a musical comic. This led to him landing the role of Android Miller on Snoop Dogg's web series "Snoop Dogg's Double G News Network" and he teamed up with Snoop for a parody track called "Pocket Like It's Hot."