What The Cast Of Dexter's Laboratory Looks Like In Real Life

If Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel were the king and queen of children's television in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cartoon Network was the court jester. With shows that weren't afraid to get weird, it may have not matched the other two in the ratings, but it won a place in audiences' hearts. 

Every once in a while, though, Cartoon Network produced a show that could go toe-to-toe with the most popular its rivals could offer, and "Dexter's Laboratory" was one of Cartoon Network's very best. It revolves around Dexter, a child genius with a secret lab in his family's basement, who attempts to change the landscape of science, outdo his rival Mandark, and prevent his spacey older sister Dee Dee from accidentally blowing it all up.

Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, who went on to spearhead "Samurai Jack," "Primal," and "Hotel Transylvania," "Dexter's Laboratory" was a major success for Cartoon Network. It ran for four seasons between 1995 and 2003, with a television movie, "Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip," released between the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Though the series has been off the air for over 20 years (feel old?), it remains beloved by fans, as do the many talented voice actors who made up its cast. You may not know their names or faces, but you definitely know them from somewhere. 

At the heart of "Dexter's Laboratory" is its namesake, a little prodigy hard at work in his secret lab, constantly irritated by the intrusion of ordinary life (primarily his sister Dee Dee). Originally, the role of Dexter was played by Christine Cavanaugh, a prolific voice actor who you may not realize has played some of your favorite characters, including Chuckie Finster on the first seven seasons of "Rugrats," Gosalyn Mallard on "Darkwing Duck," and the plucky pig Babe in "Babe."

Cavanaugh retired in 2001, passing on many of her most iconic roles to other performers. In 2014, she died at home of unknown causes, aged 51 years old. Although she only voiced Dexter for the first two seasons, creator Genndy Tartakovsky cited her death as one of the main reasons why he doesn't want to do a "Dexter's Laboratory" revival. "She was such the soul of Dexter I don't feel comfortable trying to replace her in any way," he told ComicBook.com.

After Christine Cavanaugh stepped away from the role of Dexter following the 2nd season of "Dexter's Laboratory," Candi Milo played the precocious youngster for the Cartoon Network show's remaining two seasons. She's had an illustrious voice acting career, performing on major series for not just Cartoon Network, but also Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. So if you grew up in the 1990s or 2000s, chances are you've heard her voice before. 

In addition to playing Dexter on "Dexter's Laboratory," Milo was also featured on "Tiny Toon Adventures," "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?," "Bobby's World," "Cow and Chicken," "The Wild Thornberrys," "My Life as a Teenage Robot," and "Maya and Miguel," amongst many other shows. More recently, she has taken up the role of Granny in various "Looney Tunes" projects, and played Petunia Pig in the feature film "The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie."

You can't have the neurotic, extremely Type-A super-genius Dexter without his sister Dee Dee, who floats through life entirely on vibes. For most of the series, she serves as his foil, although there are rare occasions when the two put their differences aside and work together.

During the run of "Dexter's Laboratory," two different voice actors played Dee Dee. For Seasons 1 and 3, Allison Moore, now Allison Adams, laced up her proverbial pink ballet flats for the part. Most audiences are likely only familiar with her work as Dee Dee — she was a college friend of creator Genndy Tartakovsky, and almost all of her voice credits are playing Dee Dee in one incarnation or another. 

Although Adams has left Hollywood behind, she has remained active creatively. She's a talented artist, and her work includes Groundbreaking Girls, a painting series of important women throughout history. Her art has been exhibited around the world, and in 2019 she contributed illustrations to the children's book "Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints."

After Allison Adams left "Dexter's Laboratory" to pursue theater work in New York, the role of professional space cadet Dee Dee was passed on to Kat Cressida. Adams returned when the show was brought back in 2001 by Cartoon Network for Season 3, but they offered the role to Cressida for its final season, reportedly believing that audiences associated her voice more with Dee Dee.

In addition to her work on "Dexter's Laboratory," Cressida has carved out a career for herself in animated, live-action, and even video game acting. She had recurring roles on "Babylon 5" and "Diagnosis Murder," as while as being among the voice casts of "Solar Opposites," "Archer," and "Phineas and Ferb." In the video game realm, you can find her in "God of War: Ragnarok," "Wasteland 3," "The Wolf Among Us," and even "Desperate Housewives: The Game" (yes, that really exists). She's also played Jessie from "Toy Story" across a variety of different Disney games.

Dexter's loving but extremely oblivious mom was played by Kath Soucie — and that wasn't the only role she played on "Dexter's Laboratory." In addition to bringing to life the family matriarch, she also voiced Dexter's computer, Dee Dee's friend Lee Lee, Agent Honeydew, and Mandark's mother. Her skills as a jack of all trades voice performer wasn't limited to "Dexter's Laboratory," either. In most of the shows Souice has worked on, she's played various characters. 

On "Rugrats" and its 2021 reboot, Soucie voiced pint-sized twins Phil and Lil DeVille, along with voicing their mother Betty in the various "Rugrats" films. She reprised all three characters in the sequel series "All Grown Up!" Soucie played another '90s animated mom with Miriam Pataki on "Hey Arnold!," the soft-spoken and emotional brow-beaten mother of Helga (Francesca Marie Smith). Beginning in 2025, she joined the cast of "Dr. Seuss's Horton!," playing multiple characters in the Netflix children's series.

When it comes to family genetics, Dee Dee definitely got some of her spaciness from Dad, who was played across all four seasons of "Dexter's Laboratory" by Jeff Bennett. Aside from his nearsightedness and a certain tendency towards pettiness, Dexter doesn't seem to have inherited much from his father.

In addition to his work on "Dexter's Laboratory," Bennett established quite a name for himself in the world of animation. He played several different characters in the "Mighty Ducks" animated series, was featured in nearly 60 episodes of "Gargoyles," and played Roger in the animated TV version of "101 Dalmatians." Bennett was a regular cast member on "Pinky and the Brain," played Petrie in several of the "Land Before Time" sequels, and took on the role of Dr. Porter (Jane's father) in the TV adaptation of "Tarzan." He was featured in 50 episodes of "The Legend of Korra" as various characters, and played the Man in the Yellow Hat in the long-running "Curious George" animated series. Oh yeah, and he's the voice of Johnny Bravo, the headliner of one of the best '90s Cartoon Network series. How's that for voice-acting cred?

Every super-genius needs his supervillain adversary, and in Mandark, Dexter has met his match. Mandark is capable of going toe-to-toe against the pint-sized scientist, a fact that makes him all the more infuriating to young Dexter, who rarely meets his intellectual equal. But Mandark's not just a rival — he's one of the best animated villains of the 1990s. Bringing Mandark to life is Eddie Deezen, who is both known for his voiceover work and appearances in a few classic films.

Deezen is perhaps most recognizable as the nebbish Eugene from "Grease," a nerdy target for the T-Birds to pick on. He also appeared in its less beloved but still extremely fun sequel "Grease 2," as well as Steven Spielberg's "1941." On the small screen, he lent his voice to not just "Dexter's Laboratory," but also "Kim Possible," "What's New, Scooby Doo?," and "Disney's Recess."

In the past few years, he's faced criminal charges and mental health issues. 2021 saw him arrested for assaulting a police officer at a Maryland restaurant, and the following year he was charged with burglary, trespassing, and disturbing the peace after unlawfully entering a nursing home. For the latter charge, he was found unfit to stand trial and instead sought mental health treatment.

Dom DeLuise is probably one of the few recurring actors on "Dexter's Laboratory" who audiences are likely to recognize by his face rather than just his voice. On the animated series, he played Koosalagoopagoop, the physical manifestation of Dee Dee's fanciful imaginary friend. However, DeLuise's success in Hollywood was anything but imaginary.

Beginning in the 1970s, he was a frequent collaborator of Mel Brooks, appearing in "Blazing Saddles," "Silent Movie," "The History of the World, Part I," "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," and "Spaceballs" (where he was fan favorite Pizza the Hutt), as well as playing Bernie the Agent in "The Muppet Movie" and the Pope in "Johnny Dangerously." As a voice actor, he became beloved by young audiences for his work in "An American Tail," "Oliver & Company," and "All Dogs Go to Heaven." 

DeLuise worked consistently until 2009, when he passed away from kidney failure at the age of 75. Upon his death, Mel Brooks told the Los Angeles Times that DeLuise "created so much joy and laughter on the set that you couldn't get your work done. So every time I made a movie with Dom, I would plan another two days on the schedule just for laughter ... It's hard to think of this life and this world without him."

Tom Kenny was a workhorse on "Dexter's Laboratory," taking on whatever characters needed to be voiced in any given episode. Among his most popular roles were Valhallen, a rock-and-roll Viking superhero (sort of like Thor meets Spinal Tap), and Puppet Pal Clem, one of the two characters in the in-universe TV series "T.V. Puppet Pals."

But let's be real. You don't know Kenny for "Dexter's Laboratory" — his claim to fame is a different animated character, one who famously lives in a pineapple under the sea. Since the beginning, Tom Kenny has been the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, the famous sea sponge who headlines the hit Nickelodeon franchise. But that's far from his only notable role. Kenny was featured on over 30 episodes of "Rick and Morty," and has made vocal appearances on "Star Trek: Lower Decks," "American Dad," "The Powerpuff Girls," "Adventure Time," and many others. And in case you doubted his range, Kenny also played Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion adaptation of "Pinocchio."

As much as Dee Dee steals the spotlight, she's actually part of a trio of little girls who make up her friend group on "Dexter's Laboratory." The two others, who bear more than a passing resemblance to Dee Dee, are named Lee Lee and Mee Mee. The latter of the two was voiced by Kimberly Brooks, with the role being her acting debut. Unlike many of the other actors on the show, who were adults playing children, Brooks was 15 years old when voicing Mee Mee.

In the years since, Brooks has had a thriving career as a voice actor. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, she was featured in "The Powerpuff Girls," "As Told By Ginger," "Danny Phantom," "South Park," "Teen Titans Go!," "Gravity Falls," and "The Simpsons." Brooks is currently attached to a handful of shows, including "Batwheels" as the Batcomputer and multiple roles on "Batman: Caped Crusader."

Rob Paulsen was another utility player on "Dexter's Laboratory," stepping up to voice whatever character was needed. His most memorable performance on the series was Major Glory, a Captain America lookalike who led the Justice Friends.

Like many of the voice actors on "Dexter's Laboratory," Paulsen has had a part in some of the most memorable animated series of the past few decades. In the '90s, he gave us Pinky from "Animaniacs" and "Pinky and the Brain." He played Donatello across all 124 episodes of Nickelodeon's 2012 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series. Before that, Paulsen brought Carl Wheezer to life on "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," followed by the ghost-hunting Jack Fenton on yet another Nickelodeon cult classic "Danny Phantom."  

So basically, wherever you look in the world of animation, Rob Paulsen's voice is there. And he's still going strong — 2025 saw him involved in four different projects, including "Pinocchio and the Water of Life" and the ode to Hanna-Barbera animation "Jellystone!"

Dexter may be the face of "Dexter's Laboratory," but Monkey? Monkey is the soul. At first glance, he seems to be just Dexter's humble pet monkey, but we quickly learn that there's more to this little guy than meets the eye. He's actually an extremely competent crimefighter and one of the greatest heroes in the "Dexter's Laboratory" universe.

Monkey was voiced by Frank Welker, who found a niche playing animals and similar characters who express themselves through vocalizations rather than speech, always imbuing them with a tremendous amount of personality. Among his most memorable roles are Abu in "Aladdin," Pegasus in "Hercules," Santa's Little Helper on "The Simpsons," and Curious George (alongside his "Dexter's Laboratory" costar Jeff Bennett). And lest you think he can only play animals, he's also been the main voice of Fred Jones in "Scooby Doo" since 1969 and Megatron across several animated and live-action "Transformers" installments.

The Commander on "Dexter's Laboratory" may not have been around the gang in person — only appearing on a television screen, where it seems as though he's actually be trapped — but he still makes a number of memorable appearances on the show. He gives Monkey, a pet/superhero, his assignments before the pint-sized creature heads off on various adventures.

During the 1st season of "Dexter's Laboratory," the Commander was played by Robert Ridgely, an established performer who had built a diverse career filled with comedies ("Blazing Saddles") and dramas ("Philadelphia"). He was also a talented voiceover artist who was featured in cartoons such as "The Incredible Hulk," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," and "Batman: The Animated Series." His final on-screen role was as Colonel James in "Boogie Nights," released in October 1997 — eight months after his death from cancer at the age of 65.

After Robert Ridgely left "Dexter's Laboratory," the role of the Commander went to Earl Boen. Like his predecessor, Boen was known for his work both in live action productions and animation, with a career going way back to the 1970s. If you recognize him, it's likely thanks to his appearance as Dr. Peter Silberman in the "Terminator" franchise, although he also starred in films like "9 to 5," "To Be or Not to Be," and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps."

As a voice actor, Boen could be heard in the 1993 "The Addams Family" cartoon, "Batman: The Animated Series," "Pinky and the Brain," "Spider-Man: The Animated Series," and "Kim Possible." And as if his voice wasn't nostalgic enough, Disney adults will recognize  him as the announcer on the Disneyland Railroad from 2002 to 2016. In the fall of 2022, Boen was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he died a handful of months later on January 5, 2023.