The Voice of Patrick Star on ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Might Sound Familiar
Bob SquarePants may follow the antics of an animated sea sponge named SpongeBob, but some fans argue that his wacky sidekick, Patrick Star, makes the show worthwhile. Patrick’s voice has become easily recognizable, but if you listen closely, you may feel like you’ve heard the voice before. The actor who voices Patrick had an incredibly successful television career before hopping into the world of animation.
Who voices Patrick Star on SpongeBob Squarepants?
SpongeBob Squarepants has been on the air for the last 20 years, but do you ever stop to think about the voices behind the animated characters? The same voice actors have been portraying the main characters since the show’s inception. Tom Kenny is well known for voicing SpongeBob and Gary, while Patrick Star is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke.
Fagerbakke has given Patrick his easily identifiable voice for every episode that the starfish has appeared in. Patrick has appeared in 247 episodes, as well as several specials. Fagerbakke also reprised his role in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. While he’s spent years doing voice work, Fagerbakke actually performed in more traditional television shows before lending his voice to animated roles.
The voice of Patrick Star might be recognizable on Coach
SpongeBob SquarePants hasn’t been Fagerbakke’s only success. Long before he became the voice of Patrick, he spent years on an extremely successful television show. Fagerbakke portrayed Michael ‘Dauber’ Dybinkski on ABC’s Coach from 1989 until 1997.
In the show, Fagerbakke’s character was a student and a special teams coach at the then-fictitious university where Hayden Fox coached football. Dauber was a seemingly dim but kind coach who had the best interest of his friends and team at heart. During the show, Dauber graduated with three different degrees by accident.
Fagerbakke has jokingly referred to Patrick Star as “AquaDauber”
Fagerbakke isn’t blind to the similarities between his character on Coach and his character on SpongeBob Squarepants. During an interview with Den of Geek, Fagerbakke noted that he spent the first two seasons of the animated series referring to Patrick as “AquaDauber.” Fagerbakke knows he has been typecast, and he doesn’t seem particularly upset about it.
In the same interview, he told the publication that he understands that the business’s nature means people are going to get typecast. At 6’6, Fagerbakke said he was aware he’d be playing goofball characters for most of his career. What came as a surprise was that even the animated character he portrayed had that zany, goofy personality, too.
