Family Guy casts YouTube impressionist Arif Zahir as the new Cleveland Brown

Variety

Zahir, who has been impersonating Cleveland Brown for years on his popular YouTube channel Azerrz, will take over the role of Cleveland after Mike Henry stepped down this past summer, saying the role should be played by a person of color. Henry will continue playing Cleveland in Season 18, which was taped before he stepped down. But Zahir, who is Black, will take over the role going forward. "Arif’s vocal talent is obvious, but his understanding of Cleveland and his respect for the character give me confidence that he is in the right hands,” Henry said. “I look forward to getting to know Arif and working with him to make sure Cleveland stays every bit as awesome as he has always been.” Zahir does a number of impressions on his YouTube channel, including Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Kendrick Lamar. When Henry stepped down, Zahir made a TikTok video pitching himself as the new Cleveland. “When I heard that Mike Henry was stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown — my favorite cartoon character of all time — I was shocked and saddened, assuming we’d never see him again,” Zahir said in a statement. “When I learned I would get to take over the role? Overabundant gratitude. To Mike, you created something truly special and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy. To Rich Appel, Alec Sulkin and Seth MacFarlane, thank you for this incredible gift. And to the millions of fans who love this show, I promise not to let you down.” Zahir's casting comes one day after Black actor Alex Désert was announced as taking over the role of Carl Carlson from Hank Azaria on The Simpsons.