Jeffrey Wright has become the new go-to "narrator voice"

The Week

Wright, whose voice can be heard narrating Vice TV's new docuseries While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government, joins Sam Elliott, Morgan Freeman and other high-profile names as having a great American Narrator Voice. "You don't become one of the great Narrator Voices of the English language with a lone memorable job anyway," says Jeva Lange. "To become recognizably a Narrator, you must be, first and foremost, prolific. People must hear your voice and instantly recognize you as that guy who does all the voice-overs. You must narrate ads for political candidates, and documentaries about serious subjects. You probably need to be a man. And it doesn't hurt to voice God, if you get the chance — the greatest disembodied, authoritative voice of them all."