Who voices Scar in The Lion King original? Details explored

Ever wondered who could be the voice behind the villainous Uncle Scar in the 1994 Disney animated classic The Lion King? Well, it is none other than the acclaimed British actor Jeremy Irons.

Jeremy Irons has undoubtedly immortalised Scar with his notable voice work. Voice actor Jim Cummings joined Irons in the singing of the song 'Be Prepared' in the film.

The Lion King has been celebrated for over 30 years. It has emerged to become a cultural phenomenon over the years that 90's kids strongly associate their childhood memories with. Derived from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the film has been helmed by filmmakers Rogers Allers and Rob Minkoff.

It follows the tale of a lion named Simba, who, after experiencing the death of his father, Mufasa, goes through an intense journey of self-discovery. Therefore, he reclaims himself and brings back justice and peace to the land. Scar is Simba's diabolical uncle who is responsible for Mufasa's murder.

Let us explore more details about Jeremy Irons's role as Scar in The Lion King.

Disclaimer: This article contains the author's opinions. Reader discretion is advised.

Who voices Scar in The Lion King original? Details explored

Actor Jeremy Irons lent his voice to the role of Scar in The Lion King.

The Academy Award and Golden Globe winning actor has given more than life to the character of the evil uncle in the film. The distinct, resonant voice of Scar that Irons provided is a compelling one. It is characterized by a unique blend of spine-chilling, shrewd, and calculative tone, enough to portray a manipulative character.

The rustic feel in the voice adds to the fact that Scar is not as physically strong as Mufasa. There is also a sense of pain and vulnerability in his voice, which gives an idea that Scar might as well carry some deep psychological wounds too. There are rare moments in Irons' voice as Scar where you might want to feel empathy for the character as well.

Interestingly, Scar's character has been noted for not following the traditional markers of masculinity. There is a sense of murkiness and mystery to the character of Scar from the start. Those are the factors that makes his character even more intriguing and powerful. Scar also looks distinctly different from all the rest of the lions, neither does he hang out with them. He is more like an outcast who feels like he does not belong to the Pride Lands, and he resents them for it.

We do get to explore Scar's backstory in the recently released prequel Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).

Jeremy Irons' performance as Scar has received incredible praise. Before Jeremy Irons was finalised to voice the role of Scar, some other actors were initially considered. According to the reports, at first, actor Tim Curry was considered for it, but he had opted out. Actor Malcolm McDowell was also asked to voice the role, but he too declined. Eventually, it went to Jeremy Irons and the rest is history.

Due to Jeremy Irons' rich experience in classical theatre, he was considered for the role of Scar. Animator of Disney's The Lion King, Andreas Deja, even took parts from Irons' facial attributes and blended them into Scar's iconography. As per reports, it is also revealed that Jeremy Irons would go up to 10-15 retakes per line.

Some of Scar's most iconic lines in The Lion King include:

"Oh no, Mufasa, perhaps you should not turn your back on me."

"I wouldn't dream of challenging you."

"Life's not fair, is it?"

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Well, I Was First In Line, Until The Little Hairball Was Born"

"Run away and never return."

"Long Live the King"

"He wasn't that bad", Jeremy Irons on playing Scar from The Lion King

In an interview with BAFTA Guru, Jeremy Irons has talked candidly about how he felt about his role of Scar in The Lion King.

The actor mentions the beginning of his role as Scar as he mentions:

"Well it was extraordinary. I mean, I'd never made a voice for Disney before, and I was working in Stratford at the Shakespeare Company at the time when they asked. And I thought, oh well, then put on a voice to a cartoon..oh okay."

Irons proceeded to explain the process of how the animation and the voice-acting simultaneously worked together in the making of The Lion King, as he states:

"I went along expecting to see the finished film and me having to sort of put lines into mouths that were moving in a certain way, but its not like that at all. You sit there with a script, they've got a storyboard around the room so you sort of see the story that's going to happen, but very roughly painted. And then they give you the script, you try a bit of that and then, you play around with it, and you alter stuff and you come up with stuff and you suggest stuff. Meanwhile, there are people videoing you with a camera and drawing you."

Furthermore, he talks about the moment when he first saw Scar. Jeremy Irons mentions it as he says:

"They come up with a film, and ofcourse I was absolutely devastated because you know, they've been videoing me and drawing me for all that time. And I see the film, and there's this scrawny bloody lion!"

He adds by saying that Scar's tail looks like "people have been pulling hair out of it for a hundred years". He also claimed he was "very, very hurt". Upon hearing Jeremy Irons, the entire audience roared in laughter.

Irons makes an anecdotal sharing of a moment when he witnessed an audience's response to his character Scar, and he feels about Scar, as he recalls:

"There's a moment at the end when he's hanging onto the cliff, and they eventually push him off. And as they push him off, the whole audience stood up bar one and roared. Just stood up and roared, and I thought 'he wasn't that bad'. That was the only person watching them all roaring with clapping. So hurtful".

Apart from the role of Scar in The Lion King, the notable theatre actor Jeremy Irons is well known for his role as Alfred Pennyworth in DCEU films (2016-2023), and also in films and series including Brideshead Revisited (1981), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1984), Reversal of Fortune (1990), Kafka (1991), M. Butterfly (1993), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Lolita (1997), Elizabeth I (2005), Appaloosa (2008), The Borgias (2011-2013), Watchmen (2019), etc.