Harry Shearer: What Will Become Of His Characters


Harry Shearer disappointed fans of The Simpsons with his unexpected decision to quit. After 26 seasons of brilliant performance, the actor announced that he is going to leave the show for new projects.

According to the Inquisitr, Harry Shearer tweeted about his decision a couple of days ago.

“The drama all started when Fox announced they had ordered seasons 27 and 28, when it was announced that one of the stars was holding out. Shearer, a prolific tweeter, tweeted that he was the lone holdout. When word got out that Shearer was leaving the show, many fans tweeted their disbelief. Shearer has one last tweet; “Thanks, Simpsons fans, for your support.”

Though the rumors are that Shearer still might change his mind and that the producers of the show are not looking for his replacement right now, fans got anxious about the fate of his characters. In the past The Simpsons had to stop including some characters, such as Lionel Hutz, Mrs. Krabappel, and Troy McClure, because the actors who played them died.

But as HitFix reported, the producers of the show assured that there will be no character deaths in this case – most of them are too popular.

“When asked whether Burns, Flanders, Otto and other Shearer characters would continue, Jean said, ‘Yes, Burns and Flanders will not die. They are great characters and will continue.'”

However, if one can find a replacement for most of Shearer’s characters, it will be truly hard to find someone appropriate for the role of Montgomery Burns. Shearer managed to make this man both the embodiment of corporate America and an iconic image of the evil, ruthless boss.

According to the Washington Post, the actor played Burns in a manner not everyone would be able to reproduce.

“That’s the thing about Shearer: He can deftly play most anyone who is either in charge, or who needs to sound as though he’s at the controls. But he doesn’t have the ‘voice of God’ delivery of a Morgan Freeman. No, Shearer put a certain English on the ball with each role. It was the waver of the weasel, or the over-enunciation of the huckster. Whether it was the news or nuclear power, these men were often selling you something — frequently the belief in their own shaky authority.”

It’s hard for some actors to play the same role for a long time; they feel as if such state of things limited their potential. Let us hope that Harry Shearer will change his mind and that all of his characters will keep his particular charm.

[Image from Frederick M Brown/Stringer/Getty Images]

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