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YouTuber Arif Zahir will be the new voice for Cleveland Brown in Family Guy

Known for impersonating Family Guy’s ‘Cleveland Brown’ on YouTube, Arif Zahir is now officially cast as the characters’ voice on the show!

Well-known YouTuber, Arif Zahir has journeyed from impersonating Cleveland Brown from Family Guy on YouTube to actually being cast as the official voice of the character!

Since the popular show has been picked up for two more seasons which will be Season 19 and 20, Zahir will take over Cleveland’s character during the production.

Mike Henry who created the character ‘Cleveland Brown’ and voiced him ever since the show premiered in 1999, announced in June how he will be stepping down from playing the character. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color”, he expressed.

Zahir, having done an interesting variety of vocal impressions on YouTube gets recognized by Mike for his vocal talent. “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.” Mike said according to Variety. He continued, “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.”  
According to Variety, after Henry announced he’s stepping down from Cleveland’s role, Zahir was quick to make a TikTok video showcasing his vocal talent in hopes of being cast as the characters’ voice!

@azerrz

I v-volunteer as tribute ##fyp ##foryou ##voice ##voiceimpressions ##funny ##voiceover ##familyguy ##clevelandbrown

original sound – Arif

“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.”, Arif said. He continued, “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.”

With over 6.25 million subscribers, Zahir commonly known as ‘Azerrz’ on YouTube, has done impressions of President Obama, Kendrick Lamar, Donald Trump, Cleveland Brown and many more personalities!