who was the voice of simba?
Matthew Broderick
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 Matthew Broderick was cast as adult Simba early during production , and during the three years of voice acting only recorded with another actor once , and only discovered Moira Kelly voiced Nala at the premiere . Jeremy Irons had at first refused the role due to not being comfortable going from the dramatic performance as Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune to a comedic role . But once he came in , Irons ' performance even inspired the writers to incorporate more of his acting as von Bülow — even adding one of that character 's lines , " You have no idea " - and animator Andreas Deja to watch both Reversal of Fortune and Damage to pick up Irons ' facial traits and tics . 

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 Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa , a naïve warthog who suffers from flatulence and is Timon 's best friend and also becomes one of Simba 's best friends and adoptive parents . Tony Bancroft served as his supervising animator . 

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 Matthew Broderick provided the speaking voice of Adult Simba . The first actor to be assigned to The Lion King , Broderick learned of the role while he was on vacation in Ireland , where he received a telephone call from his agent informing him that the directors were interested in casting him as Simba . At the time , Broderick was well known for portraying the title character in Ferris Bueller 's Day Off ( 1986 ) . The directors decided to cast him as Simba because they felt that he was " perfect " for the role ; according to producer Don Hahn , Broderick 's voice resembled " the kind of character who could be irresponsible and likeable , but you also felt that he could come back in a very heroic way . " Jonathan Taylor Thomas , who was starring as Randy Taylor on the television sitcom Home Improvement at the time , was cast as the speaking voice of Young Simba . His appearance and personality would later serve as creative inspiration for supervising animator Mark Henn . 

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 Simba was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton . While Mark Henn served as Simba 's supervising animator as a cub , Ruben A. Aquino animated the character as he appears as an adult . 

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 James Earl Jones as Mufasa , Simba 's father , King of the Pride Lands as the film begins . Tony Fucile served as the supervising animator for Mufasa . 
