Thelma The Unicorn Voice Cast Guide: What The Actors Look Like In Real Life

Summary Thelma the Unicorn features a talented voice cast, including Brittany Howard and Will Forte, bringing colorful characters to life.

The film has received mixed but mostly positive reviews, with a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 62% audience approval rating.

Thelma the Unicorn explores the cost of fame as an ordinary pony is transformed into a celebrity overnight, with magical and comedic twists.

The new Netflix animated film Thelma the Unicorn has a talented voice cast behind the colorful main characters. The latest in the trend of non-Disney animated musicals such as the Sing and Trolls franchises, Thelma the Unicorn is Netflix’s foray into the musical performance film genre. It follows the story of a pony named Thelma who has dreams of becoming a pop star, but has not yet made her big break. When a glitter-filled truck comes by and spills contents onto Thelma, making her look like a unicorn, she is finally noticed by eager talent scouts.

Since its release, Thelma the Unicorn has been relatively successful for Netflix. Its reviews have been mixed, though overall are positive, garnering a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 62% audience approval rating. In order to make the magic of Thelma the Unicorn happen, the film relied on a number of talented voice actors.

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Thelma the Unicorn Cast and Characters:

Cast Member Character Name Brittany Howard Thelma Will Forte Otis Jon Heder Reggie Fred Armisen Danny Stallion Jemaine Clement Vic Diamond Edi Patterson Megan Zack Galifinakis Crusty Trucker Ally Dixon Nikki Narwhal

Brittany Howard As Thelma

Born October 2, 1988

Active Since: 2024 (for acting)

Actor: Born in Athens, Alabama, Howard is a multi-hyphenate artist who is mostly known as a singer and musician. She has been the lead in multiple bands, including Thunderbitch and then, most notably, Alabama Shakes. With Alabama Shakes, the artist rose to greater prominence when the song “Sound and Color” was used in the Mr. Robot season 1 finale. Both with and without Alabama Shakes, Howard has won five Grammys. In the past few years, Howard has been exploring her solo music career. Thelma the Unicorn is her debut film as a voice actress.

Character: Howard plays the titular role of Thelma in Thelma the Unicorn. Unlike the title suggests, Thelma is not an actual unicorn, but a non-magical — though well-coiffed — pony. Thelma gets herself into some deep trouble over the course of the plot once she realizes that she can use her fake unicorn status to gain music industry clout, and tries to maintain the facade. As Thelma rises to music fame as a unicorn, she does so with Brittany Howard’s powerhouse vocals supporting her.

Will Forte as Otis

Born June 17, 1970

Active Since: 1997

Actor: Forte has been active in comedy since the 1990s, but grew to greater prominence when he became a Saturday Night Live cast member in 2002. He appeared on the comedy sketch show for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. From there, Forte went on to feature in a number of notable film roles, including playing the lead role in MacGruber as well as playing the son to Bruce Dern in the acclaimed Alexander Payne drama Nebraska. Throughout his career, Forte has been nominated for five Emmys, including three for the series The Last Man on Earth.

Will Forte's Notable Roles:

Project Character Saturday Night Live Various Nebraska David Grant The Last Man on Earth Phil Tandy Miller

Character: Forte provides his vocal talents to Otis, a donkey in Thelma the Unicorn. Otis lives on the farm with Thelma during her humble beginnings on Farmer Bob’s rural farm. Otis is with Thelma when she first is transformed into her faux unicorn state. From there, Otis helps encourage Thelma to embrace herself along the way, and even accompanies Thelma on some of her celebrity journeys as one of her band members.

Jon Heder as Reggie

Born October 26, 1977

Active Since: 2000

Actor: Born in Fort Collins, Colorado, Heder is a comedic actor who found his breakout role playing the eponymous Napoleon Dynamite in the hit film Napoleon Dynamite. The teen comedy also developed Heder’s working relationship with Jared Hess, who directed Napoleon Dynamite and is one of the co-directors of Thelma the Unicorn. In addition to Napoleon Dynamite, Heder has played key roles in films such as Blades of Glory and The Benchwarmers. He is also a seasoned voice actor who has contributed his talents to movies and TV shows such as Uncle Grandpa and The Legend of Korra.

Jon Heder's Notable Roles:

Project Character Napoleon Dynamite Napoleon Dynamite Blades of Glory Jimmy MacElroy The Benchwarmers Clark

Character: Like Otis, Reggie is one of Thelma’s former farmmates turned bandmates as the pony-turned-unicorn catapults to fame. Showing the variety of animals in Thelma the Unicorn, Reggie is portrayed as a llama. Reggie supports Thelma’s dreams by participating in her band, but proceeds with slight trepidation about the prospect of Thelma being discovered.

Fred Armisen as Danny Stallion

Born December 4, 1966

Active Since: 1998

Actor: Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Armisen became most well-known for his work on Saturday Night Live. Armisen is also a seasoned sketch comedian who has appeared on several different TV shows, including Portlandia and Documentary Now. Armisen is also known for his recent work playing Uncle Fester on the hit Netflix series Wednesday. He has also recently appeared in Unfrosted and as a voice actor in Big Mouth.

Fred Armisen's Notable Roles:

Project Character Saturday Night Live Various Portlandia Various Wednesday Uncle Fester

Character: Armisen takes on a horse character as the aptly-named Danny Stallion in Thelma the Unicorn. Danny Stallion rises to fame in his own right, and is known as an internet store in the animal-filled Thelma the Unicorn. In the film, Danny is a big help to Thelma as she piggybacks off his fame by creating a fake celebrity relationship with him. As Danny, Armisen sings the song “Here Comes the Cud” with Howard’s Thelma.

Jemaine Clement as Vic Diamond

Born January 10, 1974

Active Since: 1995

Actor: Born in Masterton, New Zealand, Clement is a popular comic actor and frequent collaborator of renowned director Taika Waititi. He rose to fame on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, and has remained actively involved in television work through pieces such as What We Do in the Shadows and Wellington Paranormal. He is also a seasoned voice actor, contributing his talents to work such as Tig N’ Seek and Moana.

Jemaine Clement's Notable Roles:

Project Character Flight of the Conchords Jemaine What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Vladislav Moana Tamatoa

Character: Vic Diamond is Thelma’s agent in Thelma the Unicorn. He is also the agent for the hot-headed rival singer Nikki Narwhal in the film. Vic serves a critical role in Thelma the Unicorn in that he gets Thelma to sign with him as her manager. He sings the song “3 C’s To Success” in Thelma the Unicorn.

Thelma the Unicorn’s Supporting Cast and Characters

They All Work To Round Out The Great Voice Cast

Edi Patterson as Megan: Megan is a rival talent agent to Vic Diamond in Thelma the Unicorn. Patterson is known for her work playing Fran in Knives Out as well as key roles in The Righteous Gemstones and Vice Principals. She also plays Wanda Whipple in the Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff series Knuckles, which recently became a huge hit on Paramount+.

Zach Galifinakis as Crusty Trucker: As the moniker would suggest, Crusty Trucker is indeed a trucker in Thelma the Unicorn, responsible for the inciting incident wherein Thelma gets paint and glitter spilled on her from a passing truck. Known for his comedy interview series Between Two Ferns, Galifianakis is a comic actor with several big credits to his name. His other credits include The Hangover movies, Birdman, Due Date, and The Lego Batman Movie.

Ally Dixon as Nikki Narwhal: A diva of an artist, Nikki Narwhal is one of Vic Diamond’s main clients in addition to Thelma. Dixon has previously been a voice actress in series such as The Croods; Family Tree and Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Thelma the Unicorn is her biggest voice acting role to date.