“Bluey” Cast: Meet the Actors Who Voice Bandit, Chilli and the Rest of the Heeler Family

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From their previous roles to their personal lives, here’s everything to know about the actors behind 'Bluey'

<p>Disney</p>

Disney

'Bluey'.

Disney’s hit children’s series Bluey is beloved by both children and grown-ups alike.

The award-winning animated show follows a family of Australian Heeler dogs — including Bluey, her younger sister Bingo and her parents Bandit and Chilli — through their day-to-day life, playful escapades and tender moments. The children’s series made its debut in Australia in October 2018, before making its way to the U.S. in September 2019, when it premiered on Disney Junior. The show, which has three seasons, now streams internationally on Disney+, as well as airing on Disney Junior and the Disney Channel.

Since its debut, Bluey has grown from a hit TV series to an international sensation. In 2021, Rolling Stone named it one of the top 100 sitcoms of all time, and by November 2023, Bluey was the most streamed show of the month across any streaming platform with 3.8 billion viewing minutes, per Forbes. The Australian series also landed its own balloon in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a live show that toured across the U.S. the same year.

Actress Melanie Zanetti, who voices Chilli on the show, spoke to PEOPLE in 2022 about the widespread success of the series.

“I love how much America has embraced this little Aussie show,” Zanetti said about Bluey. “It’s a testament to our creator Joe Brumm, his vision, his writing, and his ability to tap into that very specific time of life with all of its beauty and absurdity and hilarity.”

Even celebrities have been won over by Bluey’s charms. Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany Mahomes have taken their two young children to see a Bluey live show, while fellow NFL star Jason Kelce celebrated his daughter Elliotte's second birthday with a Bluey cake. The Jonas Brothers included Bluey music in one of their Australian concerts, and Eva Mendes, Natalie Portman and Rose Byrne have also voiced cameo roles on the children’s series — opportunities that came about as a result of their love of the show.

And while Bluey has featured some of Hollywood’s biggest names in its credits, there are certain voices that remain anonymous — namely Bluey, Bingo and any of the other children’s roles. Show creator Joe Brumm has previously said that the kids of the production crew voice these roles.

As for the rest of the Bluey cast, here’s a closer look at the actors and actresses who bring the lovable pups to life.

David McCormack as Bandit Heeler

<p>Disney ; Custard Instagram</p> Bandit Heeler. ; David McCormack.

Disney ; Custard Instagram

Bandit Heeler. ; David McCormack.

David McCormack lends his voice to the role of Bandit Heeler, Bluey and Bingo’s playful and present father who digs bones (as an archaeologist) for a living.

But playing a cartoon dad dog is a far cry from how McCormack started his career. The Brisbane-born musician served as a vocalist and guitarist in several Australian rock bands starting in the 1980s. Most notably, McCormack is the frontman of the Aussie rock group Custard — which has recorded nine albums since forming in 1989.

While rock musician to cartoon voice actor might seem like a big leap, McCormack’s casting as Bandit happened completely by chance, he revealed on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in 2022.

“I was walking out of a lift and someone I knew was walking into the lift, and they said ‘I know someone who’s making a show about a cartoon dog family. Maybe you’d want to be the dad voice?” McCormack recalled. “And I was like, I can’t act. I can’t do that. And he said, ‘Can you read?’ And I said, well ... I can read a bit.”

And that’s exactly how McCormack portrays the role of Bandit: He does not change his voice or act to play the lovable Aussie pup.

“They send me the script, they highlight my lines, and I just read my lines,” McCormack told The Guardian in 2019. “I don’t have to act, I don’t have to change my voice or anything ... And they do all the animation and all the other voices and the music.”

McCormack records the role of Bandit remotely from his current home in Sydney, while the rest of the show is produced in Brisbane. He works in isolation from the show’s other voice actors and only met Zanetti (the voice of his fictional wife, Chilli Heeler) for the first time in November 2022 at the premiere of Bluey's Big Play at N.Y.C.'s Madison Square Garden.

“We were watching the play sitting next to each other, and Dave was like, ‘I can’t get my head around it: I see the character and it’s your voice, but you’re sitting next to me!’” Zanetti told PEOPLE about their first meeting.

Beyond Bluey, McCormack’s other acting credits include voicing the role of Orbo in the MAX adult animated series Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. His band, Custard, is also working on their 10th album, they revealed on Instagram in September 2023.

His appearance on the show has also made him popular with his own daughters, Rose and Grace. (McCormack has been married to his wife Lucy since 2001, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.)

“They love it,” he said on The Tonight Show.

Melanie Zanetti as Chilli Heeler

<p>Disney ; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic</p> Chilli Heeler. ; Melanie Zanetti arrives at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Disney ; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Chilli Heeler. ; Melanie Zanetti arrives at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Melanie Zanetti is the voice behind Chilli Heeler, the unflappable mum of Bluey and Bingo and witty wife of Bandit. While Bandit often receives pop culture praise for being the model for modern fatherhood, Zanetti’s portrayal of Chilli is equally beloved — with the cartoon character even appearing on the cover of InStyle Australias February 2023 “icons” issue.

“Chilli is someone I would want to be friends with,” Zanetti told InStyle Australia about her character. “She’s smart and fun and has this dry wit, which I love. She's so kind and really good at tuning into people, or dogs, particularly her little puppies. But she’s also really funny and has this great banter with Bandit.”

Though the Brisbane-born actress is not a mother herself, she drew inspiration from her own mother — who raised six children — to voice a character that’s known for her patience and wisdom.

“If you have a mum who you really love, and she’s had six kids, she’s a patient woman,” Zanetti told Yahoo! in November 2022. “Honestly, she was really, I think, sort of ahead of her time ... [She] was very focused on creating a community of people who could really love each other and spend time together in harmony.”

Zanetti began her acting career in 2007 after graduating from the University of Queensland. After spending several years performing in theater in Australia, she made the transition to film and television. Her other acting credits include the 2023 thriller Head Count, the 2022 horror film Raven’s Hollow and the nine-part romance movie series Gabriel’s Redemption.

“The beauty comes through in the work because everyone is so kind, and such great humans," she told PEOPLE of Bluey. “The show really brings that energy with it. It’s very special.”

Dan Brumm as Uncle Stripe Heeler

<p>ABC Kids ; Dan Brumm Instagram</p> Uncle Stripe Heeler. ; Dan Brumm.

ABC Kids ; Dan Brumm Instagram

Uncle Stripe Heeler. ; Dan Brumm.

Bluey show creator Joe Brumm didn’t have to look far to find the voice of Bandit’s younger brother, Stripe Heeler: He tapped his own younger brother, Dan Brumm, to portray Uncle Stripe on the show.

In addition to lending his voice to Uncle Stripe (and occasionally Chattermax, a toy bird owned by Bluey and Bingo), Dan is the sound designer for the popular series — which he calls “a gift to the world” on his website.

Dan also helped Bluey find one of its stars: Zanetti, the voice of Chilli Heeler.

“I was putting voiceovers down in a studio with Dan Brumm, the brother of the show’s creator, Joe Brumm,” Zanetti recalled to The Daily Beast. “He told me that Joe was making this series and it was already cast, but asked if I wanted to make some demos.”

She continued, “At the 11th hour, they decided they wanted to change up some voices and asked if they could put my demos in the pilot.”

Prior to his work on Bluey, Dan spent 15 years producing voice and sound content, both in Australia and internationally. His sound work has been featured in television and radio commercials, documentaries and feature films — including the 2023 animated film Combat Wombat: Back to Back and the Australian children’s show Rock Island Mysteries.

Myf Warhurst as Aunt Trixie Heeler

<p>ABC Kids ; Mackenzie Sweetnam - FIFA/FIFA /Getty </p> Aunt Trixie Heeler. ; Myf Warhurst during the Beyond Greatness Speaker Series on July 26, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia.

ABC Kids ; Mackenzie Sweetnam - FIFA/FIFA /Getty

Aunt Trixie Heeler. ; Myf Warhurst during the Beyond Greatness Speaker Series on July 26, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia.

Australian radio host and television personality Myf Warhurst voices the role of Aunt Trixie Heeler, Uncle Stripe’s wife and the mum of Muffin and Socks.

“It’s the best gig,” Warhurst said about voicing Aunt Trixie in an appearance on the Australian talk show Frankly in October 2022. “I just turn up for parties and drinks, to take mum away when she’s had enough of the kids — which is me anyway with all of my girlfriends.”

Born in Victoria, Australia, Warhurst got her start in radio in 2000 at the Australian radio station Triple J. She gained popularity as the host of the station’s weekday lunch shift from 2003 to 2006, before joining Triple J’s The Breakfast Show in early 2007. Around the same time, Warhurst made the jump to television — appearing on the popular Australian music trivia show Spicks and Specks from 2005 to 2011. Her other television credits include serving as a commentator on the show Eurovision Song Contest.

In addition to her work on Bluey, Warhurst currently hosts a weekly podcast, Bang On, with fellow radio personality Zan Rowe. She also released a memoir, Time of My Life, in 2023 — and in it, she detailed becoming a foster parent during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“I don’t have children of my own ... and in lockdown, I was living on my own for most of it and everyday realizing I had space, I had room, I had the capability and why wasn’t I doing it,” she said on Frankly.

Warhurst, who primarily takes on temporary emergency placements, continued, “There are so many kids who just need help ...  I just try and, well, I hope they feel secure and safe for those couple of days.”

Patrick Brammall as Uncle Radley Heeler

<p>ABC Kids ; Patrick Brammall Instagram</p> Uncle Radley Heeler. ; Patrick Brammall.

ABC Kids ; Patrick Brammall Instagram

Uncle Radley Heeler. ; Patrick Brammall.

Australian actor Patrick Brammall voices Uncle Radley “Rad” Heeler, the older brother of Bandit and Stripe — and new husband of Frisky.

Brammall’s character was the focus of the April 2024 super-sized Bluey episode, where Bluey, Bingo, Bandit and Chilli — and the rest of the extended Heeler family — celebrated the wedding of Uncle Rad and Frisky.

But before Brammall began voicing Uncle Rad, he’s had an extensive — and successful — career as an Australian television and film actor. His breakthrough role came in 2004 in the Australian TV movie The Alice, but the Canberra, Australia-native is perhaps best known for his roles on the television shows A Moody Christmas and its spin-off The Moodys, Offspring, Glitch and Evil. Brammall’s television work has earned him three AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards and 10 nominations.

Brammall’s acting success is especially noteworthy, considering the health struggles he endured as an infant and child. Brammall was born with a rare genetic disorder called prune belly syndrome, which is often fatal, he told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2017.

“I wasn’t expected to live much beyond a few months and had my first surgery at two weeks old,” he told the outlet. “For the first 10 years of my life I was in and out of hospital quite a bit.”

In his personal life, the actor was married to schoolteacher Samantha Nield from 2013 to 2017. Brammall began dating fellow Australian actress Harriet Dyer in 2017, and the two were married after a five-day engagement in March 2021, he revealed on Instagram. They adopted a daughter, named Joni Jane Brooklyn Brammall, in September 2021.

In addition to reprising his role as Uncle Rad in the extended Bluey episode, Brammall currently works with his wife Dyer on the Australian comedy series Colin From Accounts. The show, which debuted in 2022, earned an AACTA Award in 2024 for best narrative comedy series.

Claudia O’Doherty as Frisky

<p>ABC Kids ; David Livingston/Getty</p> Frisky. ; Claudia O'Doherty attends the NBCU FYC House "Killing It" carpet on May 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

ABC Kids ; David Livingston/Getty

Frisky. ; Claudia O'Doherty attends the NBCU FYC House "Killing It" carpet on May 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

Frisky, Bluey’s godmother and the new wife of Uncle Rad, is voiced by Australian comedian and actress Claudia O’Doherty.

O’Doherty first rose to fame in 2009 when she won the Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy Award. Since then, the Sydney, Australia-native has moved to Los Angeles — and experienced plenty of success stateside. She wrote for and acted in the Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer (and even prompted Amy Schumer to change the name of her son to Gene David). As an actress, O’Doherty has also had main roles on Judd Apatow’s Netflix series Love and the Peacock series Killing It.

“I think I am in a pretty rare position where I came to America and my dreams came true,” O’Doherty told Vulture in 2022. “So I can’t really say that the American dream is not real and that it doesn’t work like that. I was really lucky.”

O’Doherty’s voice work was heard on the 2024 extended episode of Bluey, “The Sign,” where her character Frisky wed Uncle Rad.

Chris Brumm as Chris “Nana” Heeler

<p> ABC Kids</p> Chris "Nana" Heeler and Bingo Heeler.

ABC Kids

Chris "Nana" Heeler and Bingo Heeler.

Bluey creator Joe Brumm turned to another family member when he needed a voice for Nana, Bluey and Bingo’s grandmother: His own mother, Chris Brumm. Though she has no other known acting or voiceover credits, Chris has appeared on seven episodes throughout all three seasons of Bluey.

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