By David Nankervis

DAN Castellaneta doubts he would have become the voice of Homer Simpson if the series was being cast today.

The Chicago-born actor was asked to bring Homer to life by Simpsons' creator Matt Groening in 1989 when he created the characters for The Tracey Ullman Show.

"Matt had a picture and he asked if I could come up with a voice for this father character," Dan said.

"Homer had this massive overbite in the early days, so he was sort of froggy mouthed, like a startled Walter Matthau.

"After the first 13 episodes they notched him up a little bit with the emotions and now he is bi-polar.

"If I had to audition today, I don't think I would have got the part. Now they have all these prime-time car- toon shows and they are auditioning all over the country.

"There's a lot of money riding on it and it has to be a hit, so there is so much scrutiny. But Homer was mine from the beginning," he said.

In addition to being the patriarch of the Simpson family, Dan has voiced more than 60 characters, including Krusty the Clown, Mayor Quimby and an Australian game-keeper. "I can't remember what that one was," he said, searching for the right voice. "Hello mate," he mimics in the familiar Aussie twang.

The two-time Emmy winner, 43, discovered his talent for voices while he was a child. "When I was a kid I was watching Mighty Mouse and did the voice of the cat.

"There was also a show on called The Copy Cats, which featured impressionists, and I would listen to them and pick up a lot."

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Disclaimer: This article is from the "Sunday Mail" TV Plus liftout in South Australia. It has been put up for information purposes, and no money is being made from it.