What These Celebs Sound Like On Helium

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Who among us hasn't inhaled helium? It's a classic party activity (though perhaps not as popular as it once was due to helium shortages), beloved for the gas's unique ability to change the sound of your voice. But what exactly is happening? As bioscientist Jayatri Das told Whyy, "When you talk, your vocal cords vibrate at a particular frequency or rate, and the movement of your vocal cords then pushes the air around it in your voice box. That motion of air causes a sound wave that then gets picked up by the ears of your listener." The outlet goes on to note that it's not the pitch of your voice that changes but the timbre or the voice's quality.

The science might be a little difficult to understand, but what we can say with certainty is that listening to anyone's voice on helium is wildly entertaining. And because we're obsessed with what celebrities are doing, it's even more fun to hear their voices on helium. Here are some of our favorite famous voices changing from the funny gas.

Asking celebrities to inhale helium on talk shows is an apparently popular bit. While on "Rove LA," Olivia Munn, joined by Seth Green and Michael Weatherly, gave fans a taste of her voice on the gas. "This is the best show ever," Munn said after listening to Green and Weatherly perform monologues and recite famous cinematic quotes. "Why is it so funny?" host Rove McManus asked, giving life to everyone's internal thoughts. Infantile as it may be, McManus is correct. Listening to anyone speak on helium is hilarious.

After such a long acting career, Munn has amassed several voice-acting credits, lending her sound to projects like "America: The Motion Picture" and "The Lego Ninjago Movie." Although it seems easy, Munn has noted the hurdles voice actors face, especially compared to live acting. "You have a million ways to do one line," she said in an interview. "In a live-action film, you're in the moment with your other actors, and you're delivering lines ... this tests every acting sense that you have," she added in regard to voice acting. "You have to literally think of 15 ways to say 'um' and have it come across the right way."

Jimmy Fallon loves a bit. The "Saturday Night Live"-star-turned-late-night-talk-show-host has several recurring segments on his program, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," like "Classroom Instruments," "Hashtags," and a slew of various games. In another popular bit of Fallon's, the host has his guests inhale helium from a balloon to alter their voices. The guests are typically actors known for their unique voices, but Fallon always joins the celebrities by sucking helium himself. "I want to thank you so much for being on the show. And please, would you ever like to come back?" he said to a less-than-enthused Morgan Freeman after sucking helium with the esteemed actor.

While Fallon has been hosting "The Tonight Show" for years now, prior to his tenure as a late-night host, the comedian was working as an actor. Fallon mostly did live-action acting, but he did lend his voice to multiple projects, including "Arthur and the Invisibles" and "Doogal." Fallon's voice has also been heard in an episode of "Family Guy," but the host played himself in the episode.

A voice altered by helium is exponentially funnier when the person's regular speaking voice is decidedly refined, like Dame Helen Mirren's. As Jimmy Fallon told her, "You have the best British accent. It's very proper." Just a Grammy away from EGOT status, Mirren has a better shot than most at receiving the voice and music award, but something tells us it won't be from anything she records after inhaling helium. After complimenting her speaking voice, Fallon gave Mirren the means to completely alter it, handing her a balloon full of helium to finish a bit of her "Tonight Show" interview. Ever used to accepting an award, Mirren gave a mock acceptance speech, saying, "Oh, thank you, I'm so honored ... I want to thank my whole crew and my husband. I love you, darling."

If you're unfamiliar with her in-person acting, perhaps you've heard Mirren lend her voice to "When Nature Calls," an ABC comedy in which Mirren acted as a narrator. "Yes, I think that is true. Although I have to say, sort of my whole career, I tried to do what I wanted to do, you know, rather than what I didn't want to do. And I never really paid much attention to fame and glory through that. I just did what I wanted to do," Mirren said of her career choices while discussing the animal series.

Known for her roles in films like "Ghost" and "G. I. Jane," Demi Moore has had a decades-long career in Hollywood. Though her specialty isn't comedy, the actor did join Jimmy Fallon for a comedic bit while on an episode of "The Tonight Show." "You have that one-of-a-kind, beautiful voice," Fallon said to Moore before offering her a balloon inflated with helium. Fallon and Moore each removed the clothespin keeping the helium from escaping before continuing their conversation. The two discussed Moore's then-upcoming movie, "Rough Night," garnering laughter from the audience due to their helium voices.

Prior to the helium bit, Moore discussed something else that had recently happened to her that, had it gone untreated long enough, could've permanently altered her speech. "I sheared off my front teeth," Moore shared, along with a photo of herself with her front tooth missing. Teeth are an integral part of speech production, and as Jeffrey L. Erwin, DDS, notes, "If you have any front teeth missing, you may struggle to pronounce certain sounds. These are known as strident sounds, and they are caused by the friction and airflow when your tongue or lips push against the front teeth." Moore, thankfully, was able to see a dentist to give her new teeth.

What's funnier than listening to one celebrity's voice on helium? How about listening to a quintet of celebrities, particularly One Direction. Before they disbanded, the boy band visited "The Kyle and Jackie O Show," and the hosts asked each of the members a question, requiring them to answer while on helium. "I like to weight train a little bit ... I think probably someone like Taylor Lautner," Liam Payne answered when asked whom he'd like to portray him in a biopic. "I went out for a beer with my family, and me and the boys had some fun," Harry Styles said about the celebration of his 18th birthday.

The One Direction members are certainly more well-known for their singing voices than their speaking voices, and Styles, likely thanks to his popularity as a solo artist, has garnered comparison to other famous vocalists, particularly Mick Jagger. While many fans see and hear a striking resemblance to Jagger, the Stones' frontman doesn't see it. "I used to wear a lot more eye makeup than him. Come on, I was much more androgynous. And he doesn't have a voice like mine or move on stage like me; he just has a superficial resemblance to my younger self, which is fine — he can't help that," Jagger told The Sunday Times.

Jimmy Fallon isn't the only talk show host who's repeatedly had his guests inhale helium. Jonathan Ross is a fan of the bit, too, having had multiple guests suck in the gas while on his show. But few guests have been quite as eager to do it as Russell Brand. "Let's do it!" the actor exclaimed after Ross suggested his guests suck from gaseous balloons, hopping up and using his nose to inhale the gas, whereas most use their mouths. The rest of the guests more gingerly joined Ross and Brand, but all happily inhaled helium to sing James Blunt's song "You're Beautiful" one line at a time, as Blunt was also a guest.

Brand's enthusiasm and inhalation method, though humorous, could be dangerous. Though, to be fair, it's not exactly safe for anyone to inhale helium. As Healthline notes, "When you inhale helium, it displaces oxygen. This means that as you inhale, your body is only getting helium." Too much helium and not enough oxygen can cause nausea, lightheadedness, passing out, and, in extreme cases, death. Helium can also cause a high, so the outlet suggests inhaling helium carefully, if at all.