Hank Azaria had vocal cords insured after health scare

The Simpsons star Hank Azaria was scared into taking out insurance for his vocal cords after realising how much of his income depended on his voice acting gigs.

Azaria helps bring to life a string of characters on the longrunning animated series, including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, and Duffman, while he also previously enjoyed voice roles on Family Guy, Bordertown, and Mack & Moxy, among other shows.

However, it took a health scare a few years ago to make the actor recognise just how vital it was for him to protect his vocals physically and financially, because he would struggle to maintain his career if he could no longer hold onto the lucrative jobs.

Azaria shared the realisation with comedian and former The Simpsons writer Conan O'Brien during an appearance on his U.S. late night show Conan on Tuesday, as he explained how he's learned over the years which character voices he has to take particular care with.

"There are certain voices I save (to record last), like Duffman will blow me out in a second," the star shared. "I have to save Duffman for the end, and I actually dread it. It actually does hurt, but I am not complaining."

Recalling an incident which almost cost him his livelihood, Azaria continued, "My voice blows out rather easily, so I have to watch it. I was having a rough time in my life, and I got into a screaming match. I totally blew out my voice, and it didn't come back for almost two weeks. I scared myself so bad that I actually got my vocal cords insured. Really."

"When you think about the revenue I am lucky enough to bring in through The Simpsons...," he added. "That was a long time ago. A lot of money would have gone bye-bye if I couldn't make voices."