Celebrities starring in car advertising is hardly a new phenomenon. But there’s another entire aspect of a car commercial where celebrities have also taken part, but their faces are never seen. The voice providing the narration in car commercials might very well be an actor or actress that you’re familiar with. While some commercials use dedicated voice actors, a few automakers have leveraged the star power of people like Denis Leary for Ford, Jon Hamm for Mercedes, or Chris Pine for BMW.
While this isn’t a comprehensive list of every star in every automaker commercial, it highlights some of the biggest names of the last couple of decades and some of their most popular ads. Remember, the next time you’re watching a car commercial, and you’re convinced that voice in the commercial sounds familiar, it could very well be someone that has appeared in your favorite TV show or movie.
Read more: These Are The Most Uncomfortable Cars You Have Ever Owned
You can’t see John Cena in Honda commercials
Wrestler John Cena addressing a crowd at a fan expo. – Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
John Cena, professional wrestler and Honda Civic Type R fan, is the official voice of Honda. He’s a certified gearhead, and used his first WWE paycheck to buy himself a 1989 Jeep Wrangler that he kept long after he became famous. He even settled a lawsuit with Ford over a Ford GT he purchased and then tried to flip against Ford’s rules. As the voice of Honda, you’ll hear his sweet, dulcet tones in the brand’s latest commercial talking about the return of the Honda Prelude.
He started the gig in October of 2020, helping the company highlight the ruggedness, capability, and versatility of the Honda Passport and Pilot. So if you think that voice sounds familiar when you watch a Honda commercial, you now know where you’ve heard it before. It’s the voice of WWE superstar, actor in both television and movies, and certified car enthusiast John Cena.
Hamm-ing it up with Mercedes-Benz
Actor Jon Hamm, wearing a velvet tuxedo, standing in front of a backdrop with Mercedes-Benz logos on it. – Morgan Lieberman/Getty Images
For 15 years, from 2010 through July of 2025, Jon Hamm was the voice of Mercedes-Benz. Hamm got the role while starring in the hit series “Mad Men,” playing a creative executive at an advertising agency. So it seems fitting that he’d help advertise the luxury car brand. His first Mercedes commercial highlighted the brand’s efficient new power train in its flagship S-Class luxury sedan.
That commercial is quite the time machine. It touted the green efficiency of the S-Class’ BlueTec diesel, but this was before the world learned about Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal, which wrapped up more companies than just Volkswagen. The lithium-ion hybrids are still around, though.
Perhaps the most powerful commercial Hamm made was for Mercedes-Benz AMG. It features the AMG One, and Hamm stating, “You know what we make. First makes us who we are.” It’s a baller move to not even speak the name of the company you’re advertising, betting on the reputation to do the work for you.
Beam me up, Chris Pine
Actor Chris Pine signing autographs at a Star Trek movie premiere. – Han Myung-gu/Getty Images
You might know him as the unflappable Captain James T. Kirk in the 2009 “Star Trek” reboot, or you might know him as Steve Trevor in the 2017 “Wonder Woman” movie. But did you know that Chris Pine was also the voice of several BMW commercials?
In this 2022 commercial touting the BMW iX, the company’s all-electric crossover, the car ends up seeming like an ancient rock, balanced on other rocks, as if the passing of time caused the erosion that became the BMW. No wonder it’s called “The Future Finds Us.” And Pine talks about honoring the responsibility a responsibility to nature, to time, and to the future. It’s part of an initiative by BMW to tout its climate goals as a company.
It’s not a surprise that the company asked Chris Pine to do it, because the company seems to be a fan of science fiction and fantasy. The artificial motor sounds generated by electric BMWs were created by composer Hans Zimmer, whose music has been heard in such movies as “Dune,” “Interstellar,” and “Inception.”
Paul Rudd marvels at Hyundai
Actor Paul Rudd at a Marvel movie premiere, smiling. – GIO_LE/Shutterstock
When you think of Hyundai commercials, you may think of the 2020 Super Bowl commercial that highlighted the smart parking feature. Called “Smaht Pahk,” the commercial featured several big-time celebrities, including Chris Evans, who has played Captain America. But there was another Marvel character working with the company before that. Paul Rudd, who played Marvel’s Ant Man, started voiceover work with Hyundai in 2014, with the launch of an advertising campaign for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.
Touting the driver assistance technology of the updated Hyundai Sonata, the commercial features a group of people traveling in a car. A backseat driver starts to warn of potential hazards, but the car’s safety assistance features pop in sooner to warn the driver. Rudd’s voice only appears at the end, but this is where the “Ant Man” star got his start with voiceover work for the Korean car brand.
Denis Leary tells you about real Ford F-Series owners
Actor Denis Leary, sitting in a chair, smiling. – Warner Bros. Tv/Getty Images
Denis Leary’s is a man’s man. He smokes cigarettes knowing he’ll probably get cancer. He even sings a song about being a jerk. And starting in 2008, the comedian and star of such hits as “Rescue Me” lent his voice to the Ford Motor Company for series of Ford F-Series commercials. They were brash and unique. Take, for example, this one talking about the fuel economy of the 2009 F-150. Leary talks about the engineers being the smart people you cheated off of in science class.
If that’s not quite your Denis Leary cup of tea, you can also hear him make fun of hippies while advertising the updated 2011 Ford Super Duty.
The Leary commercials were so iconic for Ford’s truck advertising, they even inspired ranking lists on the internet. But by football opening weekend in 2019, his voice was nowhere to be found. Leary ultimately provided his voice to the Ford truck brand for over a decade and cemented himself as a player in the celebrity voiceover automotive marketing space.
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