Our Ears are Starstruck: Our Favorite Audiobooks with Celebrity Narrators

That voice! Viola Davis will pull you in and keep you hooked from the very first sentence. Unsurprisingly, this multi-award-winning actor’s narration of her life story remains an enthralling force throughout, and yet it recedes in focus due to the gritty strength of the shocking words and inspirational messages it brings to life. Davis calls the book “a love letter” to herself as she recounts her birth on a working planation in South Carolina, a traumatic childhood, her many experiences (personal and professional) with racism, and her hard- and well-earned success. After listening to the book — a 2023 Grammy winner and Audie Award Winner, hear more of Davis’s thoughts in this B&N Poured Over podcast episode. 

Prince Harry flips the playbook he’s known all his life from reading what he’d call largely “fake news” about himself in the press to writing a bestselling memoir filled with deeply personal details. He shares his take on well-known pieces of his public life while also divulging specifics about situations and interactions from his childhood to the present, which he’d previously worked hard to keep private. Depending on your POV, you may view his account — an intricately woven mix of laments, lessons learned, dirty laundry, and hopes for the future — as a theatrical drama or a soap opera. Either way, to hear Prince Harry narrate his own story with a combination of stoicism and emotion adds an insightful dimension to the words of a son, brother, husband, father, and “spare” member of a very public family wanting — and needing — to be heard on his own terms.  

If you have been listening to audiobooks for some time, someone has recommended Daisy Jones & The Six to you. It is always on the “where to start” lists and for good reason. This is top-tier narration. This isn’t a cast of narrators reading from a book — these are people telling their story. It felt like listening to a VH1 Behind the Music interview. Jennifer Beals fully embodies Daisy Jones, and her connection to the characters voiced by Pablo Schreiber as Billy Dunne is palpable. The raw emotion all the narrators bring to their characters is utterly gut-wrenching.  

The uncomfortable and provocative title and cover of this memoir turn out to be some of the least shocking things about it. Jennette McCurdy, a former child actor, recounts in stark and unflinching detail how she was controlled, manipulated, and psychologically, emotionally, and even physically abused by her self-absorbed mother. She describes detailed episodes from her lonely childhood in the first person in a flat and relatively emotionless voice. But that doesn’t mean there is no emotion. You can feel her confusion, fear, and heartbreak at every age (six, eight, eleven, sixteen, etc.). Even though we obviously knew the ending — that she is speaking up for herself now — we listened to the book in only two long stretches to find out how she made it. Many questions remain about her current relationships with family, but there is no question that McCurdy has triumphantly found her own voice. 

When John Grisham starts the audiobook with his southern twang, you know you’re in for a good time. He starts each novella with a description of the story, and it’s a nice addition to hear from the author himself. Jeff Daniels reads “Homecoming” and guides the reader with his steady baritone narration through a former lawyer’s return home. Daniels has a calming cadence while reading, lulling us into a sense of peace, which makes the revelations that much more shocking. Ethan Hawke narrates “Strawberry Moon.” Hawke’s gritty voice enhances the prison setting while still sounding just right for the young lead. “Sparring Partners” is narrated by January LaVoy with the confident command of the story that she brings to every book she narrates. 

The best way to record an audiobook of a play is to bring the entire cast and orchestra into the studio, which is what is captured in this version of the iconic play. The music is so epic and is the perfect way to set the “stage.” Bobby Cannavale and Edie Falco narrate the script so we can visualize the stage, but they sound like they’re part of the cast. Andrew Garfield’s performance is so visceral, and Nathan Lane is just a delight to listen to. These full-cast recordings are an ingenious and highly effective way to bring Broadway to listeners — you’ll feel as if you’re on the Great White Way no matter where you’re listening! 

Maybe you’ve read the whole series multiple times, maybe you’ve watched the movie multiple times, but if you haven’t listened to LOTR movie alum Andy Serkis narrate it (all voices), you are missing out! Serkis understands the difference between when someone “reads” you a story and when someone “tells” you a story, and it’s a special delight to be told a story by him. Not only is his character and accent work brilliant, but walking miles on foot becomes a true joy with Serkis leading the way. 

Head out on a leisurely stroll through the park and bask in the sun while Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant fill your ears with their lolling British accents: “Very delighted to see you, I’m sure.” Delighted, indeed. Not only will you enjoy a full cast of narrators, including Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones as Austen’s eternally analyzed and debated heroine, Fanny Price, but the frequent orchestra music gives a sense of dancing in a great hall. No one will blame you if you start waltzing amongst the flowers. 

A promise: this audiobook will make you want to be Molly Shannon’s friend—to comfort her, to have deep talks and fun adventures with her, and, of course, to laugh with her. This is definitely a book where the audio format achieves heights well beyond the stellar print version simply because you can feel Shannon’s vulnerability and her triumphs in her voice. She utilizes her acting talents to great effect, immersing us in her tragic beginnings, surprising and not-so-surprising shenanigans, multi-layered relationship with her father, and ever-growing professional successes by using a full range of emotions. The gratifying result is that you’ll feel as if you know her beyond her on-screen characters, which is the surest sign of a memoir well-written and well-told.  

As one of America’s most beloved actors for his appeal as a nice guy with a big heart, Tom Hanks seems like the only choice to narrate this critically acclaimed poignant family saga of a brother and sister who forge an extraordinary sibling bond based on loss. He convincingly assumes the role of younger brother and storyteller, Danny. As Danny, the omniscient narrator, Hanks effortlessly conveys the unique mix of heartbreak, nostalgia, and suspense that permeates this tale as it unwinds over five decades. Hanks speaks at a good clip, which gives momentum to Patchett’s straightforward yet tender prose. 

In the noisy world we live in, it is sometimes hard to hear clear, courageous voices above the din of the deafening crowd, but even after death, lifetime Civil Rights activist and politician John Lewis is one of those voices. In the months before he died in 2020, Lewis very purposefully penned these 40+ short but thoughtful essays to leave behind his reflections on justice, faith, forgiveness, music, the environment, and many other topics, including his hope in the future. Narrated sensitively and deftly by actor Don Cheadle — and with a powerful foreword by fellow activist and lifetime friend Andrew Young — this audiobook earned a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word. 

Isn’t it a rare gift when your co-workers become true friends outside of work, too? That’s what happened to Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey when they co-starred on the ever-popular quirky sitcom, The Office. Their easygoing breezy approach to sharing on-set fun facts, behind-the-scenes details, and character studies of their co-stars makes each chapter fly by. There is also a lot to learn about how a television show gets made — cinematographers, set designers, prop masters, makeup artists, writers, and others who kept The Office humming over nine seasons all get a spotlight here. But my favorite part of this celebrity title is its non-celebrity-ness. Jenna and Angela simply sound like good friends warmly reminiscing about how lucky and grateful they are to have met at work, something all of us with work-friends-turned-real-life-friends feel, too. 

If you know Matthew McConaughey, you know his public persona is based on boundless optimism, self-confidence, and joie de vivre. All those attributes infuse this fast-paced memoir with predictable feel-good emotions, but he also reveals deeper personal beliefs and philosophies in stories, poems, prayers, and life lessons. In revisiting diaries he’s kept since he was a teenager, McConaughey summarizes his mantras as scores of “bumper sticker” sayings, some which encourage quiet contemplation and others active motivation. It probably goes without saying that every word is proclaimed with his expressive and bouncy Texas drawl, which seems custom-made for the spirited preaching he does here.