Ken Burns has once again produced a definitive documentary on an important moment in United States history with his latest (very) long-form docuseries. The six-part The American Revolution hit the 2025 TV Schedule this week on PBS. It’s 12 hours of exactly what we’ve come to expect from Burns: a thoughtful deep dive into the most consequential war in American history, the war that birthed the nation itself. Of course, Burns has managed to collect an incredible cast for the voice-over work, and I’ve made of that as I’ve watched.
The Cast Is Phenomenal
Like every great Ken Burns documentary, the letters and writings of the people involved are an important part of telling the story. The American Revolution is no exception, and the actors involved are a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers. Normally in a situation like this, I would be on my couch with the IMDB or Wikipedia page open to check on who is voicing who, but when I started the first episode, I got so engrossed in the story that I never picked up my phone.
I recognized Peter Coyote as the narrator immediately, as he has such a distinct (and cool) voice, and has worked on multiple Burns-led projects in the past, like The West and The Roosevelts, the latter for which he won an Emmy. It also didn’t take much to identify Paul Giamatti as John Adams. Giamatti, of course, played Adams in the excellent miniseries John Adams (which you can watch with an HBO Max subscription). There were a few others that I recognized (I mean, who doesn’t immediately know Tom Hanks’ voice?), but I’ll keep them to myself for now in case you want to play my game.
I’ve Had Fun Guessing The Voices
Instead of looking up the cast, I concentrated on the voice and tried to figure out who was who. Some cast members are specific to certain historical figures (like Giamatti), while others are multiple, lesser-known figures from the era (like Hanks). As I said, sometimes it’s easy, but other times, I’ve really had to pay attention to the voices to discern who it is (and they are virtually all well-known actors).
I will throw a few names out there to keep in mind, all of whom appear at various times. It’s renowned actors like Kenneth Branagh, Meryl Streep, Josh Brolin, Morgan Freeman, Michael Keaton and many, many more. Claire Danes has a lot to read, as does her husband, Hugh Dancy. I won’t spoil anymore in case you’ve not watched yet.
The bonus of this game, I’ve found, is that it keeps me really engaged with the docuseries and makes for a more rewarding experience. I love great documentaries, great war films, and history, especially American history. Like all of Ken Burns’ work, I’m learning a ton from The American Revolution, and those firsthand accounts, read by the award-winning actors, really bring it all to life.
