Apu Returned to ‘The Simpsons,’ Voiced By a New Actor

On tonight’s new episode of The Simpsons — the 812th episode of the show to date, if you can believe it — one of the oldest characters on the series made their first major appearance in almost a decade.

That would be Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the famed (and later notorious) manager of the Kwik-E-Mart. Originally voiced by Hank Azaria, Apu — and Azaria’s voice work as the character — became the subject of controversy and even an entire documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu called The Problem With Apu, because of his embodiment of certain South Asian stereotypes (to say nothing of his being performed by a white actor).

Azaria stopped performing the character on the show not long after the documentary was released, and by 2020 The Simpsons announced it would stop its long-standing practice of having non-white characters voiced by white actors. Soon Harry Shearer was replaced as the voice of Dr. Hibbert and Azaria was replaced as the voice of Homer’s buddy Carl, two name just two of the more notable examples.

But Apu never got a new voice — he was essentially retired from all but background cameos from 2017 to 2026, when Apu finally returned as a character in the episode “The Revengening.” Apu is now performed by actor Sunil Malhotra.

You can hear a little of Malhotra’s work as Apu in the clip below. In the episode, a spoof of slasher movies, a mysterious figure in a Halloween costume keeps getting killed by residents of Springfield. He’s eventually revealed to be none other than Apu.

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Malhotra said in an interview that his feelings about playing the character were somewhat complicated…

When my agent called me about a Simpsons audition, I knew exactly what role it was for, and the idea actually made my stomach sink … But admittedly, part of me was also curious. It had been eight years since Apu had spoken on the show, and it got me thinking. Did the writers room look different now? Could they bring him back in a way that acknowledged and apologized for past mistakes?

He added that as part of agreeing to the role he met with The Simpsons producers to discuss his concerns. The result, he said, was a “deeply collaborative experience” in bringing Apu back to Springfield.

New episodes of The Simpsons continue to air, as they have since time immemorial, on Sunday nights on Fox. The show is already renewed for several more seasons beyond the current one, so the new Apu could get plenty more air time in the years ahead. In fact, The Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman told Variety “We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”