‘Queer-coded’ Smurfs villains Gargamel and Razamel are voiced by a genderqueer star
J.P. Karliak stars in the new Smurfs movie. (Getty/Paramount Pictures)
J.P. Karliak stars in the new Smurfs movie. (Getty/Paramount Pictures)
If you’ve walked past one poster for the new Smurfs movie, you’ll know that Rihanna – former pop star, current underwear flogger – is Smurfette. But did you know evil wizards Gargamel and Razamel are voiced by a genderqueer actor?
The new Smurfs film is out in cinemas now, and it follows your typical kids’ animated comedy plot: Papa Smurf (Roseanne’s John Goodman) has been kidnapped by Gargamel and his brother Razamel, and Smurfette – famously, Rihanna – gangs together a bunch of Smurfs (including Nick Offerman and James Corden) to save him.
Now, the film is an absolute stink bomb as far as critics are concerned. But the light at the end of the tunnel for any queer fans of these little blue gnomes is that actor J. P. Karliak pumps it full of rainbow energy.
Karliak, who is best known as the voice of non-binary superhero Morph in the animated X-Men ’97 series, lends their voice to the wicked sibling duo of Gargamel and Razamel.
Plus, how they secured the job is a pretty interesting tale. Speaking to Out magazine recently, Karliak said that they were initially drafted in alongside a bunch of other voice actors for a table read, essentially so the team behind Smurfs could work out what the dastardly duo would sound like.
Impressed with Karliak, they called him back, and got him to try voicing a few different, smaller roles.
“The whole time I’m thinking, I love that they love what I’m doing, but they’ll give me something like Smackity Smurf in the back row and I’ll have like two lines,” the actor told the publication.
Then, the team suggested that he could be Razamel, who is – if we’re being real – the less relevant of the two brothers. But as they attempted to record a scene where Razamel and Gargamel speak to each other, they realised they needed to source a placeholder for Gargamel’s voice, which would’ve taken some time.
Instead, Karliak just whipped out their impression of Gargamel, and it left the producers “mind-blown”. Soon, the actor had scored both jobs.
Gargamel has always been a little bit on the fruity side, with the way he wears that ankle-length black cloak, rests his knuckles on his hips, and clutches his hands together. We see you, alphabet king!
Karliak explained during his chat with Out that he kind of sees it too, as he’s a big fan of voicing villains who are “queer-coded”.
“I’ve always gravitated towards villains. I’ve always found them to be my favorite characters,” he said.
“My number-one villain is Skeletor [Masters of the Universe]. I definitely lean into those villains that are queer-coded and have that sort of mincing villainy, which I love.
“I never identified with He-Man or that ultra masculinity. Villain-wise, I was never a fan of Shredder [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles] either, because he is so masculine and so tough and everything. I was like, ‘No, not me. Give me Cobra Commander.’ Gargamel is so much in that same vein as well.”
Who is Smurfs star J. P. Karliak?
J. P. Karliak is an actor specialising in voice acting, and is best known for voicing Morph in X-Men ’97. The genderqueer performer, who uses both he and they pronouns, has also offered his voice to major TV and film hits including Sing 2, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Tom and Jerry, Trolls, Rugrats and Lego City Adventures.
They also voiced the Tin Man among other roles in the TV series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, and have provided their voice to a number of major video game franchises, including The Last of Us Part II, Spider Man, and Star Trek.
In 2025, they appeared in Smurfs, voicing villains Gargamel and Razamel.
Smurfs is out now in cinemas.
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