The profile · Actor and voice performer; Aaron, Red Skull, and Professor X
Ross Marquand
An impressionist’s ear, a theater degree, and a television role that gave the face behind the voices a wider audience.
- Education
- BFA in theater, University of Colorado[1]
- Graduating class
- 2004[2]
- Television breakthrough
- Aaron in The Walking Dead[1]
- Voice specialty
- Impressions of dozens of public figures[1]
The person behind the work
A childhood game became a professional skill
Ross Marquand was doing Johnny Carson impressions for his parents at seven. Years later, he told his university’s alumni magazine that he had not expected to make money from that skill. The paid work could be surprisingly practical: a studio might need a recognizable kind of voice when an actor was unavailable. Listening closely had become a job.[2]
He earned a BFA in theater at the University of Colorado and moved to Los Angeles. The path was not an instant success story. In a 2012 interview, he spoke about the patience the industry required. That early account is useful alongside the later credits, because it shows the years of preparation that can disappear when a performer becomes familiar.[1][2]
A career in range
Selected work, at a glance
The person behind the work
More than a borrowed voice
Before joining The Walking Dead as Aaron, Marquand portrayed Paul Newman in Mad Men. His impression work involves more than pitch: expression, pauses, and gesture help make a person recognizable. A University of Colorado story later described how a short impressions video helped bring him to Jimmy Kimmel Live. The skill had a public life as well as a recording-booth use.[1][4]
Aaron gave him a continuing live-action character rather than a brief impression. He also voiced Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, taking over a role first played on screen by Hugo Weaving. His animation credits include Invincible and X-Men ’97. These are different jobs, but all depend on making an audience hear a distinct person behind the words.[3]
A closer look
Three ways into the work
The Walking Dead
Aaron is the main starting point for viewers who know the voice work but not the actor. A long series gives a character time to form relationships and change.[1][3]
Mad Men
Playing Paul Newman makes a useful bridge between an impressionist’s gifts and dramatic acting. Recognition has to happen quickly, without turning the scene into a stand-up routine.[1]
Invincible
The animation credits make it possible to hear one performer serve several characters. It is a reminder that a voice career can be wider than the public face attached to it.[3]
What is publicly documented
A small early detail, kept in proportion
Marquand’s biography mentions an early part in a church play. It is a piece of his acting story, not proof of what he believes today. The university and network profiles focus on training, persistence, and the craft of voice work. Those are the areas where the public record used here gives readers something clear to explore.[3][2]
Listen to the person
In their own words
December 2012
“I never thought I could make money doing impressions”
Famous Faith’s Christian perspective
Beyond the Spotlight
An impression works because people notice a familiar surface: a voice, a pause, a movement. Human worth runs deeper. Christians believe God knows the person behind every performance, including the private worries and hopes that an audience never hears. Marquand’s account of patience in uncertain work can remind us to treat people as more than their visible success.
Being known by God also means our wrongs are not hidden from him. The Ten Commandments forbid lying, stealing, and coveting, and call us to honor God (Exodus 20). First John 3:4 says sin is breaking God’s law. We have all done that. Jesus warned about judgment and hell, a reality to approach with grief and concern, never with delight at another person’s trouble.
The Christian message offers forgiveness, not merely exposure. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a sinless human life and died on the cross for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead. God gives forgiveness and eternal life through him by grace through faith. A convincing public image, a useful talent, or a list of good deeds cannot earn what Christ gives freely (Romans 3:23–24; Ephesians 2:8–9).
Repentance turns our mind and heart from sin and the urge to shut God out. We begin trusting the God who has made himself known through Jesus and has shown his love for people who need forgiveness. That usually changes what we do: we become more willing to speak truth, admit harm, and love people without pretending. Good works grow from receiving grace. They are not an entrance fee, and following Jesus is a path of growth rather than an overnight disappearance of every weakness.
You can respond as yourself. There is no better voice to imitate or impressive version of your life to present. Ask Christ for mercy, trust his death and resurrection, and begin learning from him with the help of Scripture and a faithful church. Christians should meet that step with patience and care.
Consider the Good Person Test and the hope of forgiveness →
This section shares Famous Faith’s Christian beliefs. It does not speak for Ross Marquand.
People connected to the story
Follow the connections
Hayley Atwell
Their voice work meets in What If…?, with Atwell as Captain Carter and Marquand as Red Skull.[5]
Read the profile →
Sebastian Stan
They appear in the wider Avengers ensemble of Infinity War and Endgame.[3]
Read the profile →
Paul Bettany
Both joined the Avengers films through distinct voice performances as well as visible characters.[3]
Read the profile →Sources and further reading
- AMC: Ross Marquand cast biography
- University of Colorado: A Voice for the Stars
- Ross Marquand: biography and voice credits
- University of Colorado: success on The Walking Dead
- Apple TV: What If…? cast and premise
Artwork: Original AI-generated portrait of Ross Marquand, created for Famous Faith; not a photograph. The other AI-generated portraits shown here were also created for Famous Faith. No endorsement is implied.
Photograph: Sebastian Stan by Jay Dixit, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to a square card for display.
Film and book titles identify the works discussed. A career credit is not a recommendation that every reader watch or read that work.