The Curse Of Oak Island: Who's The Narrator & Why He Sounds So Familiar
While audiences may not know his name, Robert Clotworthy is considered one of the most recognizable voices in the entertainment industry. An actor and voice-over artist, Clotworthy has contributed hundreds of hours of voice-over work across movies, television, video games, and more.
One of Clotworthy's more notable roles is as the narrator for History's hit reality series "The Curse of Oak Island." Currently in its 11th season, "Oak Island" follows brothers Rick and Marty Lagina as they hunt for mysterious riches rumored to be located on Nova Scotia's Oak Island. Clotworthy has narrated over 180 episodes since the series premiered on History in 2014. Some fans have even credited Clotworthy's narration for their continued viewing of the series. "This dude is fantastic at hooking you, whether it be oak island or ancient aliens, that dudes voice is what keeps me watching the show," wrote Redditor u/bornicanskyguy.
Beyond "The Curse of Oak Island," Clotworthy also serves as the narrator for the spin-off series, "Beyond Oak Island," currently in its 3rd season. Premiering in 2020, "Beyond Oak Island" explores stories of buried treasure, from tales of the pirate Blackbeard to missing Aztec gold.
Clotworthy boasts a prolific acting career that crosses video games, television, and movies. Let's take a look at some of his most notable roles.
Star Wars (2004-2014)
"Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy" is a 2004 documentary directed by Edith Becker and Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. The two-and-a-half-hour doc focuses on the making of George Lucas' original "Star Wars" trilogy and features interviews with cast members such as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, as well as figures like Lucas, Walter Cronkite, and Steven Spielberg. "Empire of Dreams" was nominated for outstanding sound editing for non-fiction programming at the 2005 Emmy Awards.
Three years later, Clotworthy returned to the "Star Wars" franchise to narrate another documentary, "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed" in 2007. This documentary was made in association with History and Lucasfilm and was again directed by Burns, with Clotworthy as the narrator.
Released as a television special on History, "The Legacy Revealed" focused on the history that inspired "Star Wars," as well as its place in the modern day. The special was nominated for three Emmy Awards in 2007, including outstanding writing for nonfiction programming, outstanding nonfiction special, and outstanding directing for nonfiction programming.
"The Legacy Revealed" wouldn't be the last time Clotworthy lent his voice to the "Star Wars" franchise. In 2011, he appeared in BioWare's "Star Wars: The Old Republic" as the voice of several characters, including Supreme Chancellor Janarus, Senator Evran, and Master Rajivari. Clotworthy returned to "The Old Republic" franchise in 2013 to voice The Shroud in "Rise of the Hutt Cartel," reprising the role in 2014's "Shadow of Revan" and 2015's "Knights of the Fallen Empire."
Ancient Aliens (2009-Present)
Robert Clotworthy has been the narrator for "Ancient Aliens" on History since the series premiered in 2009. Currently on its 19th season, Clotworthy has narrated over 240 episodes for the series.
"Ancient Aliens" is a television series that focuses on pseudoscientific theories regarding extraterrestrials, most notably the theory that aliens visited Earth in ancient times. Kevin Burns, who frequently works with Clotworthy on other documentary projects, served as the executive producer for "Ancient Aliens" from 2009 to 2020.
In a 2019 interview with Monsters & Critics, Clotworthy spoke about his process when preparing to narrate an episode of "Ancient Aliens." Additionally, he wouldn't admit whether or not he believes in the information he relays to the audience.
"My job is to be the audience," he said. "I'm not supposed to give you an opinion. It's a show about questions. It's a show about searching for the answers." Apart from "Ancient Aliens," Clotworthy also narrates the spin-off series, "Ancient Aliens: Ultimate Evidence."
Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon (2008-2018)
While some audiences may recognize Robert Clotworthy's voice from "The Curse of Oak Island" or "Ancient Aliens," others may recognize his voice and face as a recurring player on "The Big Bang Theory" and as a one-time appearance on the prequel spin-off series, "Young Sheldon."
Clotworthy has appeared on five different episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" as a different character every time. In four out of his five appearances, Clotworthy was used as a voice-over actor. Clotworthy's voice-only roles began with "The Big Bang Theory" Season 2, in which he voiced the announcer at the end of "The Lizard-Spock Expansion" who revealed that the Mars Rover may have found evidence of life on Mars. Elsewhere in Season 2, Clotworthy voiced a conductor on the Coast Starlight train on "The Terminator Decoupling," as well as an astronaut on the International Space Station at the end of "The Classified Materials Turbulence."
He returned to the series as the voice of Dave Roeger from NASA, who speaks to Howard (Simon Helberg) over the phone to tell him he will not be going to space, on Season 5, Episode 23 — "The Launch Acceleration." Clotworthy appeared on "The Big Bang Theory" one final time in his only on-screen appearance as Headmaster Edwards, who introduces Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) graduation speech in the Season 8 episode, "The Graduation Transmission."
"Young Sheldon," the spin-off series that premiered in 2017, also featured an appearance from Clotworthy, who portrayed Mayor Harrison on Season 2, Episode 19 — "A Political Campaign and a Candy Land Cheater." While Mayor Harrison did not appear on screen with any of the "Young Sheldon" cast members, he imparted some crucial wisdom to Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) over the phone, using only the power of his voice.
Red Notice (2021)
Although you won't see him in the film, you may recognize Robert Clotworthy as the opening narrator for "Red Notice," Netflix's 2021 action-adventure movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as an FBI profiler, Ryan Reynolds as art thief Nolan Booth, and Gal Gadot as art thief Sarah "The Bishop" Black.
"Red Notice" opens with a voice-over from Clotworthy in the same narrative style as History's "Ancient Aliens" or "The Curse of Oak Island." The opening narration of "Red Notice" introduces the audience to Cleopatra's Eggs, three priceless jewel-encrusted artifacts that were gifted to the Egyptian pharaoh by Marc Antony. However, one of the three eggs has been missing for decades.
As the sequence continues, it is revealed that the narration is part of a television documentary about the legendary artifacts. While not a real artifact, a documentary about something like Cleopatra's Eggs is similar to a show or movie Clotworthy would narrate in real life, making it a perfect use of his unique skills.