The Gumball universe just got a mega refresh, and we couldn’t be more excited that Hero Hunter, the breakout star of Young Dylan, is voicing the fan-favorite goldfish Darwin Watterson in the brand-new Hulu revival The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball.
The highly anticipated series premieres today (July 28) exclusively on Hulu, with a global Cartoon Network release coming soon — and we promise, it’s just as zany and hilarious as ever.
“I love Darwin. He’s like my favorite character of the whole show,” Hero told Celeb Secrets in our exclusive interview. “It’s kind of like a passing-the-torch moment.”
Seriously, it feels like fate. Hero revealed that he actually met the original Darwin voice actor at a friend’s party two yearsbefore landing the role. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I gotta get a picture with this dude!’” he shared. “Two years later, I get the role for Darwin… it’s just so unbelievable. It’s crazy foreshadowing, really.”
The all-new Gumball series — officially titled The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball — continues the chaotic adventures of Gumball, Darwin, Anais, and the rest of the quirky Elmore crew, taking on everything from evil fast-food empires to sentient AI in love with their mom (yes, really). While the animation is as wild as ever, Hero says the updated version also explores modern-day themes like AI and social media. “It’s really practically the same old Gumball… we all play it kind of the same, but add our own spin to it,” he explained.
As for Hero’s take on Darwin? It’s classic with a twist: “It’s practically just me with a more high-pitched voice,” he laughed. “It’s kind of just me talking in the booth, but my voice just changed.”
And get this — Hero didn’t even record the audition in a studio. “I was on my way to film season four of Young Dylan, and I just did the audition in the car. My dad asked, ‘You good with that?’ and I was like, ‘Eh, sure, why not?’” Flash forward to a trailer lunch break where his dad hands him the phone. “‘Hero, you’re now the new voice actor for Darwin,’” he recalls hearing. “I just start going crazy… Me and Dylan were like, ‘YEAH, LET’S GO!’ That was probably one of the highlights of my career.”
With his hilarious charm and infectious energy, Hero is the perfect Darwin — and the internet totally agrees. He’s already seen fan art of Darwin styled like anime heroes and jokes about his “aura” going viral. “People are saying like, ‘Oh Hero, you have so much aura!’… I don’t think the aura part is true, but I’ll take it,” he said with a grin.
But Hero’s moment in the spotlight isn’t stopping with Gumball. He’s also starring in the upcoming Paramount+ movie My Weird School, based on the bestselling book series — and let’s just say it’s giving chaotic sixth grade energy. “My character is really sarcastic and he hates school,” Hero revealed. “Then the teachers get possessed by aliens and he has to try and save the world… it was extremely fun. I loved every minute being on that set.”
If you’ve been following Hero’s rise, you’ll know his acting career kicked off at age six with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Charm City Kings, and he’s since starred in Crater, Mistletoe in Montana, Lessons in Chemistry, and even popped up in Abbott Elementary. But through it all, he stays grounded and grateful — with a superpower that might surprise you.
“I have a really good memory,” he told us. “I can remember stuff from when I was, like, in kindergarten… my parents are always like, ‘How do you remember that?!’”
We also found out that he’s half Cuban (a secret even his classmates don’t believe!), he adores Oreos on set, and his biggest starstruck moment? Meeting Adam Sandler. “I totally fumbled that,” Hero said, laughing. “I was being so awkward and scared the whole time. But I’m putting it into the universe — I’ll meet him again and redeem myself.”
With The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball officially streaming and more projects coming soon, we’re calling it now: Hero Hunter isn’t just voicing your favorite cartoon goldfish — he’s swimming his way into superstardom.
For more on Hero Hunter, make sure to watch our full interview below, and don’t forget to let us know if you plan on watching the new series by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
