The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest - Cast

Cast

The first season of Real Adventures featured J. D. Roth as Jonny, George Segal as Dr. Quest, Robert Patrick as Race, Jesse Douglas as Jessie, Michael Benyaer as Hadji, and veteran voice actor Frank Welker as Dr. Jeremiah Surd. A childhood fan of the original series, J.D. Roth was inspired by Turner's vision for the new series and swiftly accepted the role of Jonny. Roth was attracted by Jonny's "star quality", and approved of his characterization as a real kid without superpowers. He enjoyed Jonny's infectious enthusiasm and impulsive alacrity. Roth also admired the show's educational quality, something he had tried to integrate in his personal television pilots. When asked about how he played the relationship with Jonny's father, he commented, "Jonny is crazy about his dad. He looks up to him and thinks he is the smartest man ever to walk to face of the earth. He has the typical teenage relationship with his father, but his father definitely sees something in him. Dr Quest knows that Jonny is going to be something really special." Michael Benyaer also enjoyed playing Hadji: " is one of the few roles for an ethnic actor that is not a bad guy. I mean, how many East Indian heroes have been on television? Hadji is for the sensitive kids out there. He is the outsider in all of us." A Star Wars fan, Benyaer was happy to work with Mark Hamill for "In the Realm of the Condor". Peter Lawrence's request for an Indian-descended voice actor was seen as an "unusual case of multi-ethnic casting".

The producers struggled to cast Jessie Bannon. Peter Lawrence ultimately chose Jesse Douglas, whom he felt reflected Jessie's energy and intelligence—" has immense energy, huge energy, and is the kind of woman who could do all the kind of things Jessie could do—you know, athletic, smart, so and so forth ." Douglas impressed Lawrence with her active lifestyle, including ballet, equestrianism, and tennis. When asked about the character's inclusion, Douglas stated, "I'd be bummed if I upset anybody. Jessie is pretty cool. It is not like she is a girl who is whining all the time. If anything, she is a really good springboard for the rest of the storyline." Roth supported her, claiming that "Jonny hasn't discovered girls yet but when he does Jessie would be the type of girl he'd like to be with... I think something will happen between them but right now Jess is his best friend." H-B Chief Fred Seibert agreed, hinting that as adults "there might be a Tracy/Hepburn thing going on." Turner approached George Segal to audition for the part of Dr. Quest. Segal described the show as having "a real family feeling about it... I'd never seen this stuff before. That was quite remarkable." Hanna-Barbera bought out the first cast's contracts and hired new actors for the second season. This cast featured Quinton Flynn as Jonny, John de Lancie as Dr. Quest, Granville Van Dusen (for the first two episodes) and Robert Foxworth as Race, Jennifer Hale as Jessie, and Rob Paulsen as Hadji. Paulsen previously voiced Hadji in the two Quest telefilms. Don Messick attempted to reprise his classic role as Dr. Quest, but was forced into retirement by a stroke during early sessions. Van Dusen voiced Bannon in the 1986 Quest series, and Foxworth took over the part after auditioning for Dr. Quest. Frank Welker reprised his role as Surd in the second season.

Several notable guest stars included Kevin Conroy, Earl Boen, Clancy Brown, Robert Ito, James Shigeta, Irene Bedard, Lucy Liu, Brock Peters, Tristan Rogers, Edward Asner, Julian Sands, Mark Hamill, Andreas Katsulas, Jeffrey Tambor, Dorian Harewood, Clive Revill, Kenneth Mars, Nick Chinlund, Clyde Kusatsu, Dean Jones, Thomas Gibson, Sarah Douglas and Carl Lumbly. Season two writer Lance Falk has also regretted not thinking about veteran voice actor John Stephenson, who was the very first voice of Dr. Quest, for a guest role.