King of the Hill’s Kahn Actor on Getting Replaced in Reboot

Actor Toby Huss recently addressed his replacement as Kahn’s voice in King of the Hill’s Hulu revival, citing cultural considerations. He also shared how he came to take over as Dale Gribble following Johnny Hardwick’s death.

Toby Huss talks getting replaced as Kahn’s voice on King of the Hill

Actor Toby Huss told The Hollywood Reporter about being replaced as Kahn in King of the Hill’s Hulu revival, explaining, “I liked the fact that we’re asking these questions now culturally that we didn’t ask back in ‘97, or if we did, they weren’t very loud. Now we are, and I think it’s a much better place to be as a society and as a culture to ask and then give some answers. And if the answers mean you have to make some corrections, let’s make some corrections.”

Huss told TVLine that Ronny Chieng is “really hilarious” and it will be “fun to watch what he does with Kahn.”

Here’s why Kahn got recast with Ronny Chieng in King of the Hill reboot

Showrunner Saladin K. Patterson also told TVLine the recasting kept the role authentic and honored the show’s Asian representation. She said, “Kahn was such an important character, especially as the foil to Hank… Times have changed in terms of our attitudes towards casting, in a good way, and so we certainly wanted to be authentic in who we cast.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Patterson said, “It was important in the show, the world has changed a little bit since Hank and Peggy have been gone. Casting has changed a little bit too since Hank and Peggy have been gone, as far as, actors fit the characters that they’re portraying.”

Huss also voiced Ted Wassanasong, now played by Kenneth Choi, and Chane, now voiced by Ki Hong Lee. Tai Leclaire replaces Breckin Meyer as Joseph Gribble. After stepping back from Kahn, Huss took over as Dale Gribble following Johnny Hardwick’s death. He called the offer “a really sweet and humbling thing” in the aforementioned THR interview.

Co-star Lauren Tom said, “We were thrilled as a cast that it was one of our own, that it was going to stay in the family.” Stephen Root added, “Nobody could replace Johnny, but Toby could further Johnny’s wonderfulness.”

The revival premiered August 4 on Hulu with returning cast and Hardwick and Joss’s final performances.