You’ve probably heard her voice a thousand times while doom-scrolling through Netflix or rewatching BoJack Horseman for the fifth time to feel something. That specific, slightly high-pitched, weary, yet intellectual tone belongs to none other than Alison Brie.
Yes, the same Alison Brie from Community and GLOW.
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But honestly, the story of who plays Diane Nguyen is way more complicated than just a name on an IMDB page. It’s a mix of incredible voice acting, a massive cultural controversy, and a public apology that basically changed how Hollywood looks at animation casting.
Alison Brie: The Voice Behind the Glasses
For 77 episodes, Alison Brie was the soul of Diane. She brought this weirdly relatable mix of "I want to save the world" and "I can’t even get out of bed today."
Brie didn't just voice Diane; she voiced about a dozen other characters on the show too. If you listen closely, she’s also the voice of Vincent Adultman (the three kids in a trench coat) and Kevin. She even voiced the cow waitress at the diner. Talk about range.
Most fans first knew her as Annie Edison, the high-strung overachiever in Community. That "bubbly" energy is actually why some people were shocked she could pull off Diane’s deep, existential dread so well. In BoJack, she had to pivot from being a quirky ghostwriter to a woman spiraling into a deep depression, eventually finding a messy kind of peace in Chicago.
The Controversy Nobody Saw Coming (At First)
Here is where things get sticky. Diane Nguyen is Vietnamese-American. Alison Brie is white.
When the show started in 2014, not many people outside of specific activist circles were making a huge deal out of it. But as the show grew into a cultural powerhouse, the conversation shifted. Diane wasn't just a "person who happened to be Asian"—she was a character whose identity was tied to her heritage, even if the writers tried to "write away" from stereotypes.
By 2020, things hit a breaking point.
Amidst a massive global conversation about representation, Brie took to Instagram to drop a bombshell. She admitted she regretted taking the role. "In hindsight, I wish that I didn't voice the character of Diane Nguyen," she wrote. She basically said that people of color should always voice people of color, and the show missed a huge chance to be authentic.
What the Creator Had to Say
Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the guy who created BoJack Horseman, didn't shy away from the heat either. He went on a long Twitter thread (back when we called it Twitter) and called his own casting choice a "racist error."
He explained that he wanted to avoid stereotypes so badly that he went too far in the other direction. He made Diane "fully Americanized" as an excuse to hire a white actress. But then, in Season 5, the show literally sent Diane to Vietnam to "reconnect with her roots."
Suddenly, having a white woman voice those scenes felt... off.
Why It Matters More Than You Think
- Lost Perspectives: A Vietnamese-American actress would have brought lived experience to Diane’s specific brand of cultural isolation.
- The "Vietnam" Episode: During the episode "The Dog Days Are Over," the production actually had to hire a separate Vietnamese consultant and voice actors for the background characters because the main star and the writing staff lacked that connection.
- Industry Shift: This specific casting drama led to other actors—like Jenny Slate in Big Mouth and Mike Henry in Family Guy—stepping down from their roles to make room for authentic casting.
Was She "Cancelled"?
Short answer: No.
Brie stayed on the show until it finished its final season in 2020. She wasn't fired, and fans still widely praise her performance. Most people agree she did an incredible job with the material she was given. The "cancellation" talk usually misses the point—it wasn't about her being a bad person, it was about a systemic "oops" in how Hollywood hires talent.
The Legacy of Diane Nguyen
In the end, Diane’s character arc is still one of the best portrayals of mental health and depression in TV history. Whether it’s her gaining weight on antidepressants or her final, heartbreaking conversation with BoJack on that rooftop, the character resonated with millions.
Knowing who plays Diane Nguyen adds a layer of complexity to the show. It’s a reminder that even "woke" shows like BoJack Horseman have blind spots.
What You Can Do Next
If you're a fan of the show or just interested in how representation is changing, check out these steps to see the impact of this shift:
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- Watch "The Dog Days Are Over" (Season 5, Episode 2): Pay attention to the themes of feeling like a "tourist" in your own culture. It hits differently when you know the behind-the-scenes context.
- Look into the 2020 Casting Wave: Research how shows like Central Park and The Simpsons handled recasting their characters of color. It’s a fascinating look at how the industry is trying to course-correct.
- Support Vietnamese-American Creators: If you liked Diane’s vibe, check out writers like Ocean Vuong or shows like The Sympathizer to see how those stories look when told from the inside out.
The conversation about Diane is finished in the context of the show, but it’s still very much alive in the writers' rooms of today.