Most people know Martin Scorsese as the director behind some of cinema’s most celebrated crime films — Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed. Fewer remember that in 2004, he stepped in front of the microphone and delivered a voice performance in an animated underwater crime comedy that is still drawing viewers more than two decades later.
That film is Shark Tale, the DreamWorks Animation release that cast Scorsese as Sykes, a pufferfish crime boss with a sharp tongue and an even sharper eye for a hustle. And according to recent streaming data, the film is finding a whole new audience on Netflix in March 2026 — proof that some performances have a shelf life nobody predicted.
It is a strange footnote in the career of one of Hollywood’s most serious filmmakers. But once you watch it, it is hard to forget.
What Martin Scorsese Actually Did in Shark Tale
The 2000s were a genuinely remarkable decade for Scorsese. He launched one of cinema’s most celebrated director-actor partnerships with Leonardo DiCaprio, beginning with Gangs of New York in 2002. He made The Departed in 2006, the film that finally earned him the Academy Award for Best Director after years of extraordinary work that somehow went unrewarded at the Oscars.
But sandwiched between those landmark achievements was something nobody quite expected: a voice role in a DreamWorks animated film aimed squarely at children and families.
In Shark Tale, released in 2004, Scorsese voiced Sykes — a pufferfish who operates as a mob boss in an underwater world that functions as a very thinly veiled parody of organized crime films. The casting was not accidental. It was a wink at the audience, a knowing joke built on Scorsese’s entire reputation as the definitive chronicler of American gangster life.
The film runs at approximately 90 minutes and features a voice cast that reads like a Hollywood A-list roll call, with Scorsese’s performance frequently cited as one of its most memorable elements.
Why This Film Keeps Coming Back
There is something genuinely interesting about Shark Tale‘s staying power. The film was not a critical darling when it arrived in 2004 — reviewers were generally lukewarm, and it lived in the shadow of Pixar’s dominance during that era. But it was a significant commercial success, and its pop culture footprint never fully disappeared.
Part of that has to do with nostalgia. The generation that grew up watching it in theaters or on DVD is now old enough to share it with younger siblings, nieces, nephews, or their own children. Streaming platforms have made that kind of rediscovery almost frictionless — a film that might have gathered dust on a shelf is now one scroll away from a Saturday afternoon watch.
The other part is the cast itself. When adults revisit Shark Tale, they often come back to Scorsese’s performance with fresh eyes. Heard as a child, Sykes is a funny cartoon villain. Heard as an adult who has seen Goodfellas, the performance takes on an entirely different layer of comedy.
The Scorsese Factor — What Makes the Performance Work
What Scorsese brings to Sykes is something that cannot be easily replicated by a voice actor without his specific history: genuine menace worn lightly. He knows exactly how these characters talk, how they think, how they use charm and threat in the same breath. He has spent decades directing men like this, and when he voices one, even an animated pufferfish version, the authenticity comes through.
It is the kind of casting that rewards the audience on multiple levels simultaneously. Children get a funny, loud, memorable villain. Adults get a filmmaker essentially doing an affectionate impression of his own filmography.
That layered quality is rare in animated films, and it is a significant reason why Shark Tale continues to generate conversation whenever it resurfaces on a streaming platform.
A Snapshot of Scorsese’s 2000s
| Year | Project | Role / Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | First collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio |
| 2004 | Shark Tale | Voice of Sykes — animated crime comedy acting role |
| 2006 | The Departed | Won Best Director Oscar after decades of acclaimed work |
The decade represents one of the most varied stretches of Scorsese’s career — serious prestige filmmaking, a long-overdue awards recognition, and an animated voice role that has outlasted almost anyone’s expectations.
What Streaming Has Done for Shark Tale’s Legacy
The film’s current run on Netflix in March 2026 is a reminder of how streaming has fundamentally changed the way older films find new audiences. A movie that performed well in 2004 and then faded into the background of home video shelves can suddenly become a trending title simply because the algorithm surfaces it to the right viewer at the right moment.
For Shark Tale, that renewed visibility puts Scorsese’s performance back in front of people who may have completely forgotten he was in it — and introduces it to younger viewers who have no idea that one of cinema’s greatest living directors once voiced an animated mob boss pufferfish.
That combination of nostalgia, discovery, and the undeniable pull of a genuinely funny performance is exactly the kind of thing streaming platforms are built to amplify. Whether you watched it in a theater in 2004 or are discovering it for the first time right now, Scorsese’s Sykes remains the most unexpectedly delightful entry on a very long and very serious filmography.
Frequently Asked Questions
What character did Martin Scorsese voice in Shark Tale?
Scorsese voiced Sykes, a pufferfish crime boss, in the 2004 DreamWorks animated film Shark Tale.
When was Shark Tale released?
The film was released in 2004 and runs at approximately 90 minutes.
Where can you watch Shark Tale right now?
As of March 2026, Shark Tale is available to stream on Netflix.
What other major projects did Scorsese complete in the 2000s?
He began his creative partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio and directed The Departed in 2006, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director.
Did The Departed win Scorsese his first Oscar?
Yes, The Departed earned Scorsese the Best Director Oscar, which
Is Shark Tale considered a critical success?
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