Diego Ice Age: Saber Toothed Cat, Voice Actor and Story

Diego is a saber toothed cat voiced by Denis Leary, and he is one of the three lead characters of the Ice Age saga. He first appears in ice age 2002, directed by Chris Wedge, as the lieutenant of a saber toothed pack led by Soto. The pack wants revenge on humans, and Diego is sent to snatch the chief's baby son.

Leary voices him in all five main films, billed third in each cast list behind Ray Romano (Manny) and John Leguizamo (Sid). In the Disney+ spin-off ice age buck wild (2022), Skyler Stone takes over the voice. The credits list him simply as Diego, with no other name.

What is Diego like? His personality shows through what he does. In Ice Age (2002) he offers to lead Manny and Sid toward the humans while secretly working for Soto, a cool, sarcastic loner who hides his doubts. In ice age dawn of the dinosaurs he grows restless and feels the herd is going soft.

For parents, all five main films carry a PG rating in the US.

Diego's arc moves from a pack lieutenant with a hidden agenda to a permanent member of the herd, and each film carries him a little further from Soto's world.

In Ice Age (2002), his orders are to come back with the human baby. He volunteers as a guide for Manny and Sid, and quietly promises Soto both the child and a mammoth. The long trek wears that plan down. Watching Manny grieve in front of the human cave paintings, Diego starts to question what he is doing, and once Manny pulls him out of a lava flow he warns the pair that the pack is lying in wait at Half Peak. At the cliff edge he throws himself between Soto and Manny, takes serious wounds, and Soto is killed when icicles come crashing down.

In ice age the meltdown (2006), directed by Carlos Saldanha, he walks with Manny and Sid toward the boat before the flood arrives. When other mammoths turn up, he and Sid talk Manny into staying with Ellie.

In ice age dawn of the dinosaurs (2009), he feels the herd has gone soft and drifts away from it. He still follows the rescue into the lost world under the ice, and in the end he chooses to stay.

In ice age continental drift (2012), a slab of ice carries him out to sea with Manny, Sid and Granny. On Captain Gutt's pirate ship he meets Shira, the first mate, and the two grow close.

In ice age collision course (2016), he and Shira are honored by local kids at the wedding of Peaches and Julian.

In Buck Wild (2022), he is one of the herd members who promise to visit Crash and Eddie in the Lost World.

Diego's closest bonds are with Manny and Sid, and his romance with Shira is the one the films develop most.

Manny is the friendship that changes him. Manny, a grumpy woolly mammoth voiced by Ray Romano, saves Diego from a lava flow in the first film, and Diego repays him at the cliff edge when he fights Soto.

Sid, the talkative ground sloth voiced by John Leguizamo, is the third member of the trio. In The Meltdown, Sid and Diego are the ones who encourage Manny to stay with Ellie once other mammoths appear.

Shira, voiced by Jennifer Lopez, is a saber toothed cat who serves as Captain Gutt's first mate in Continental Drift. She is ordered to deal with the heroes and ends up growing close to Diego. She stays behind to slow the pirates down, then joins the herd as his partner.

The rest of the herd, including Ellie, Peaches and Crash and Eddie, travels with him through the later films. His old pack leader Soto, voiced by Goran Višnjić, is the one relationship that ends in conflict.

Diego does not die in any Ice Age film. He is badly wounded fighting Soto in Ice Age (2002), but he recovers, says goodbye to the baby and heads south with Manny and Sid.

He survives every later film too. After Continental Drift he is paired with Shira, and in Collision Course the two are still with the herd at the wedding of Peaches and Julian. In Buck Wild, a Disney+ spin-off released on January 28, 2022, he is again a living member of the herd, with Skyler Stone as his voice.

What happens next? Ice age boiling point is in production, with a US theatrical release set for February 5, 2027, according to TheWrap. For footage, see the ice age boiling point trailer page.

In my opinion, Diego's best moments are the ones where his hard shell cracks without him admitting it.

The strongest is the confession at Half Peak in Ice Age (2002). Diego has already planned to betray the others, yet after the lava flow he tells Manny the truth about the ambush. It could be argued that this is the most important choice any herd member makes in the saga, because everything that follows rests on it. Then he throws himself at Soto at the cliff edge, which turns a joke about a sulking cat into a real act of loyalty.

Second, Dawn of the Dinosaurs gives him a restless, almost midlife mood, and his decision to stay with the herd feels earned rather than sentimental. Parents of older kids may find that quiet restlessness the most relatable thing in the film.

Third, his scenes with Shira in Continental Drift play like a slow burn between two proud cats. If you want to see him at his sharpest, start with the first film, and use the ice age movies in order guide for the rest. See also all the ice age characters.