“Hey Arnold ”Creator Craig Bartlett Shares How 'Super Private' Actor Inspired One of the Show's Characters

Angela AndaloroThu, February 26, 2026 at 3:59 PM UTC

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Craig Bartlett (left), Arnold and OskarCredit: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty;nickelodeon -

Hey Arnold aired from 1996 to 2004

Creator Craig Bartlett appeared on the All Grown Up, Syke podcast, where he looked back at the making of the Nickelodeon animated series

Barlett opened up about one of the guests at the Sunset Arms, Arnold's grandparents' boarding house

Craig Bartlett is opening up about one of Hey Arnold's most unforgettable characters.

The Hey, Arnold! creator appeared on the All Grown Up, Syke podcast, where he talked about the inspiration behind some of the zany boarders in Arnold's grandparents' boarding house.

Bartlett addressed the idea that Oskar Kokoshka, the scoundrel boarder who puts himself first, although he has a soft spot for wife Suzie, was inspired by his voice actor, Steve Viksten.

"Steve had, I mean, what a brilliant mind," Barlett said of Viksten, who died in 2014 at 53.

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"He was also super private. So, how that could translate into Oscar does seem like kind of a strange thing, but you know, Steve loved to go to the track, going on to bet on the horses. He liked that whole underworld."

Bartlett joked that Oksar was "kind of aspirational," adding, "Like if Steve could, he would never work another day in his life. [It was like,] I want to be like Oskar.' "

Oskar and ArnoldCredit: nickelodeon

Bartlett said the unique voice was key to the character and many of the characters on Hey Arnold, inspired by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, who saw success on Nickelodeon with Rugrats.

"We loved Klasky and Csupo, as we'd all worked for them on Rugrats, and now, we're over at a new place, making Arnold. And we were kind of like 'Klasky and Csupo were such a funny couple... so what if we just have a character that talks like Gabor, or Suzie can be even?' Neither one of them honestly — Arlene's not like Suzie and Gabar isn't like Oskar — but the accent was what all of us did."

Hey Arnold aired from 1996 to 2004.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”