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Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', '' Gravity Falls'', '' Steven Universe'', '' Phineas and Ferb'', '' Ben 10'', ''
The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...
'', '' The 7D'', and '' American Dad!'' His voice work in live-action series includes ''
Legends of the Hidden Temple ''Legends of the Hidden Temple'' is an American action-adventure TV game show that broadcast from 1993 to 1995 on Nickelodeon. Created by David G. Stanley, Scott A. Stone, and Stephen Brown, the program features a fictitious temple, "filled ...
'' and ''
Shop 'til You Drop ''Shop 'til You Drop'' is an American game show that was on the air intermittently between 1991 and 2005. Four different series were produced during that time, with the first premiering on Lifetime on July 8, 1991, and the fourth series airing its ...
'', as well as films such as '' Space Jam'' and '' The Boxtrolls''. Baker has also voiced characters in video games such as '' Halo'', '' Gears of War'', '' Viewtiful Joe'', '' Spore'', '' Destiny'', and ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...
''. He is especially known for his work on various ''Star Wars'' television series, mainly as the voice of Captain Rex and other
clone trooper Clone troopers are fictional characters in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. They have been featured in a number of ''Star Wars'' media, including the live-action films '' Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and '' ...
s in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', '' Star Wars: The Bad Batch'', and '' Star Wars: Rebels''.


Early life

Baker was born in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
, on August 31, 1962, He grew up in
Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 201 ...
. He started performing at the age of nine and steadily worked in musicals, operas, plays, and stand-up comedy. As a child, he was a fan of '' Star Trek'', '' Star Wars'', ''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
'', and the music of Frank Zappa; he also had an interest in insects, arthropods, and dinosaurs. He graduated from University High School in 1981 and received a
Boettcher Scholarship The Boettcher Scholarship is a four-year, full-tuition and partial living expenses merit-based academic scholarship awarded to graduating Colorado high school students. Award recipients, on average, rank in the top 2% of their graduating classes an ...
. Baker attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he studied philosophy, biology, fine arts, and German, the last of which he studied overseas for a year at the University of Göttingen. – includes YouTube interview He was involved in local theater productions and singing groups. After graduating with a BA in philosophy in 1986, he was involved in many community theater projects, including a sketch comedy movie that aired on local public television.


Career


''Legends of the Hidden Temple''

In 1989, Baker moved to Orlando, Florida, where he worked on an improv sketch comedy show titled ''The Anacomical Players'' at EPCOT Center's Wonders of Life pavilion and joined various projects for Disney and Universal Studios. – 4 minutes in for Pirates, 15 minutes in for Boba Fett His first major experience on national television was on the Nickelodeon game show ''
Legends of the Hidden Temple ''Legends of the Hidden Temple'' is an American action-adventure TV game show that broadcast from 1993 to 1995 on Nickelodeon. Created by David G. Stanley, Scott A. Stone, and Stephen Brown, the program features a fictitious temple, "filled ...
'' from 1993 to 1995, where he was not only the announcer, but also the giant talking rock-god Olmec. He portrayed Olmec with a "big, booming, loud, god-like voice". During parts of the show, he would narrate a legend, and then ask the kid contestants related trivia questions. The show lasted three seasons and 120 episodes. When host
Kirk Fogg ''Legends of the Hidden Temple'' is an American action-adventure TV game show that broadcast from 1993 to 1995 on Nickelodeon. Created by David G. Stanley, Scott A. Stone, and Stephen Brown (television producer), Stephen Brown, the program fea ...
moved to Los Angeles, he was encouraged to move there as well. In 2016, he and Fogg reprised their roles for a live action television movie adaptation of the show. He reprised his role of Olmec again when Legends was revived in 2021 on
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
.


Early voice acting career

Baker moved to Southern California about a year before the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He got involved in voice-over work; his first major character was Cow & Chicken's dad in the '' Cow & Chicken'' and '' I Am Weasel'' cartoons. His first feature film voice-over was on the
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
-themed '' Looney Tunes'' film '' Space Jam'' where he voiced Daffy Duck, Taz and Toro. He did voice work for various episodic and recurring cartoon characters in '' The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest'', '' Johnny Bravo'', '' Dexter's Laboratory'', '' SpongeBob SquarePants'', and '' The Powerpuff Girls''. He voiced starring characters Og in ''
Mike, Lu & Og ''Mike, Lu & Og'' is an American-Russian animated television series created by Mikhail Shindel, Mikhail Aldashin, and Charles Swenson for Cartoon Network, and the 7th of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The series follows a foreign exchange stude ...
'' and
Bagheera Bagheera ( hi, बघीरा / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in ''The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther (melanistic Indian leopard) who ...
in the second season of '' Jungle Cubs''. In 2001, he added voice roles for Sanjay, Binky and other characters for '' The Fairly OddParents'' and co-starred as Mandy's father on ''
Billy and Mandy ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It follows Billy, an extremely dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, an ...
''. He had a lead role as Numbuh 4 in '' Codename: Kids Next Door''. On the live-action front, he became the co-host and announcer for the game show ''
Shop 'til You Drop ''Shop 'til You Drop'' is an American game show that was on the air intermittently between 1991 and 2005. Four different series were produced during that time, with the first premiering on Lifetime on July 8, 1991, and the fourth series airing its ...
'' which spanned several hundred episodes when it resumed broadcasting on the Family Channel and on the Pax television network, until a series retool in 2003; it was produced by Stone Stanley Entertainment, which had earlier co-produced ''Legends of the Hidden Temple''. He also had an on-screen recurring role as Phil Berg in the Nickelodeon sitcom series ''
The Journey of Allen Strange ''The Journey of Allen Strange'' is an American television series that aired on Nickelodeon's SNICK block of programming for three seasons from November 1997 to April 2000. Premise The series follows the story of a young Xelan alien (Arjay Smit ...
'' where he plays a crazed journalist who tries to expose Allen's identity as a space alien.


Animal and creature characterizations

Starting with gigs on '' The Wild Thornberrys'', he voiced an assortment of animal characters, which would become one of his specialties. He voiced Pig George in the live action animal film '' My Brother the Pig''. Baker has also been involved with television shows for younger children including: '' Dora the Explorer'' where he provided animal sounds; ''
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American interactive computer-animated children's television series which aired from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Disney Television Animation, it is the first computer-a ...
'' where he voices Boo Boo Chicken; '' Curious George'' where he voices Gnocchi; ''
My Friends Tigger & Pooh ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'' is an American computer-animated children's television series on Disney Channel as part of the Playhouse Disney block. It was inspired by A. A. Milne's ''Winnie-the-Pooh''. The series was developed by Walt Disney Te ...
'' where he voices Buster the dog and ''
Jake and the Neverland Pirates ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' (titled ''Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' for the fourth season and associated merchandise) is an American animated musical and interactive preschool children's television series shown on Disney Junior ...
'' (airing on Disney Junior) where he voices Tick-Tock the crocodile. In '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' where he voiced the creatures Appa and Momo and would soon voice many other creatures in the series as well as its sequel, ''
The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...
'', where he voices Naga, Pabu and Oogi. He voiced in the '' American Dragon: Jake Long'' and '' Ben 10'' series, the latter of which he voiced many alien creatures such as Stinkfly and Wildmutt, as well as some of the transformations. He also voiced in the ''Ben 10'' sequels such as '' Ben 10: Alien Force'', '' Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'' and '' Ben 10: Omniverse'', as well as its live-action adaptations and the show's reboot. Derrick J. Wyatt, who was the art director for ''Omniverse'', noted that they had to allow other voice actors to do some of the aliens in the later series because Baker was doing almost all of them and some of the characters were putting a strain on his throat. Outside of television, he provided the voice of Captain Jack Sparrow's talking parrot in the refurbished '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' rides at Disneyland and the
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...
. In 2007, Baker got the role of Perry the Platypus in the Disney series '' Phineas and Ferb''. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2013 panel, Baker mentioned that when he auditioned, he was asked to provide three different creature sounds, regardless of whether it actually sounded like a platypus, of which one was selected as Perry's characteristic sound. Perry has become a breakout character for the series, with Baker appearing at multiple Comic-Con panels for the show. In 2014, Perry was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Best Animal Sidekick. Coincidentally, another one of Baker's voiced characters, Waddles the pet pig in '' Gravity Falls'', was nominated for the same category.


Further animation voice-over work

In 2005, Baker landed a role as
Klaus Heisler Klaus Heisler is a fictional character from the animated television series ''American Dad!'' The Smith family's hapless and mostly hated goldfish, he is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his fami ...
, an Olympic ski jumper from Germany who was body-swapped into a goldfish, in the primetime cartoon sitcom '' American Dad!'' The series has run for over 15 seasons on Fox and TBS. In an interview with ''Pop Break'', Baker said that he liked playing Klaus because he loves the German language, the part was well written, and it is not stressful on his voice. He compared the rehearsals to being on '' The Carol Burnett Show''. He participated in ''American Dad'' panels at San Diego Comic-Con 2010 2012, and 2014; and the New York Comic-Con in 2014. In 2017, he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for Klaus in the episode "Fight or Flight". His voicing of council member Tarrlok in ''Korra'' garnered a nomination for the Behind the Voice Actors (BTVA) Voice Acting Award in 2012. In addition to television shows, Baker voiced characters in many animated and live action animation films, including some of the classic ghost monsters in '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', and Maurice in '' Happy Feet''. He also had roles in the '' Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' TV series and its direct-to-video releases. Baker was involved in the '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' film released in 2008 and its television series afterwards which ran for seven seasons. He provided the voices for not only the characters Captain Rex and Commander Cody, but also all the supporting
clone trooper Clone troopers are fictional characters in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. They have been featured in a number of ''Star Wars'' media, including the live-action films '' Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and '' ...
s, the last of which he received an Annie Award nomination for Voice Acting in a Television Production in 2012. He has also reprised the role of the of Captain Rex in '' Star Wars Rebels'', beginning with its second season. He also provided the voice of
Boba Fett Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel ...
for ''
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is an attraction located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Set in the '' Star Wars'' universe, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue takes passengers on ...
''. In the 2011 '' Family Guy'' episode "
It's a Trap! "It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series ''Family Guy'' which later served as the double-episode season finale of the ninth season and is the final part of the series' '' Star Wars'' parody trilogy '' Laugh It Up, Fuzzb ...
", a parody of the ''Star Wars'' film '' Return of the Jedi'', he voiced Klaus as Admiral Ackbar. In 2021, he reprised the role of the clones in the ''Clone Wars'' spin-off ''The Bad Batch'', including the titular group of experimental clones.


Video games, more voice acting, and other projects

In the video game world, Baker reprised his roles in Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon's multitude of show-related game releases. He also voiced Gravemind in '' Halo 2'' and '' Halo 3,'' and the title character Joe in the '' Viewtiful Joe'' series released from 2003 to 2005. He provided the creature sounds for the '' Spore'' video game which allows players to create and evolve their own creatures. At San Diego Comic-Con 2008's opening night, he was a featured performer at the '' Video Games Live'' concert, where he voiced characters from '' Gears of War'' and other series. He provided voices for two Blizzard Entertainment characters – Murky, a baby
murloc Thrall is a fictional character who appears in the ''Warcraft'' series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the series, Thrall is an orc shaman who served for a time as a Warchief of the Horde, one of the major factions of the ''War ...
in '' Heroes of the Storm,'' and Hammond, a genetically engineered hamster in ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...
.'' He is also the voice of the Death in '' Dante's Inferno'', released in 2010, and Atlas and P-body in '' Portal 2'', released in 2011. In 2014, Baker continued participating in ''American Dad'', ''Gravity Falls'', and a fourth season of ''The Legend of Korra''. He voiced Dopey in the Disney XD series '' The 7D''; and Fish, Wheels and Bucket in '' The Boxtrolls'' film, in which he was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Fish. – Cast & Crew In the '' Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'' video game, he voiced Brainiac. He voiced George Clooney and his dog in " The Animated Episode" of the TV Land series '' Hot in Cleveland''. In 2020, he voiced the hero Leef in ''Rocket Arena''. Baker has appeared on various panels at Comic-Con and other conventions where he talks about voice acting in general. He also created a website called IWantToBeAVoiceActor.com, where he answers frequently-asked questions about voice acting and gives advice. The site has been cited by fellow voice actors Steven Blum and Rob Paulsen as a valuable resource for getting into voice acting.


Filmography


Personal life

Baker met his wife when they were doing children's theatre at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. They married in 1990, and have two daughters. They live in Los Angeles. Outside of voice acting, Baker enjoys photography, mostly taking pictures of small flowers and insects. He is fluent in German.''Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen'', episode "Dee Bradley Baker"


References

; Book references * * *


External links

* * – Baker's voice-over advice site. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Dee Bradley 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American puppeteers Animal impersonators Cartoon Network people Colorado College alumni Game show announcers Male actors from Colorado Male actors from Indiana Male actors from Los Angeles Nickelodeon people People from Bloomington, Indiana People from Greeley, Colorado University of Göttingen alumni