Seth Green

Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut was '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films in the 1980s, including '' Radio Days'' (1987) and ''Big Business'' (1988).

During the 1990s and 2000s, Green began starring in comedy films such as '' Idle Hands'' (1999), '' Rat Race'' (2001), '' Without a Paddle'' (2004) and '' Be Cool'' (2005). He also became known for his portrayal of Scott Evil, Dr. Evil's son, in the '' Austin Powers'' film series (1997–2002). Green has also taken serious roles in films, including '' The Attic Expeditions'' (2001) and '' Party Monster'' (2003). He has provided the voice for Howard the Duck in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films and series, including '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014), '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' (2017), and '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' (2023) and in the animated series '' What If...?'' (2021–2024). In 2019, he wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy-drama film '' Changeland''.

Green's first lead role on television was on the ABC sitcom '' Good & Evil'' in 1991, for which he won a Young Artist Award. Green later gained attention for his supporting roles as Oz, a teenage guitarist and the boyfriend of Willow Rosenberg, on the fantasy television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2000), and as the voice of Chris Griffin on the Fox adult animated comedy series ''Family Guy'' (1999–present). He also voiced Leonardo in the Nickelodeon animated series ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (2014–2017) and Joker in the ''Mass Effect'' video game series (2007–2012). Green created, directed, wrote, and produced the adult animated comedy series '' Robot Chicken'' and its spinoffs (2005–present), which have earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards.

Early life

Seth Benjamin Gesshel-Green was born in Overbrook Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Barbara (née Gesshel) and Herbert Green. He has one sister, Kaela. Green later legally changed his name to Seth Benjamin Green. He was raised Jewish and had a bar mitzvah ceremony. His ancestors were from Russia, Poland, and Scotland. Green started acting at the age of 7. His early comic influences included Monty Python, ''Blackadder'', ''Saturday Night Live'', Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, '' Porky's'', and '' Caddyshack''.

Career

Early work

Green's first film roles were in the 1984 films ''Billions for Boris'' and '' The Hotel New Hampshire''; the second film cast him alongside Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe. He appeared in the 1987 film '' Can't Buy Me Love'', playing Patrick Dempsey's character's little brother, Chuckie Miller. He starred in Woody Allen's '' Radio Days'' (1987) as Joe (a 1930s–1940s boy based on Allen) and appeared in ''Big Business'' (1988) and, in the same year, '' My Stepmother Is an Alien'', which also starred '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' co-star Alyson Hannigan.

In 1984, Green portrayed Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in the Jell-O Gelatin Pops commercials featuring ''The Little Rascals''. In 1991, Green rose to fame in a Rally's "Cha Ching" commercial, which earned him an appearance at a New Orleans Saints game. Green was given a key to New Orleans in honor of his role in the popular commercial.

Green appeared in the horror TV series '' It'' (as Richie Tozier, age 12) and ''Ticks'', all three '' Austin Powers'' films (as Dr. Evil's son, Scott), and '' Enemy of the State'' and '' The Italian Job'' (as a computer specialist in both). He was also in the films '' Can't Hardly Wait'', '' Rat Race'', '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', '' Without a Paddle'' (alongside Matthew Lillard), '' Idle Hands'', '' Party Monster'', '' Airborne'', and '' Old Dogs''.

In 1994, he starred alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt in the short-lived series '' The Byrds of Paradise''. The two additionally appeared in 1998's '' Can't Hardly Wait''. Green also had a role in the series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. He played Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, a calm, mild-mannered member of the band Dingoes Ate My Baby who gets turned into a werewolf. The character was very popular among fans of the series. Green is not related to Bruce Seth Green, who directed some episodes of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. On occasion, some sources confuse the two and have credited Seth as the director. As an actor in the series, he was close to co-star Alyson Hannigan because they were lovers in the show. Green has starred on Fox's '' Greg the Bunny'' and guest-starred on ''The X-Files'', ''That '70s Show'', '' Will & Grace'', '' MADtv'', '' Reno 911!'', '' Entourage'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' The Wonder Years'', '' Heroes'', '' The Facts of Life'', ''The Drew Carey Show'', and ''My Name Is Earl''.

''Family Guy''

On the animated television comedy ''Family Guy,'' Green primarily voices Chris Griffin, the teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent and, in many respects, a younger version of his father Peter Griffin. He also voices Neil Goldman, a neighbor of the Griffins. Green did an impression of Buffalo Bill from the thriller film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' during his audition. He has stated that his main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how Buffalo Bill would sound when speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's.

Howard the Duck

Green provides the voice of Howard the Duck for the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014) and ''Vol. 2'' (2017) and the Disney+ animated series ''What If...?'', as well as the Disney XD animated series ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2015–2019) and ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' (2016).

Developing the character with James Gunn, Green did an impression of Danny DeVito, "being sort of a gruff and cynical sarcastic character hodoesn't know what the Earth species of duck even is and doesn't think of himself that way and is offended by that generalization."

Later work

Green is a co-creator, co-producer, writer, director, and most frequent voice of the Emmy-winning stop-motion sketch parody comedy TV series '' Robot Chicken'', for which he does many voices and has appeared in animated form. Green is friends with the band Fall Out Boy, making a cameo in their music video, " This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race". He also appeared in "Weird Al" Yankovic's " White & Nerdy" music video. He made two appearances on '' The Soup'' in 2007 and 2008, using his first appearance to lampoon Internet celebrity Chris Crocker. He voiced the character Jeff "Joker" Moreau, pilot of the ''Normandy''-SR starship series in the video games ''Mass Effect'', '' Mass Effect 2'', and ''Mass Effect 3''. He is a producer of '' The 1 Second Film'' and appears in the "making of" documentary that accompanies its feature-length credits. Green is also the co-creator (with Hugh Sterbakov) of the comic '' Freshmen'', published by Top Cow Productions.

Green and ''Robot Chicken'' co-producer Breckin Meyer appeared in the NBC show '' Heroes'' during the 2008–09 season. In January 2009, Green worked with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from '' Married... with Children'') for an episode of Faustino's show '' Star-ving'' – Faustino is often mistaken for Green. Later in the same year, he worked with one of his idols, Robin Williams, in the comedy film '' Old Dogs'', which also starred John Travolta. On July 13, World Wrestling Entertainment's official website announced Green as the special guest host for the July 13 episode of '' WWE Raw'', and on that night, Green competed in the main event, a six-man tag team match, which his team won by disqualification. He was also in attendance for WWE's biggest event of the year, WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, 2010. Green guest-starred in the third season of the acclaimed sitcom '' Husbands''. Green became the new voice of Leonardo in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' following Jason Biggs' departure from the role.

In 2019, he wrote and directed his first film named '' Changeland'', starring Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin. The film was released on June 7, 2019.

In 2021, Green reprised the role of Todo 360 in '' Star Wars: The Bad Batch''. The following year, Green voiced Thunderbolt in the third season of '' Stargirl'', replacing Jim Gaffigan.

Personal life

After getting engaged on New Year's Eve in 2009, Green married actress Clare Grant on May 1, 2010, in Northern California. They worked together on '' Robot Chicken'', '' Warren the Ape'', '' Changeland'', ''Holidays'', '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', '' Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'', and her ''Saber'' and " Geek and Gamer Girls Song" viral videos.

In October 2022, Green accused Bill Murray of forcibly dropping him in a trash bin backstage on ''Saturday Night Live'' when he was nine years old. He claimed that the assault occurred after Murray was frustrated that Green refused to move from the armrest of a couch.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and nominations

See also

* List of recurring ''That '70s Show'' characters

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Seth
1974 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
American male child actors
American male comedians
American male television actors
American male television writers
American television writers
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American parodists
American people of Jewish descent
American people of Polish descent
American people of Russian descent
American people of Scottish descent
American sketch comedians
American television directors
Annie Award winners
Living people
Male actors from Philadelphia
Male motion capture actors
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Comedians from Philadelphia