Alan Tudyk

Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004), voicing Sonny on '' I, Robot'' with Will Smith (2004), and '' 3:10 to Yuma'' with Christian Bale (2007). In 2010, he starred with Tyler Labine in the black comedy horror film '' Tucker & Dale vs. Evil''. He has also appeared in the films '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' with Shia LaBeouf (2011), playing Ben Chapman in '' 42'' with Chadwick Boseman (2013), '' Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'' with Dylan O'Brien (2015) and Ian McLellan Hunter in '' Trumbo'' with Bryan Cranston (also 2015).

Tudyk is known for his television role as Wash on the space Western drama series '' Firefly'' with Nathan Fillion (2002–2003). The show only ran for one season but developed a cult following after the series aired. He reprised the role in the 2005 continuation film '' Serenity'' based on the events of the final episode of the series. His other television roles include the sitcom ''Arrested Development'' (2005, 2013, 2019), the science fiction series ''Dollhouse'' (2009–2010), superhero animated series '' Young Justice'' (2010–2013, 2019), and various voice roles on the animated series '' American Dad!'' (2011–present). From 2011–2014, he played Dr. Noah Werner on the sitcom ''Suburgatory'' with Jeremy Sisto. He also starred in Cartoon Network's television comedy '' Newsreaders'' (2014–2015), animated magical girl series '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' (2015–2019), voicing Dangerboat on '' The Tick'' (2017–2019), and voicing Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody on the animated series '' Doom Patrol'' (2019). Since 2019, he has voiced The Joker and Clayface in the DC Universe/HBO Max series ''Harley Quinn''. Since 2021, he has starred as Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle in the Syfy series ''Resident Alien''.

Early life

Tudyk was born in El Paso, Texas, the son of Betty Loyce (née Wiley) and Timothy Nicholas Tudyk. He is of Polish, German, French and English ancestry. Tudyk was raised in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where he attended Plano Senior High School. He had a brief experience as a stand-up comic before quitting after an angry audience member threatened to kill him. Tudyk studied drama at the Methodist-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, where he won the Academic Excellence award for drama. While in college, he played Beaver Smith in an eastern New Mexico summer stock theater production of ''Billy the Kid''. Tudyk entered Juilliard but left in 1996 before earning a degree.

Career

Film

Tudyk's film debut was in 1997 in Mark Schwahn's independent drama film ''35 Miles from Normal'' co-starring with Ethan Suplee. A year later, he had a minor role in the biographical comedy-drama '' Patch Adams'' with Robin Williams where he played patient Everton. Tudyk said of the role, that a doctor had given him a shot of adrenaline prior to filming as he had an allergic reaction to food the night before and his windpipe was closing up. In 2000, Tudyk played a gay German drug addict in '' 28 Days'' opposite Sandra Bullock. He played Wat in ''A Knight's Tale'', Steve the Pirate in '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' and the emotional robot Sonny in ''I, Robot''. In 2005, he reprised his role as the playful, easy-going Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the film '' Serenity'', derived from the television series '' Firefly'' by Joss Whedon. In 2007, Tudyk had a supporting role as a strong-willed doctor in the western film '' 3:10 to Yuma''. He had a brief but memorable role in the film '' Knocked Up'' and a highly physical comedic performance in the British film '' Death at a Funeral''. Tudyk played Tucker in the indie horror comedy '' Tucker & Dale vs Evil''. He reprised his role as Dutch for the film '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon''. In '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked'', he voiced Simone (a reckless French accent speaking Chipmunk, the result after Simon was bitten by a spider). In 2012, Tudyk played Stephen A. Douglas in Timur Bekmambetov's film '' Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter''. He played Ben Chapman in the 2013 film '' 42'' about Jackie Robinson.

In 2012, Tudyk voiced King Candy in the animated film ''Wreck-It Ralph''. He won the Annie Award for Voice Acting. As of 2022, he has lent his voice to every Walt Disney Animation Studios film since. He voiced the Duke of Weselton in '' Frozen'', Alistair Krei in '' Big Hero 6'', Duke Weaselton in ''Zootopia'', Heihei in '' Moana,'' KnowsMore in the ''Wreck-It Ralph'' sequel '' Ralph Breaks the Internet'', and Tuk Tuk and Pico the toucan in the 2021 films ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' and ''Encanto'', respectively. In 2016, Tudyk played the droid K-2SO in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story''. He provided the voice of the parrot, Iago (originally voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) in the 2019 live-action adaptation of '' Aladdin''.

Tudyk played Noel in Chris Blake's quarantine comedy film '' Distancing Socially'', which was filmed remotely at the height of the pandemic using iPhone 11. It was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021. He is set to play Mr. Darling in the upcoming fantasy adventure film '' Peter Pan & Wendy''. It will stream on Disney+ in 2023.

Broadway

Tudyk made his Broadway debut for ''Epic Proportions'' in 1999. He was also in ''Wonder of the World'', '' The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told'', ''Misalliance'', ''Oedipus'' and ''Bunny Bunny''. Tudyk filled in for Hank Azaria's roles in ''Spamalot'' from June to December 2005, and starred in a limited run of '' Prelude to a Kiss''.

Television

One of his better-known roles is the playful, easy-going Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the 2002 television series '' Firefly'' by Joss Whedon. Although the series ran for only one season, Universal Studios purchased the rights to make a film, '' Serenity'', and Tudyk reprised his role. He did a few voices from '' Make Way for Noddy''. In 2014, Tudyk took over the role of lead anchor on the live action adult swim comedy, ''Newsreaders''. Tudyk appeared as the cult leader, Father, in a two-part episode of ''Strangers With Candy'' entitled "Blank Stare". Among several guest spots on popular shows such as ''Arrested Development'', he played a convicted child sex offender on a popular episode of '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Tudyk was cast as a special guest star in Joss Whedon's ''Dollhouse''. The show featured people whose personalities had been erased, with Tudyk portraying Alpha, a former "active" who accidentally downloaded 48 separate personalities. Alpha served as the main antagonist of the series' first season, with guest appearances in the show's second season. Tudyk also guest-starred in three episodes of ABC's modern remake of the television miniseries '' V''. Tudyk provided the voice of superhero Green Arrow and villain Psimon in the animated series '' Young Justice''. He also co-starred in the ABC comedy series ''Suburgatory'' as Noah Werner, a dentist from the city, who moves to the suburbs. Tudyk voiced Debbie the prostitute in season 3 of ''The Life and Times of Tim''. He also provided the voices of Ludo Avarius and King River Butterfly in the Disney animated series '' Star vs the Forces of Evil''.

In 2015, he released his own web series ''Con Man'' based loosely upon his experiences touring the convention circuit after the cancellation of '' Firefly''. In 2017 he was a main cast member on the DC Comics-based show '' Powerless''.

In 2017, season 2 of ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' saw Tudyk in the role of Mr. Priest, a somewhat rogue Blackwing operative who is on familiar terms with Dirk, Bart and the Rowdy 3. Tudyk is set to voice Optimus Prime in the upcoming '' Transformers: EarthSpark'' animated series.

Video games

Tudyk voiced an unnamed marine in ''Halo 3'' and the squad's elite trooper in '' Halo 3: ODST''. He, Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin gave their likenesses to each characters similar to ''Firefly''. Tudyk voiced Green Arrow in '' Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and ''Injustice 2''.

Personal life

Tudyk and choreographer Charissa Barton became engaged in December 2015. They married on September 24, 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Web

Awards and nominations

*Nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team for '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004)
*Nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture'' for 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007)
*Won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for ''Wreck-It Ralph'' (2012)
*Nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble'' for Trumbo'' (2015)
*Nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Trumbo'' (2015)
*Nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for ''Con Man'' (2017)

Bibliography

Con Man Comics

*''Spectrum'' #0–1 (script 2016)

''Star Wars''

*''Star Wars Adventures Vol. 2: Unexpected Detour'' (K-2SO's Dialogue writer 2018, ; )

References

External links

*
*

"Stage and Screen Star to Fill in for Azaria on ''Monty Python's Spamalot'' During Actor's Hiatus"
from the '' Playbill'' website

Alan Tudyk
at FEARnet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudyk, Alan
1971 births
Living people
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American people of English descent
American people of French descent
American people of German descent
American people of Polish descent
Animal impersonators
Annie Award winners
Disney people
Juilliard School alumni
Lon Morris College alumni
Male motion capture actors
Male actors from El Paso, Texas
Male actors from Texas
People from El Paso, Texas
People from Plano, Texas
Theatre World Award winners
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors