Danny Jacobs is an American actor and comedian. He made his voice acting debut in 1999 with an uncredited role in '' Full Blast''. He began his role of King Julien (originally voiced by

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

) in ''

The Penguins of Madagascar ''The Penguins of Madagascar'' is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation in collaboration with Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film ''Madagascar'': the penguin ...

'' (2008–2015) and had reprised his role in the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

special '' Merry Madagascar'' (2009), the

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

short ''

Madly Madagascar ''Madagascar'' is a media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film ''Madagascar (2005 film), Madaga ...

'' (2013) and '' All Hail King Julien'' (2014–2017). He also impersonated Cohen's character

Borat Sagdiyev Borat Margaret Sagdiyev (, ) is a satirical fictional character created and performed by Sacha Baron Cohen. Depicted as a Kazakh television journalist, the character serves as the main protagonist of the mockumentary '' Borat! Cultural Learning ...

(as well as a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as a Pirate with an Eye Patch) in ''

Epic Movie ''Epic Movie'' is a 2007 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was released on January 26, 2007 and stars Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Jennifer Coolidge, Faun ...

'' (2007). Besides King Julien, his voice work includes the role of Rowdy Remington in '' Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil'' (2010–2012), Victor Zsasz in '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'' (2009) and '' Batman: Arkham City'' (2011), Special Agent Porter in '' Justice League: Doom'' (2012), Snake / Snakeweed in ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'' (2012), Grifter and

Captain Cold Captain Cold (Leonard Snart) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in '' Showcase'' #8 (June 1957). In his comic book appearances, ...

in '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' (2013),

Baron Mordo Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo (known as Baron Mordo) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly as an adversary of Doctor Strange. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first ...

in ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'' (2016) and Heinrich Zemo in '' Avengers Assemble'' (2016).

Early life

Jacobs is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

of Lebanese descent. Growing up, Jacobs originally intended to become an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player. Jacobs attended Bishop Gallagher High School in

Harper Woods, Michigan Harper Woods is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Harper Woods borders Detroit to the north and east, roughly northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 20 ...

where he started to become interested in acting after seeing a production of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', in which he attended the rehearsals. Jacobs would later act in school productions of '' Grease'' and ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

''. He enrolled in

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

where he was in the community theater and later transferred to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

where he majored in musical theater. Jacobs was further inspired by his cousin who appeared on the original Broadway rendition of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he initially did commercial voice overs as a side gig to his theatrical work. He started animation voice acting as a

walla In American radio, film, television, and video games, walla is a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background. A group of actors brought together in the post-production stage of film production to create this murmur is known as ...

voice actor alongside

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice and television actor. He is known for voicing Ratchet in the ''Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final Fantasy X'', Shuyin ...

and

Teresa Ganzel Teresa Ganzel is an American actress and comedian. Career Ganzel was a recurring cast member of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' as the Matinee Lady in the "Tea Time Movie" sketches. She has often played stereotypical ditzy blonde ...

. On July 13, 2015, Jacobs donated to Kids Kicking Cancer and had entertained some children with his King Julien voice.

Career

In 1993, Jacobs originated the role of Chico Fernández in

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

' comedy ''The Vast Difference'' at the Purple Rose Theatre. In 1996–97, he won acting awards in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

for his portrayal of Aram in Richard Kalinoski's "Beast on the Moon." In 1999, Jacobs landed an uncredited voice role as Curt in '' Full Blast''. He was also a background voice actor for ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

''. In the same year, he appeared in his first live-action role in ''Get the Hell Out of Hamtown''. Jacobs served as the producing artistic director of the Gem and Century Theatres in Detroit from 2000 to 2002. Jacobs portrayed

and made a

as a Pirate with an Eye Patch in ''

'' (2007). When portraying the role of Borat, Jacobs did an impression of

. Jacobs was a substitute for Baron Cohen as the voice of King Julien in ''

'', again as an impression of Baron Cohen (Jacobs also provided additional voices in the series). In 2011, he won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for the role. Jacobs reprised his role in '' Merry Madagascar'' (2009) and ''

'' (2013). In 2014–2017, he returned to the role in '' All Hail King Julien''. In ''

Penguins of Madagascar ''Penguins of Madagascar'' is a 2014 American animated spy comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by 20th Century Fox. A spinoff of the ''Madagascar'' film series, it was directed by Eric Darnell and ...

'' (2014), Jacobs once again reprised his role as King Julien. He had also done voice-overs in various commercials. In addition to the jobs that led to ''All Hail King Julien'', Jacobs had been doing voice-over work for animated television series, including ''

Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...

'' (in which he provided additional voices) and ''

'' (in which he voiced Snake / Snakeweed), as well as several video games. He had said that animation, much like the theatre, gives actors a chance to play a wide range of roles. He said, "I can play any character of any ethnicity, any age, even any gender. And that's a freedom the camera doesn't give you. It's an incredibly freeing thing." He also stated that King Julien is his favorite voice role and would gladly reprise his role if ever asked. Jacobs had received more recognition as King Julien than the character's predecessor Baron Cohen. In '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'' (2012), Jacobs provided the singing voice of King Julien for the soundtrack. He had a voice role in ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

'' as

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Awards and nominations

Jacobs was nominated for the 2010

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

for Voice Acting in a Television Production for his voice role of King Julien in '' Merry Madagascar'' (2009), but lost the award to

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

. He won a 2011

and 2015

for his voice role of King Julien in ''

'' (2008–2015) and '' All Hail King Julien'' (2014–2017). * 2010:

for Voice Acting in a Television Production – Nominated * 2011: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program – Won * 2015: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program – Won

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

* "

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" is a song by American dance music group C+C Music Factory, released by Columbia Records on November 18, 1990, as the lead single from their debut album, '' Gonna Make You Sweat'' (1990). The song is su ...

," performing as King Julien XIII's singing voice (2012) * "

Wannabe "Wannabe" is the debut single by the British girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, ''Spice ...

," performing as King Julien XIII's singing voice (2012) * " Hot in Herre", performing as King Julien XIII's singing voice (2012) * " Afro Circus / I Like to Move It," performing as King Julien XIII's singing voice, along with Marty (

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...

) (2012) * All songs featured here are attributed to the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Danny Living people American Catholics American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American stand-up comedians American people of Lebanese descent Daytime Emmy Award winners Middle Eastern Christians Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American male actors Actors from Michigan People from Harper Woods, Michigan