Alan Tudyk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alan Tudyk
Tudyk in 2024
Born	Alan Wray Tudyk (1971-03-16) March 16, 1971 (age 53) El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Education	Lon Morris College Juilliard School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Charissa Barton ​ (m. 2016)​

Alan Wray Tudyk (/ˈtjuːdɪk/ TEW-dik; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in 28 Days (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in I, Robot (2004), and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). He starred in the black comedy horror film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010). Tudyk has also appeared in the films, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), 42 (2013), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Trumbo (2015). He has voiced characters in every Walt Disney Animation Studios film since 2012.

Tudyk is known for television roles, such as Wash on the space Western drama series Firefly (2002–2003). The show ran for one season and developed a cult following after the series aired. He reprised the role in the 2005 continuation film Serenity expanding on the events of the final episode of the series. His other roles include the 2007 English black comedy film Death at a Funeral, the sitcom Arrested Development (2005, 2013, 2019), the science fiction series Dollhouse (2009–2010), superhero animated series Young Justice (2010–2013, 2019), and various Voices on the animated series American Dad! (2011–present). Tudyk played Dr. Noah Werner on the sitcom Suburgatory (2011–2014). He also starred in the comedy series Newsreaders (2014–2015), the animated series Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015–2019), voiced Dangerboat in the series The Tick (2017–2019), played K-2SO in the 2016 film Rogue One, and Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody on the series Doom Patrol (2019).

Since 2019, Tudyk has voiced The Joker and Clayface in the series Harley Quinn. Tudyk currently plays Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle in the science fiction comedy series Resident Alien, and voices Optimus Prime in the animated series Transformers: EarthSpark.

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

Tudyk at the 2005 Serenity Flanvention

Film

Tudyk's film debut was in 1997 in Mark Schwahn's independent drama film 35 Miles from Normal. 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. ..... 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.

Tudyk in July 2012

In 2012, Tudyk voiced King Candy in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph, winning the Annie Award for Voice Acting. As of 2023, 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, Tuk Tuk and Pico the toucan in the 2021 films Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto, respectively, Duffle in Strange World, and Valentino in Wish. Additionally, in 2016, Tudyk played the droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, provided the voice of the parrot, Iago (originally voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) in the 2019 live-action adaptation of Aladdin, and the Mad Hatter in Once Upon a Studio.

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 played Mr. Darling in the fantasy adventure film Peter Pan & Wendy. It debuted 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

Tudyk at the Man of Steel premiere in June 2013

One of his better-known roles is the playful, easy-going Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the 2002 television series Firefly by Joss Whedon. The series ran for one season, and 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". ..... 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. ..... 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. He was a main cast member of 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 then later returned to the Transformers franchise by voicing Optimus Prime in the EarthSpark animated series.

In 2021, he starred in the lead role in the Resident Alien TV series on the Syfy channel. It ran for three seasons.

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 character similar to Firefly. Tudyk then reprised his role as 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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	35 Miles from Normal	Trevor
1998	Patch Adams	Everton
2000	28 Days	Gerhardt
	Wonder Boys	Traxler
2001	A Knight's Tale	Wat
	Hearts in Atlantis	Monte Man
2002	Ice Age	Lenny / Dab / Freaky Mammal	Voice
2004	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	Steve the Pirate
	I, Robot	Sonny
	Meet Market	Danny
2005	Rx	Pepe
	Serenity	Hoban "Wash" Washburne
2006	Ice Age: The Meltdown	Cholly	Voice
	Done the Impossible	Himself	Documentary
2007	Death at a Funeral	Simon
	Knocked Up	Jack
	3:10 to Yuma	Doc Potter
2009	Astro Boy	Mr. Squeegee / Scrapheap Head / Stinger Two	Voice
	Bed Ridden	Detective Kurt	Short film
	The Ballad of G.I. Joe	Shipwreck	Short film
2010	Tucker & Dale vs. Evil	Tucker
	Beautiful Boy	Eric
2011	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Dutch
	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked	Simone	Voice
	Conception	Mark
2012	Strange Frame	Chat	Voice
	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter	Stephen A. Douglas	Uncredited cameo
	Ice Age: Continental Drift	Milton / Hunky Siren	Voice
	Wreck-It Ralph	Turbo / King Candy	Voice
	Browncoats Unite: Firefly 10th Anniversary Special	Himself	Documentary
2013	42	Ben Chapman
	Frozen	Duke of Weselton	Voice
2014	Premature	Jack Roth
	Justice League: War	Clark Kent / Superman	Voice; direct-to-video
	Big Hero 6	Alistair Krei	Voice
	Tell	Morton
	Welcome to Me	Ted Thurber
	Son of a Barman	Bill Snyder	Short film
2015	Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials	Blondie
	Trumbo	Ian McLellan Hunter
	Oddball	Bradley Slater
2016	Zootopia	Duke Weaselton	Voice
	Shangri-La Suite	Dr. Sanborn
	Moana	Heihei, Villager #3	Voice
	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	K-2SO
2018	Deadpool 2	Luke - Redneck #1
	Ralph Breaks the Internet	KnowsMore	Voice
2019	Aladdin	Iago	Voice
	Frozen II	Guard, Northuldra Leader, Arendellian Soldier	Voice
2020	Eat Wheaties!	Dave Lambert
2021	Raya and the Last Dragon	Tuk Tuk	Voice
	Playing God	Ben
	Encanto	Pico	Voice
	Distancing Socially	Noel
2022	Disenchanted	Scroll	Voice
	Strange World	Duffle, Radio Host	Voice
2023	Peter Pan & Wendy	Mr. Darling
	Once Upon a Studio	Mad Hatter	Voice, short film
	The Trouble with Jessica	Tom
	Wish	Valentino	Voice
2024	Moana 2	Heihei	Voice; Post-production
TBA	Playdate	Simon Maddox	Post-production

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Strangers with Candy	Father	2 episodes
	Frasier	Todd Peterson	Episode: "The Great Crane Robbery"
2002–2003	Firefly	Hoban "Wash" Washburne	Main role
2005, 2013, 2019	Arrested Development	Pastor Terry Veal	5 episodes
2005	Into the West	Nathan Wheeler	Episode: "Wheel to the Stars"
2006	Capitol Law	Walker Eliot	Television film
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Carl Fisher	Episode: "Burn Out"
2008	Fourplay	Drew	Television film
	Play or Be Played	Charlie	Television film
2009	James Gunn's PG ...	Bob	Episode: "High Poon"
	V	Dale Maddox	3 episodes
2009–2010	Dollhouse	Alpha / Stephen Kepler	4 episodes
	Glenn Martin, DDS	Additional Voices	5 episodes
2010	Rockford Files, TheThe Rockford Files	Detective Dennis Becker	Television film
2010, 2011	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Barry Allen / The Flash	Voice; 2 episodes
2010–2013, 2019	Young Justice	Green Arrow, Psimon, Captain Cold	Voice; 11 episodes
2011–2020	Robot Chicken	Various voices	4 episodes
2011, 2013, 2016–present	American Dad!	Dr. Kalgary, Mr. Capalini, Additional Voices	Voice; 25 episodes
2011	Family Guy	German Pilot	Voice; episode "German Guy"
2011–2012	The Life & Times of Tim	Rodrigo, Arthur, Debbie	Voice; 3 episodes
2011	Good Vibes	Lonnie	Voice; main role
2011–2014	Suburgatory	Dr. Noah Werner	Voice; main role
2012	Phineas and Ferb	Additional Voices	Voice; episode: "Sipping with the Enemy/Tri-State Treasure: Boot of Secrets"
	Napoleon Dynamite	Officer Elwood	Voice; episode: "Ligertown"
	NTSF:SD:SUV::	Sven	Episode: "The Real Bicycle Thief"
	Robot and Monster	Crazy Cousin Gizmo	Voice; episode: "The Party"
2014	The Team Unicorn Saturday Action Fun Hour!	Chummy Cherub / Sad Tree	Episode: "Pilot"
	Justified	Elias Marcos	Episode: "Shot All to Hell"; credited as Wray Nerely
	Chozen	Kai / Additional voices	Voice; 5 episodes
2014–2016	TripTank	Terrence, Bootf***er	Voice; 6 episodes
2014–2015	Newsreaders	Reagan Biscayne	Main role
2014	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Ray Starksy	Episode: "The Lonely Island Wear Holiday Sweaters & White Pants"
2015, 2017	Adventure Time	Chatsberry, Additional Voices	Voice; 2 episodes
2015, 2020	Rick and Morty	Chris, Observant Glorzo	Voice; 3 episodes
2015–2019	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Ludo Avarius, River Butterfly	Voice; main role
2015–2016	The Adventures of Puss in Boots	Uli	Voice; 10 episodes
2016	Clarence	Flight Attendant Dan	Voice; episode: "Plane Excited"
2017	Powerless	Van Wayne	Main role
	Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency	Mr. Priest	6 episodes
	Future-Worm!	Additional voices	3 episodes
2017–2019	The Tick	Dangerboat	Voice; recurring role
2017–2021	Big Hero 6: The Series	Alistair Krei	Voice; recurring role
2018	Lego Star Wars: All Stars	K-2SO	Voice; episode: "From Trenches to Wrenches: The Roger Story"
2019	Santa Clarita Diet	Gary West	7 episodes
2019, 2021	Final Space	Todd H. Watson / Hushfluffles	Voice; 3 episodes
2019	Doom Patrol	Eric Morden / Mr. Nobody	Main role
	Archibald's Next Big Thing	Mr. Garbage	Episode: "The Oath of the Compass/Garbage Fruit"
2019, 2022	The Rookie	Ellroy Basso	Episodes: "Clean Cut" & "Day In The Hole"
2019–present	Harley Quinn	Joker, Clayface, Calendar Man, Condiment King, Doctor Trap, Firefly, Ocean Master, various voices	Voice; main role
2020	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Boris	Episode: "The Surprise Party"
	Solar Opposites	Nanobot Man	Voice; episode: "The Unstable Grey Hole"
	The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse	House of Tomorrow	Voice; episode: "House of Tomorrow"
2021–present	Resident Alien	Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle	Main role
2021	M.O.D.O.K	Arcade	Voice; episodes: "This Man... This Makeover!", "O, Were Blood Thicker Than Robot Juice!"
	Devil May Care	Devil	Voice; main role
2022	Zootopia+	Duke Weaselton	Voice; episode: "Duke the Musical"
2022–present	Transformers: EarthSpark	Optimus Prime	Voice; main role
2023	Praise Petey	Himself	Voice; episode: "Taxi to the South!"
2024	Grimsburg	Dr. Rufis Pentos / Mr. Flesh	Voice; main role
	Ark: The Animated Series	The Captain	Voice; main role
	WondLa	Cadmus Pryde	Voice
	Creature Commandos	Doctor Phosphorus	Voice; main role, in production

Key

Denotes television series that have not yet been released

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)

See also

In Spanish: Alan Tudyk para niños In Spanish: Alan Tudyk para niños