Dee Bradley Baker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dee Bradley Baker
|
|
|---|---|
Baker in 2024
|
|
| Born | August 31, 1962 Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
|
| Alma mater | Colorado College (BA) |
| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
|
Works
|
Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Michelle Baker
(m. 1990) |
| Children | 2 |
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is a famous American voice actor. He is known for making amazing animal and monster sounds for many characters. You might recognize his voice from popular animated shows like Adventure Time, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ben 10, Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Legend of Korra.
Dee Bradley Baker is also super famous for voicing all the clone troopers in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, including characters like Captain Rex. He continued these roles in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Besides cartoons, he has voiced characters in video games such as Halo, Gears of War, and Overwatch.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Dee Bradley Baker was born in Bloomington, Indiana, on August 31, 1962. He grew up in Greeley, Colorado. He started performing when he was just nine years old. As a kid, he loved musicals, operas, plays, and even stand-up comedy. He was also a big fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Planet of the Apes. He was very interested in insects, spiders, and dinosaurs too!
After high school, Baker went to Colorado College. There, he studied different subjects like philosophy, biology, and German. He even spent a year studying in Germany. He was also involved in local theater and singing groups. After college, he continued working on community theater projects.
Becoming a Voice Actor
Early Days in Florida
In 1989, Dee Bradley Baker moved to Orlando, Florida. He worked at EPCOT Center and joined projects for Disney and Universal Studios. His first big TV job was on the Nickelodeon game show Legends of the Hidden Temple from 1993 to 1995. He was the announcer for the show. He also voiced the giant talking rock-god, Olmec, using a "big, booming, loud, god-like voice."
Olmec would tell exciting legends and then ask the kid contestants trivia questions. The show was very popular and ran for three seasons. In 2016, Baker returned to voice Olmec for a TV movie based on the show. He also voiced Olmec again when Legends of the Hidden Temple was brought back in 2021.
Moving to Hollywood
Around 1993, Baker moved to Southern California to pursue more voice-over work. His first major cartoon character was Cow & Chicken's dad in the Cow & Chicken and I Am Weasel cartoons. He also voiced characters like Daffy Duck and Taz in the movie Space Jam.
He soon voiced many characters in popular cartoons such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Powerpuff Girls. He was also the voice of Numbuh 4 in Codename: Kids Next Door. On live-action TV, he was the co-host and announcer for the game show Shop 'til You Drop. He also played Phil Berg, a journalist, in the Nickelodeon show The Journey of Allen Strange.
Famous for Animal Sounds
Dee Bradley Baker is especially known for his amazing animal and creature sounds. He started voicing many animal characters on shows like The Wild Thornberrys. He made animal sounds for Dora the Explorer and voiced characters like Boo Boo Chicken in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, he voiced the beloved creatures Appa (the flying bison) and Momo (the lemur). He continued to voice many creatures in the sequel, The Legend of Korra, including Naga, Pabu, and Oogi. He also voiced many alien creatures in the Ben 10 series, like Stinkfly and Wildmutt.
Perry the Platypus
In 2007, Baker got the role of Perry the Platypus in the Disney series Phineas and Ferb. When he auditioned, he was asked to make three different creature sounds. One of these sounds became Perry's famous chattering noise! Perry became a super popular character from the show. Baker has even appeared at Comic-Con panels for Phineas and Ferb because of Perry. In 2014, Perry was nominated for a Kids' Choice Award for Best Animal Sidekick. Another character Baker voiced, Waddles the pet pig from Gravity Falls, was nominated in the same category!
More Awesome Voice Roles
Klaus from American Dad!
In 2005, Baker started voicing Klaus Heisler in the cartoon sitcom American Dad!. Klaus is an Olympic ski jumper from Germany whose mind was swapped into a goldfish. Baker enjoys playing Klaus because he likes the German language and the character is well-written. He was even nominated for an Emmy Award in 2017 for his voice work as Klaus. He also voices other characters on the show, like Rogu.
Star Wars Clones!
Dee Bradley Baker was a big part of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie (2008) and its TV series. He voiced not only characters like Captain Rex and Commander Cody, but also *all* the other clone troopers! For this amazing work, he received an Annie Award nomination in 2012. He continued to voice Captain Rex in Star Wars Rebels. In 2021, he returned to voice the clones in the Clone Wars spin-off The Bad Batch, including the special experimental clones. He also voiced Nix, a loyal companion, in the Star Wars Outlaws video game.
Video Game Voices
Baker has lent his voice to many video games. He voiced Gravemind in Halo 2 and Halo 3. He was also the voice of the main character Joe in the Viewtiful Joe game series. In the game Spore, where players create their own creatures, Baker provided all the creature sounds! He also voiced Murky in Heroes of the Storm and Hammond (a hamster!) in Overwatch. You can also hear his voice as Atlas and P-body in Portal 2 and Reuben the pig in Minecraft: Story Mode.
In 2014, Baker continued his work on shows like American Dad, Gravity Falls, and The Legend of Korra. He voiced Dopey in The 7D and characters like Fish in The Boxtrolls film, for which he was nominated for another Annie Award.
Dee Bradley Baker often appears at conventions like Comic-Con to talk about voice acting. He also created a website called IWantToBeAVoiceActor.com. On this site, he answers common questions and gives advice to people who want to become voice actors. Other voice actors have said his website is a great resource!
Filmography
Personal Life
Dee Bradley Baker met his wife, Michelle, when they were both doing children's theater. They got married in 1990 and have two daughters. They live in Los Angeles.
Outside of voice acting, Baker enjoys photography, especially taking pictures of small flowers and insects. He is also fluent in German.
See also
In Spanish: Dee Bradley Baker para niños
