Alan Tudyk

Alan Wray Tudyk (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. His father's family is of Polish 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 was later accepted into and attended the Juilliard School, but left in 1996 without earning a degree.

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. 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 / Turbo 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 from 1951's Alice in Wonderland, specifically in the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio, made to celebrate the centennial of The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

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
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". 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. 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 four 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.

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)

Con Man Comics

 * Spectrum #0–1 (script 2016)

Star Wars

 * Star Wars Adventures Vol. 2: Unexpected Detour (K-2SO's Dialogue writer 2018, ISBN 168405169X; ISBN 978-1684051694)