H. Jon Benjamin
| Jon Benjamin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jon Henry Benjamin |
| Born | May 23, 1966 Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Notable works and roles | Ben in Dr Katz, Professional Therapist Coach McGuirk/Jason in Home Movies Various Roles in Freak Show Various Roles in Important Things with Demetri Martin |
Jon Benjamin (born May 23, 1966, in Worcester, Massachusetts) is an American comedian and actor, known mostly for his extensive voice acting.
Career overview
Benjamin's comedy career began when he was around twenty-four in Boston where he was first in a comedy duo with Sam Seder, then a member of Cross Comedy, a comedy team led by David Cross. For around the first seven years of his career, Benjamin almost exclusively worked in groups rather than independently. Afterwards, his independent work remained more experimental, rejecting traditional styles of stand-up comedy in favour of playing with the medium.
Benjamin's live projects include the Midnight Pajama Jam, a show performed in New York City with Jon Glaser, and Tinkle a show combining stand-up comedy and live music co-hosted by Todd Barry and David Cross. A Midnight Pajama Jam DVD is currently in production. He and Cross also appear together on Invite Them Up.
He was the guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast in its eighty-first episode "King Dead" on December 17, 1999 where Zorak and Moltar kidnapped him. He has appeared in the television show Cheap Seats, on ESPN Classic, as "Gene Stapleton" and "Rabbi Marc Shalowitz". He co-starred in Todd Barry's short film Borrowing Saffron, and portrayed a hallucinatory talking can of vegetables with a shameful habit of autofellatio in the film Wet Hot American Summer. He also made short cameos in Not Another Teen Movie as the football trainer and on the FX Network dramedy Rescue Me as the pimp "F-bomb" in season two. He is currently a writer and actor in the sketch MTV Show Human Giant. He can also be seen in Turbocharge- the Unauthorized Story of the Cars, a comedy biopic about 80's rock band The Cars, playing the role of Cars' manager Elliot Roberts in his usual deadpan comedic delivery [1].
Benjamin has done a lot of voice work in animated TV shows. His credits include starring roles in several Soup2Nuts cartoon shows, such as Science Court, Home Movies, O'Grady, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and Assy McGee. He also co-created the show Freak Show with his friend David Cross. Benjamin is also starring as the Devil (and multiple other roles) in Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, which began airing on Adult Swim on September 9, 2007. Benjamin also plays a recurring character on the PBS Kids series WordGirl and is the announcer for The Sam Seder Show and the now defunct The Majority Report, both on Air America Radio. He also does the voice of "Shelly", Sam Seder's accountant, on Maron v Seder.
Benjamin has made guest appearances in several animated shows. He was in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes "Bus of the Undead" and "The Last One" as Mothmonsterman, and as Mr. Sticks in "Broodwich" and he plays Master Shake in the upcoming Live-Action episode. He also made a cameo appearance as a government agent in the film "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters" alongside frequent collaborator Jon Glaser. He recently guest-starred in Family Guy as Carl, a convenience store clerk. Other notable recent appearances include The Venture Bros., in the episodes "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills", in which he played Dr. Orpheus's master (who appears in the form of Cerberus and Catherine the Great's horse, respectively). He also appeared in the Stella short "Bar" which can be found as an easter egg on the Season 1 DVD. As of 2009, Benjamin stars on the Comedy Central sketch/variety show Important Things with Demetri Martin and has nearly as much screen time as Martin himself.
Benjamin was featured in a Super Bowl XLIII Budweiser commercial with Conan O'Brien[1] and was responsible for the McCain Girls[2] videos on YouTube.[3]
Benjamin appeared in the "final" episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force:live-action as the live-action alter ego of Master Shake.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2009-present | Important Things with Demetri Martin | Various characters | Writer Various characters Senior/Co-Producer Sketch comedy series |
| 2007-present | WordGirl | Various characters; Reginald | Voice only Animated series |
| 2007-present | Human Giant | Various characters | Actor Writer Sketch comedy series |
| 2006-present | Family Guy | Carl | Voice only Animated series |
| 2006-2008 | Assy McGee | The Mayor Various characters |
Voice actor Writer Consulting producer Animated series |
| 2007 | The Ten | Lying Rhyno | Actor Film |
| 2007 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters | CIA Agent #1 | Voice only Animated film Credited as H. Jon Benjamin |
| 2006 | The Venture Bros. | The Master | Voice only Animated series Credited as H. Jon Benjamin |
| 2006 | Freak Show | Tuck Various characters |
Creator Writer Executive producer Voice actor Animated series |
| 2005-2007 | Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil | Satan Special Father #1 Various characters |
Voice actor Additional Material Creative Consultant |
| 2005 | Rescue Me | Gary | Actor TV series |
| 2005 | Bleach | Various Characters | Voice only Animated series |
| 2004-2006 | Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker | Rabbi Marc Shalowitz Score Settler Beamy |
Actor TV series |
| 2004-2006 | O'Grady | Kevin Harnisch Iris Philip |
Voice actor Animated series |
| 2004 | New York Minute | Vendor | Actor film |
| 2002 | Saddle Rash | Gummy Tommy Morgan |
Voice actor Additional material TV Pilot |
| 2002 | Martin & Orloff | Keith | Actor film |
| 2002 | Not Another Teen Movie | Trainer | Actor film |
| 2001-present | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Mothmonster man Mr. Sticks Mortimer Mango Master Shake (Live-Action episode) |
Voice Actor Animated Series Credited as H. Jon Benjamin |
| 2001 | Wet Hot American Summer | Can of Vegetables | Actor Film |
| 2000 | Happy Accidents | Reveler #1 | Actor film |
| 1999-2004 | Home Movies | Coach John McGuirk Jason Penopolis Walter Various characters |
Voice actor Writer Producer Animated series Credited as H. Jon Benjamin |
| 1999 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | Guest TV Series |
| 1999 | The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special | Various characters | Voices actor Writer TV series |
| 1998 | Upright Citizens Brigade | Various characters | Voice only |
| 1998 | Sex and the City | Jeff | Actor TV series |
| 1998-2000 | Late Night with Conan O' Brien | Writer Late Night Talk show | |
| 1997 | The Jenny McCarthy Show | Various characters | Actor Sketch comedy series |
| 1997 | Science Court | Various characters | voice only Animated series |
| 1995 | Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist | Ben Various characters |
Voice Actor Writer Animated Series |
Quotes
- "I don’t know about that. I’ve turned down some sitcom work but I don’t know if it’s important enough to note." (With regard to the claim that he turns down more work than any other actor)
- "When I saw my character I was thrilled because they made him really fat and dumpy while I am this tiny balding Jewish guy." (Describing his first reaction to seeing Coach McGuirk, one of the characters he voiced in Home Movies)
- "I've never had the desire to tell jokes. I've always been more interested in not making people laugh, but people seem to laugh at that. So actual jokes have always been the antithesis of what I've wanted to do. I started doing comedy with a lot of people who were great at telling jokes so I just wanted to not do what they did." (On the nature of his live performances in an interview on The Sound of Young America)
References
- ^ "Super Bowl 43 ad: Budweiser Bud Light - Conan O'brien 'Vroom Vroom Party Starter'" (Video). YouTube.com. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ "McCaingirls's Channel". YouTube.com. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Just because". SamSederShow.com. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
External links
- H. Jon Benjamin at IMDb
- Template:Tvtome person
- Midnight Pajama Jam Official Site
- Jon Benjamin: Almost a rabbi That Other Paper
- Interview with Suicidegirls.com
- Interview with Kittenpants.org
- Ten Questions with H. Jon Benjamin
- Audio Interview with The Sound of Young America public radio show
- Clips from Midnight Pajama Jam shows (Swift Boats, XTC, etc.)
- Interview from April 2007
- Interview from March 2007 from SXSW Festival