John Schwab (born 15 September 1972) is an American
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
,
TV producer
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon a ...
and
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
who resides in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He produced ''
The Hide'' with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010.
He is best known for his film and television roles, such as lawyer
Travis Tygart
Travis Thompson Tygart (born 1971) is an American lawyer and CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He is best known for his role in exposing Lance Armstrong's massive doping operation.
Life and career
A native of Jacksonville ...
in the 2015 drama film ''
The Program'' (2015), baseball player
Lefty Grove
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...
in the 2018 biographical drama film ''
The Catcher Was a Spy'' (2018) and television producer Jotham Starr in the television miniseries ''
Dark Money
In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections where the source of the money is not disclosed to voters. In the United States, some types of nonprofit organizations may spend money on campaigns wi ...
'' (2019).
He has worked on British television series such as ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', ''
Clone'', ''
My Dad's the Prime Minister
''My Dad's the Prime Minister'' is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment. It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast in ...
'', ''
Hotel Babylon'' and ''
The Mallorca Files
''The Mallorca Files'' is a British police procedural television drama series set on the Spanish island of Mallorca, starring Elen Rhys and as a pair of detectives. The series, broadcast on BBC One, was created by Dan Sefton and is a co-prod ...
''.
His voice work in animation and video games include Dane in ''
Crysis: Warhead'', Zeck in ''
Boo, Zino & the Snurks
''Boo, Zino & The Snurks'' (also known as ''Back to Gaya'' and as ''The Snurks'') is a 2004 German-Spanish CGI animated film directed by Lenard Fritz Krawinkel and Holger Tappe.
Voice cast
* Michael Herbig: Boo
* Vanessa Petruo: Alanta
* Seb ...
'', Vinnie in ''
Thomas & Friends: The Great Race'', Timo in ''
Gladiators of Rome'', Jin in ''
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Released on December 1, it is the third installment in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' and the seventh main en ...
'' and ''
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country'', Dandelion in ''
The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...
'' video games,
Tony Stark / Iron Man in ''
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November ...
'' and the Guardian, Black Sinja and the Blue Sinja in ''
Trials of the Blood Dragon
''Trials of the Blood Dragon'' is a platform game developed by Ubisoft RedLynx and published by Ubisoft. As a crossover game of '' Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon'' and the ''Trials'' series, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 ...
''.
Career
Schwab made his first appearance in 1997 as the US voice of a voice trumpet in the British iconic children's series ''
Teletubbies
''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on th ...
''. In 2005, he played Owen Bywater, a commander of the base who guards the Metaltron Cage with his subordinate, De Maggio (
Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter (born January 26, 1971) is an American actress, singer and guitarist based in the UK. She has appeared in TV and radio series, episodes and films and is also a vocalist and guitarist in the countryfolk or harmony band Piefinger, ...
), in the episode of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', "
Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
".
His other television roles include ''
Rescue Heroes
Rescue Heroes are a line of action figures targeted towards Preschool age children, released by Fisher-Price. The line was first introduced in 1997, depicting various rescue personnel, such as firefighters, police officers, and construction work ...
'', ''
My Dad's the Prime Minister
''My Dad's the Prime Minister'' is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment. It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast in ...
'', ''
Noel's House Party
''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 26 March 2000 on BBC One, a ...
'', ''
Hotel Babylon'', ''
Trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
'', ''
Ultimate Force
''Ultimate Force'' is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four seri ...
'', ''
Undercover
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
'', ''
America's War on Drugs'' and ''
Monarch of the Glen''.
Schwab served as the narrator of the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
documentary television series ''
Weaponology
''Weaponology'' is a documentary television series that premiered on November 6, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. The program also airs on the Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel). The documentary series was narrated by John Schwab.
Ep ...
'' from 2007 through 2008. Schwab provides the voice of Tristan Jackson in the Canadian animated series ''Elemental Dragons'' with fellow voice actors
Samuel Vincent,
Clancy Brown
Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles.
Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...
,
Andrew Francis
Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, '' Hero 108'' as Lin Chung, '' L ...
,
Chiara Zanni
Chiara Zanni (; born July 19, 1978) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for her roles as Amy Ryan on The N series '' About a Girl'' and Maggie Buckman on the CBC series '' Edgemont''.
She is also known for her voice-work as Hahli i ...
,
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
and Daniel Bacon.
Schwab auditioned to provide the US narration for ''
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'' after
Michael Brandon
Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway (theat ...
and
Michael Angelis
Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', Martin Niarchos in '' G.B.H.'' and as a UK narrator of the British child ...
left the series, but
Mark Moraghan
Mark Stephen Moraghan (born 27 January 1963) is an English actor and singer. He has appeared in many British drama series including ''Peak Practice'', '' London's Burning'' and '' Heartbeat''. He is most famous for being the narrator for the ...
was chosen to narrate it instead in the US and UK dubs. Three years later, he joined the voice cast in the series taking on the role of Stanley in the US dub, replacing
Rob Rackstraw
Robert Rackstraw (born 31 October 1965) is a British voice actor who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games.
Career
Rackstraw has an extensive voiceover career over 20 years. He voiced the main villain Pew in ' ...
and from Series 20 onwards. The same year, he voices Vinnie, a tough
confederation locomotive
The Confederation type was a large locomotive type with a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement used on Canadian railroads. Most were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in Montreal, Quebec, and the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) in Kingston, Onta ...
in the feature film ''
Thomas & Friends: The Great Race''. Following the success of ''The Great Race'', Schwab voiced some characters in the 2017 feature film ''
Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor''.
He played an umpire in the comedy film ''
Mr. 3000
''Mr. 3000'' is a 2004 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III. It stars Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 h ...
'' (2004), featuring the comedic actor
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...
. His film credits include ''
Back to Gaya'', ''
The Fifth Estate'', ''
Zero Dark Thirty
''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the ...
'', ''
The Anomaly
''The Anomaly'' is a 2014 British science fiction action thriller film co-written, directed by and starring Noel Clarke and also featuring Ian Somerhalder and Luke Hemsworth. The film was panned by critics.
Plot
Ex-soldier Ryan Reeve wakes u ...
'', ''
The Current War
''The Current War'' is a 2017 American historical drama film inspired by the 19th-century competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the United States (often referred to ...
'', ''
The Program'', ''
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' and ''
Annihilation
In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy a ...
''.
He provides voices in video games, such as ''
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
''Kinect: Disneyland Adventures'' is a 2011 open world video game developed by Frontier Developments and published by Microsoft Studios on Kinect for Xbox 360, with a remaster for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows developed by Asobo Studio releas ...
'',
Battlefield 1
''Battlefield 1'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the first main entry in the series since '' Battlefield 4'' in 2013. It was rele ...
'', ''
Killzone 2
''Killzone 2'' is a 2009 first-person shooter developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the second main installment in the ''Killzone'' series, following 2004's '' Killzone''.
Simil ...
'' and many others. In 2011, Schwab provided the voice of Dandelion, starting with the video game ''
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings''.
Schwab appears as baseball player
Lefty Grove
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...
in the biographical film ''
The Catcher Was a Spy'' (2018), featuring
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
,
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
,
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...
and
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
.
He provided the English voice of Timo in the animated film ''
Gladiators of Rome''.
In 2019, he appeared as Jotham Starr, a filmmaker who molested Isaac (Max Fincham) in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
television miniseries ''
Dark Mon£y''.
Music
Schwab played the
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
in the TV show ''
The Hit Factory
The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano.
History
On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...
: The Pete Waterman Story'' (2001).
Producing
Schwab, alongside Christopher Granier-Deferre, produced the film ''
The Hide'', a movie that was nominated for the
British Independent Film Award
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...
for producing in 2010.
Personal life
He met his wife, Tamsin, in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
after graduation and studied at
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
(English Literature, 1993–96).
He and Tasmin married in 1994 and settled in the United Kingdom. He has two sons.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Radio
Stage
References
External links
John Schwabat the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwab, John
American male television actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male voice actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American expatriates in England
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
American expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom
Living people
Alumni of the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham
Year of birth missing (living people)