Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'' and as
Kenneth Parcell in ''
30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'' he was nominated for
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! broadcast the Creative Arts event; both took place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations were announced on ...
. He has also had many voice acting roles. During his time at
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
, he has voiced the character Fix-It Felix in the 2012 film ''
Wreck-It Ralph'' and later its
2018 sequel, as well as the title character Wander in ''
Wander Over Yonder
''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who rides across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of v ...
''. McBrayer has recurring roles in ''
Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as ...
'', ''
Puppy Dog Pals'', ''
The Middle'' and in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series ''
Big Mouth''. He appeared in ''
The Big Bang Theory'' on the Season 10 premiere episode as Penny’s older brother, Randall.
For his episode role in ''
Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell
In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.
History
''You'' comes from the Proto- ...
'', he received a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series nomination.
Jack McBrayer co-created and stars in the Apple TV+ series ''Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show'', which premiered on November 5, 2021.
Early life
McBrayer was born in
Macon, Georgia, and moved to
Conyers, Georgia
Conyers is an Atlanta suburb, the county seat of and only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, United States. The city is 24 miles (38.6 km) east of downtown Atlanta and is a part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, th ...
, when he was 15. He attended
Heritage High School and studied theater administration at the
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England.
UE offers more than 80 differ ...
.
At the age of 18, he had a
pneumothorax
A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve i ...
. He states that it felt like a heart attack and it was one of the worst pains of his life.
Career
From 1995 to 2002, he worked at
The Second City and
IO Theater in Chicago,
an experience that introduced him to ''30 Rock'' creator
Tina Fey and prepared him for his role on her show.
McBrayer appeared in over 80 sketches on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'' (2002–04), often lampooning his own
Southern upbringing by playing stereotypical
hillbilly characters. On August 10, 2007, and September 20, 2008, he made cameo appearances on ''Late Night'' playing
Kenneth Parcell from ''30 Rock''. During the first appearance, O'Brien remarked to him, "I thought you were above this now." McBrayer later reprised his role as Kenneth twice (November 24, 2009, and January 13, 2010) after O'Brien's switch to ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
.'' He appeared on O'Brien's
Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour at stops in
Eugene, Oregon,
Universal City, California (on the
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
lot where O'Brien taped ''Tonight''), and the final tour stop in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
In 2008, he was featured throughout the video for "
Touch My Body" by
Mariah Carey. McBrayer said he accidentally hit Carey in the face with a
Frisbee during the shooting for the video.
[ McBrayer also appears in the first episode in the fifth season of '' Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' as a spokesman in a spoof advertisement for the fictional "Diarrhea-phragm." He worked as a voice actor in the American animated series '' Ugly Americans'' and in a recurring role on the second season of '']Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as ...
''.
In 2010, he played a role in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.'' He regularly appears in the skit "Knock Knock Joke of the Day" on the hit children's television show, ''Yo Gabba Gabba!
''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...
'' since season 2 and stars in Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American animator, writer, producer, director, storyboard artist, and designer known for creating the Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Chann ...
's TV show ''Wander Over Yonder
''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who rides across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of v ...
'' on the Disney Channel. In 2011, he also appeared in '' The Simpsons'', in the season 22 episode, " The Great Simpsina" as Ewell Freestone, 'Peach Guy.' In the fall of 2012, Jack lent his voice to the Disney animated film '' Wreck-It Ralph'', playing the title character's close friend and video game opponent Fix-It Felix, Jr. More recently, he has starred alongside Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
player Blake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consen ...
in Kia commercials, and in 2013 appeared in a commercial for Barnes & Noble. McBrayer's Adult Swim series '' The Jack and Triumph Show'' premiered in February 2015. In September 2016, on the season 10 premiere episode of '' The Big Bang Theory'', McBrayer played Penny's older brother Randall.
In 2018, McBrayer was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook '' A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo''.
In December 2018, it was announced McBrayer would make his West End stage debut in the transfer of the Broadway musical ''Waitress
Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...
'', playing the role of Ogie, until June 15, 2019. The production opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on February 8, 2019. In June 2019, he appeared on ITV's '' The Sara Cox Show''.
In 2020, McBrayer had a recurring role on the comedy-mystery series '' Mapleworth Murders'' for Quibi
Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The serv ...
.
In 2021, McBrayer appeared as a contestant on a Season 6 episode of the Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
baking competition series '' Nailed It!''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
Video games
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Children's and Family Emmy Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
References
External links
*
Interview with McBrayer
on The Sound of Young America
Entertainment Weekly interview
with Jack McBrayer and the actors who portray TV assistants Lloyd ("Entourage") and Marc ("Ugly Betty").
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBrayer, Jack
1973 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Actors from Macon, Georgia
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Living people
Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
University of Evansville alumni
People from Conyers, Georgia
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians