Michael Leon Wooley

Michael-Leon Wooley (born March 29, 1971) is an American actor. Wooley was the voice of Louis the Alligator in Disney's Oscar-nominated animated feature film, ''The Princess and the Frog'' and played Judge Grady on the radio station WKTT in Rockstar's ''Grand Theft Auto IV''.

Early life

Wooley was born in Fairfax, Virginia, to George and Winnie Wooley. He has a twin brother, Marcus-Leon, and a younger brother, George Jr. He grew up in Bowie, Maryland. Wooley began playing the piano at age five and initially wanted to be a classical concert pianist. However, after participating in a high-school production of ''Oklahoma!'' he became interested in theatre.

At sixteen, he was given the opportunity to study piano at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., but turned it down to instead focus on acting and singing. At age eighteen Wooley was awarded a full scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City, one of 21 scholarships granted in a nationwide competition. He studied at AMDA for a year before embarking on his own to pursue an acting career.

Wooley performed in the national tour of ''Purlie'',Internet Broadway Database
/ref> after which, worked as a singing waiter on the ''Spirit of New York'',Spirit of New York Homepage
/ref> a dinner cruise ship that circles Manhattan.

Career

Theatre

In 1992, Wooley made his Broadway debut as an understudy (Big Moe) in the Clarke Peters' musical, ''Five Guys Named Moe''. After ''Five Guys Named Moe'' he embarked on national tours with The Pointer Sisters in '' Ain't Misbehavin'''Ain't Misbehavin' (The New Cast Recording)
and ''The Wiz'' with Stephanie Mills. He returned to Broadway in 2000 as Olin BrittMusicals101
/ref> in the Broadway revival of ''The Music Man'', directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.Review: Music Man, The New York Times
/ref>

He was also the voice of the man-eating plant, Audrey II, in the 2003 Broadway revival of the musical ''Little Shop of Horrors''New York Magazine
accessed June 5, 2008, at the Virginia Theatre (renamed the August Wilson Theatre in 2005). Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote Wooley had a "soulful bass voice"New York Times Theater Review
accessed June 6, 2008, and Clive Barnes of the New York Post said Wooley as the "doom-struck voice of Audrey II" rounded out "one of the best casts on Broadway."Clive Barnes, New York Post via Peter Fox Shoes
accessed June 6, 2008

With conductor, Skitch Henderson, Wooley made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops as one of the "New Faces of 2004," along with other Broadway notables such as John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, the stars of the Broadway's ''Avenue Q.'' The event was hosted by ''New York Post'' gossip columnist Liz Smith.The New York Pops: Spring 2004 Newsletter
/ref>

Film

Wooley was the voice of Louis the jazz trumpet-playing alligator, in Disney's ''The Princess and the Frog''; and Tiny Joe Dixon in the 2006 motion picture, ''Dreamgirls'', singing "Takin' The Long Way Home" on the film's soundtrack.

Voice work

Wooley's voice has been heard in many television ad campaigns for Reebok, General Motors, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, K-Mart, Oxygen Network and others. He was the voice of the demon boss, Twayne Boneraper, on Comedy Central's ''Ugly Americans''.Comedy Central: Ugly American's
/ref> He made numerous guest appearances on '' Cosby'',TV Guide Com: Cosby-Raising Paranoia
/ref>TV Guide Com: Cosby-The Wedding
/ref> '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'',Hollywood.com Law & Order: SVU cast listing
/ref> ''The Knights of Prosperity'',IMDB: Knights of Prosperity-Operation Montecristo
/ref> ''Now & Again'', ''Rescue Me''Yahoo TV Rescue Me Cast and Crew
/ref> and ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. He was a guest singer on ''The Penguins of Madagascar'' in ''"The Falcon and the Snow Job"'' and voiced the DC Comics villains Darkseid and Kalibak on the animated series, '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''.

From 2013 to 2014, Wooley voiced Tobias Whale in ''Beware the Batman''. In 2014, he voiced Chill Bill from ''Sanjay and Craig'' as well as Master Lun in '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'' and Pumpers in ''Breadwinners''. In 2015 and 2017, he was a guest voice on '' Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero'' and Acorn and Achaka in the 2015–16 video game series ''King's Quest''. He voices Judge Grady on radio station WKTT, in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' and Dexter DeShawn in the video game ''Cyberpunk 2077''.

Web series

In 2012, he voiced Impossibear in Pendleton Ward's ''Bravest Warriors'' which airs on Frederator's YouTube funded channel Cartoon Hangover.

Personal life

Jon-Marc McDonald, a close friend and sometimes-publicist for Wooley, confirmed on his website that Wooley performed ''We Have To Change'' at a fundraiser for Barack Obama in New York City on August 11, 2008. The song was specifically written for the fundraiser by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger.Bake It Til You Make It
/ref>YouTube video ''of We Have To Change''
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wooley, Michael-Leon
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
1971 births
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
Living people
Actors from Fairfax, Virginia
African-American activists
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Male actors from Virginia
American Musical and Dramatic Academy alumni