Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
comedy series ''
Arrested Development
The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
'' as
Buster Bluth
'' Arrested Development'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the Fox network from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Created by Mitchell Hurwit ...
. Hale played Gary Walsh on the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
comedy ''
Veep
''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep'' ...
'' from 2012 until its conclusion in 2019, for which he won the 2013 and 2015
.
Hale has appeared in feature films including ''
The Informant!
''The Informant!'' is a 2009 American biographical-crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns, the film stars Matt Damon as the titular informant named Mark Whitacre, as well as Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie ...
'' (2009), ''
In My Sleep
''In My Sleep'' is a 2010 suspense thriller film written, directed and produced by film director Allen Wolf. It stars Philip Winchester, Lacey Chabert, Tim Draxl, Abigail Spencer and Kelly Overton. It also features Kirsten Vangsness from Crim ...
'' (2010), ''
The Heat'' (2013), ''
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip'' (2015) and ''
Clifford the Big Red Dog
''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an American children's book series about the adventures of a precocious girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by No ...
'' (2021). He has provided voice-work for ''
The Tale of Despereaux
''The Tale of Despereaux'' (, ) is a 2003 children's fantasy book written by Kate DiCamillo. The main plot follows the adventures of a mouse named Despereaux Tilling, as he sets out on his quest to rescue a beautiful human princess from the r ...
'' (2008), ''
The Angry Birds Movie
''The Angry Birds Movie'' (also known simply as ''Angry Birds'') is a 2016 computer-animated comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, and distributed by S ...
'' (2016), ''
The Angry Birds Movie 2
''The Angry Birds Movie 2'' is a 2019 computer-animated action comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's '' Angry Birds'' video game series, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Rovio Animation, and distributed by Sony Pi ...
'' and ''
Toy Story 4
''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' ( ...
'' (both 2019) as
Forky
Forky is a fictional character in the '' Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar. His first appearance is in '' Toy Story 4'', which was released in June 2019. In the ''Toy Story'' universe, he was made by Bonnie, who stuck googly e ...
, a role he reprised in ''
Forky Asks a Question
''Forky Asks a Question'' is a television series of American computer-animated short films produced by Pixar based on the ''Toy Story'' franchise, set after ''Toy Story 4''. It is the third Pixar short series, following the ''Cars Toons'' and '' ...
''. Hale also created and voiced Archibald in
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 fil ...
and
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
's original series ''
Archibald's Next Big Thing
''Archibald's Next Big Thing'' and ''Archibald's Next Big Thing Is Here!'' are American animated comedy streaming television series created by Tony Hale for Netflix and Peacock. The plot revolves around Archibald Strutter, a positive chicken who o ...
''. Hale also voiced
Vaneé from ''Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales.'' He plays twin brothers in the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
original ''
The Mysterious Benedict Society
''The Mysterious Benedict Society'' is a quartet of children's books by Trenton Lee Stewart chronicling the adventures of four children, initially gathered together by the eccentric Mr. Benedict. The first children's novels written by Stewart ...
'' (2021).
Early life
Hale was born in
West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
. His mother, Rita (née Garnett), worked as a staff assistant to State Representative
Kathy Ashe
Kathy B. Ashe was a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are curren ...
, and his father, Mike Hale, taught nuclear and atomic physics and served in the military.
[ Hale grew up in ]Tallahassee
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
where he attended the Young Actors Theatre and participated in numerous theatrical and musical productions.[ He graduated from ]Leon High School
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the oldest public high school in the state, and is a part of the Leon County Schools System.
History
Leon High School is one of the oldest high schools in th ...
in 1988.[ He graduated from Samford University in ]Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
with a journalism degree in 1992. He became a member of Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...
while at the university.[ He completed graduate studies in 1995 from the School of Communication and the Arts of ]Regent University
Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...
in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.[ After graduating he lived in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
for eight years.[ While in New York, Hale helped found The Haven, an artistically minded community of ]Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
that meets weekly.[ He also studied acting at ]The Barrow Group The Barrow Group is a non-profit performing arts group located in New York City focused on empowering actors, writers, and directors through simple, clear, spontaneous storytelling. The company prioritizes accessibility, diversity, and excellence, ...
,[ as well as at the ]William Esper Studio
The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-kno ...
[ in the Professional Actor Training Program.
]
Career
Hale first obtained his Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
card when he appeared in a commercial for MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
, though it never aired.["How Did You Get Your SAG-AFTRA Card?" '']TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''. January 13, 2014. p. 10. He made minor guest appearances in TV shows such as ''Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'', ''The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'', and ''Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
''. From 2003 to 2006, and also in 2013, 2018, and 2019, Hale found success in television cast as Buster Bluth
'' Arrested Development'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the Fox network from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Created by Mitchell Hurwit ...
, the hapless, neurotic son with "mother issues" on ''Arrested Development''. Hale also appeared in a season ten episode of ''MADtv'' in a parody of ''COPS'', where two British robbers try to stop a domestic dispute among the royal family.
In March 2006, Hale was cast in a co-starring role as the video store owner Simon in the NBC sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
'' Andy Barker P.I.'', starring Andy Richter
Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night'' and ' ...
and co-created by Conan O'Brien. He appeared in minor roles in ''Stranger Than Fiction'' and ''Because I Said So''. He was the voice of Furlough in ''The Tale of Despereaux'', an animated children's film released in 2008. Hale had a recurring role as Emmett on ''Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
'', beginning in October 2008 and ending in January 2010. His departure made room for his starring role on the NBC web series ''Ctrl
In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, performs a special operation (for example, ); similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself. ...
'', which premiered on July 13, 2009. He appeared in a cameo in the second episode of the first season of Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
's dramedy ''United States of Tara
''United States of Tara'' is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which aired on Showtime from 2009 to 2011. The series follows the life of Tara ( Toni Collette), a suburban artist and mother coping with dissociative iden ...
'', as English teacher Oral Gershenoff. He joined the cast of ''Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
'' in 2009, in the recurring role of Professor Russell Lazlo.
In 2012, Hale starred in the drama comedy ''Not That Funny''. He also guest-starred on NBC's long-running show '' Law & Order: SVU'' as Rick Simms, a teacher who is fired from his job after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a student.
In 2012, Hale was cast in the HBO comedy ''Veep'' as Gary Walsh, the personal assistant to Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
-turned-President Selina Meyer
Selina Catherine Meyer ( ; née Eaton) is a fictional character portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the HBO television comedy series ''Veep''. Louis-Dreyfus has been critically acclaimed for the role, earning a record-breaking six consecutive ...
(portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
). On September 22, 2013, Hale won a for his work in the show's second season. This was his first major award. He earned his second nomination in 2014, but lost the award to Ty Burrell
Tyler Gerald Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. Burrell is best known for his role as Phil Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor i ...
. However Hale won his second Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
with his third nomination in 2015, in the same ceremony where ''Veep'' won its first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an annual award given to the best television comedy series of the year. From 1960 to 1964, this category was combined with the Comedy Specials (one time programs) category so that both type ...
.
In 2017, Hale hosted the 9th Annual Shorty Awards
The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...
at the PlayStation Theater in New York City. In 2018, Hale played the role of Jerome Squalor on the second season 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 fil ...
comedy drama series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events
''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After th ...
'', appearing in episodes adapting ''The Ersatz Elevator
''The Ersatz Elevator'' is the sixth novel of the children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' by Lemony Snicket. The Baudelaires are sent to live with the wealthy Esmé and Jerome Squalor.
Plot summary
Mr. Poe takes the Baude ...
'' and ''The Penultimate Peril
''The Penultimate Peril'' is the twelfth novel in the children's novel series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' by Lemony Snicket.
Plot
The Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus and Sunny are travelling with pregnant V.F.D. member Kit Snicket t ...
''. He appeared in two more episodes of the series.
Personal life
Hale married Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Martel Thompson on May 24, 2003. They have a daughter.[ Hale and his wife are practicing Christians.]
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
Critics' Choice Television Awards
The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
Annie Awards
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in Film, cinema and television. Originally ...
San Diego International Film Festival
The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...
References
External links
*
Tony Hale
at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
The Haven
on Facebook
The Haven
- website
Interviews
at About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
Interview with Tony Hale
at burnsidewriters.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Tony
1970 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American Christians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Leon High School alumni
Male actors from New York (state)
Male actors from Tallahassee, Florida
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
People from West Point, New York
Regent University alumni
Samford University alumni