Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of '' Dead Island'' as well as title character of '' Samurai Jack'', both John Stewart / Green Lantern and Virgil Hawkins / Static in the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...

(across the series '' Static Shock'', ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'', and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

''), Hermes Conrad in ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'', Bolbi Stroganofsky in '' The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'', Carver Descartes in '' The Weekenders'', Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman in ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'', and Wilt in '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends''. LaMarr has also provided voices for video game franchises including ''

Metal Gear is a Media franchise, franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes con ...

'', '' Jak and Daxter'', '' Darksiders'', ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

'', '' Infamous'', '' Dead Island'', '' Kingdom Hearts'', and ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

''. He also voiced Browntooth the Goblin Rogue in the '' Critical Role'' episode " The Goblins". In film, he has appeared in '' Pulp Fiction'' (1994), '' Bio-Dome'' (1996), '' Speaking of Sex'' (2001), '' Spider-Man 2'' (2004), and ''

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathes ...

'' (2011).

Early life

LaMarr was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Career

''Mad TV''

LaMarr, unlike most of the other original nine cast members of ''Mad TV'', had extensive television and film jobs experience when he joined the show (as did fellow cast member David Herman). Even before college, he had voiced a character on the '' Mister T'' cartoon show. Some of the recurring characters LaMarr performed on ''Mad TV'' were Desperation Lee ("Funky Walker Dirty Talker"), Jaq the UBS Guy, "sexy player" Rick, talentless R&B singer Savante, and Rocket Revengers star Lieutenant Abraham Jefferson (a.k.a. Lincoln Willis). LaMarr has done impressions of the following celebrities: *

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

* Johnnie Cochran *

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

* Billy Crystal (as Harry Burns from '' When Harry Met Sally...'') * Diddy * Tommy Davidson * Sammy Davis Jr. * Louis Farrakhan * Morgan Freeman * Sherman Hemsley (as George Jefferson from '' The Jeffersons'') * Ice-T *

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his tee ...

* Vernon Jordan * Don King * LeBron James *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

* Martin Lawrence *

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

Bill Maher William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

* Howard McNear (as Floyd Lawson from '' The Andy Griffith Show'') *

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

* Sidney Poitier *

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

* Chris Rock * Bernard Shaw * Sinbad * Sammy Sosa * Chris Tucker *

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...

* Barry White * Michael Winslow *

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

He has also done impressions of Moe Howard from

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

while playing an African-American version of the character. LaMarr left ''Mad TV'' at the end of the fifth season (2000). Sometimes, LaMarr filled in for Greg Proops on Odd News, a 4-minute section on Yahoo.com. It features odd but true recent news. Since July 1, 2020, LaMarr has hosted NASA TV's "Ask the Astronomers live!" show.

Voice acting work

LaMarr's voice over credits include a starring role on ''

'' and ''

'' as John Stewart/Green Lantern, a major role as Hermes Conrad and various other characters on ''

'', and the title roles on '' Samurai Jack'' and '' Static Shock''. He also voiced Black Vulcan in '' Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' and Hector Con Carne in Evil Con Carne. LaMarr reprised his role as Hermes Conrad in the ''Futurama'' films ''

Bender's Big Score ''Futurama: Bender's Big Score'' (or ''Bender's Big Score'') is a 2007 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy film based on the list of animated television series, animated series ''Futurama''. It was released in the Unit ...

'', '' The Beast with a Billion Backs'', '' Bender's Game'', '' Into the Wild Green Yonder'', and upon the series return in 2010. He also voices Wilt and other recurring characters in '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Carver Descartes on '' The Weekenders'', Philly Phil in '' Class of 3000'', and he portrayed the character Osmosis Jones in the television series '' Ozzy & Drix'' (replacing Chris Rock). He was also Gabe Wallace, and other characters in '' Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters''. He additionally voices

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, Omega Supreme, Oil Slick, and Jetstorm on '' Transformers Animated''. LaMarr portrayed Nautolan

Jedi Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists, featured in many works within the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order is depic ...

Master Kit Fisto in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' on Cartoon Network; he also played Amit Noloff, a one time character, and a Tactical Droid. He portrayed

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

, and voiced other characters in '' Young Justice'', and he voiced Baxter Stockman in the 2012 ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''. He also lent his voice to the character of Lucius Fox for '' DC Super Hero Girls''. LaMarr also provided voice talent to J.A.R.V.I.S. throughout the series of '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. He also portrayed Professor Thistlethorpe, a caterpillar, in ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

''. Through a tweet Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best implied that LaMarr had done the voice work for his character on the animated show ''The Clone Wars'' under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

BJ Hughes. LaMarr provided the voice of Alphabittle the unicorn in the Netflix animated film '' My Little Pony: A New Generation''. In July 2021, LaMarr provided the voice for Orn Free Taa in '' Star Wars: The Bad Batch''.

Film and theatre projects

LaMarr's stage credits include ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', '' Guys and Dolls'', ''Asylum'', South Coast Repertory's ''Make the Break'' and the Sacred Fools Theater Company's inaugural production of ''The Fatty Arbuckle Spookhouse Revue''. LaMarr's second film role was that of the ill-fated Marvin from '' Pulp Fiction''. He has appeared in '' Kill the Man'', '' Free Enterprise'', '' Cherish'', and '' Manna from Heaven''. He appeared in ''Speaking of Sex'' starring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

and Catherine O'Hara, and ''Back by Midnight'' with Kirstie Alley, Rodney Dangerfield, and Randy Quaid. LaMarr's other film appearances include ''Fronterz'' (2004) and ''Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman'' (2005). LaMarr also appeared in '' Cook Off!'' as Thaddeus Briggs. LaMarr made a cameo appearance in the Will Ferrell film '' Step Brothers'', viewing a house for sale with his wife. LaMarr also was in the Yum Corp Sexual Harassment training videos. LaMarr played Cowboy Curtis (originally portrayed by Laurence Fishburne) in the Los Angeles and Broadway productions of '' The Pee-wee Herman Show''. The LA production ran from January 12 to February 7, 2010, at the Club Nokia @ LA Live. The New York show opened on November 11 and ended its limited engagement on January 2, 2011. The New York production was recorded for an HBO special that aired in March 2011. LaMarr also appeared in '' Spider-Man 2'' as a passenger standing behind

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

in the subway train.

Video game voice-over work

LaMarr performed the English voice-over work for Vamp, a villain of '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'' and '' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots''. Additionally, LaMarr voiced the characters Reddas from

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

's ''

Final Fantasy XII is a 2006 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. The twelfth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was first released for the PlayStation 2 in March 2006. It introduced several innovations to the series ...

'' as well as Ramza in the PSP version of '' Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions''. He also did several voices for '' Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines''. He also did the English voice acting for the parts of Sig and Count Veger in the '' Jak and Daxter'' video game series as well as voicing several characters in the game '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'', as well as the voice of Gadon Thek in '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic''. As well as a featuring in the Sega CD game '' Make My Video C+C Music Factory'', he also was the voice of Chris Jacobs in both '' Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction'' and its sequel, '' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames''. He plays the character John White/The Beast in the PS3 titles '' Infamous'' and '' Infamous 2''. Also, he plays the character Dr. Bradley Ragland in the game ''

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

''. He also was the voice of the grumpy Kane in the game '' The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning'', and Marty in the video game tie-in of ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

''. LaMarr also voiced the merchant "Vulgrim" in the action/adventure hybrid '' Darksiders''. He played the role of "Mr. Sunshine" in the 2008 crime game '' Saints Row 2'', and reprised his role in '' Saints Row IV'' in 2013. He reprised his role as Kit Fisto for the video game: '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes''. LaMarr voiced Rick Grimes and various other characters in the motion comic adaptation of '' The Walking Dead''. He also voiced Sam B, one of the playable characters in '' Dead Island'', and appeared in '' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' as Phoebus, a character originally from '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' and voiced by Kevin Kline. LaMarr returned to the ''

'' franchise as the voice of Kevin Washington in '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance''. He also provided the voice for multiple roles in Hunt the Truth, a marketing campaign audio-drama for '' Halo 5: Guardians''. LaMarr provided the voices of

and John Stewart (Green Lantern) in the 2013 superhero fighting video game '' Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and its 2017 sequel, '' Injustice 2''. LaMarr, in addition, provided his voice for a number of audio logs in 2016 puzzle game, '' The Witness''. He also voiced Kotal Kahn in '' Mortal Kombat X'' (2015) and ''

Mortal Kombat 11 ''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series and a sequel to '' Mortal Kombat X'' (20 ...

'' (2019). He voiced Pangolier in ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...

''.

Webisode project

LaMarr had been announced to appear as a regular character in a webisode series, ''Naught for Hire'' produced by Jeffrey Berman and

Ben Browder Robert Benedict Browder (born December 11, 1962) is an American actor, writer and film director, known for his roles as John Crichton in '' Farscape'' and Cameron Mitchell in '' Stargate SG-1''. Early life Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Browder ...

(''

Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...

''), that has been in development since 2010. His character Mark One was described to be that of an elevator with mood swings.

Kickstarter

LaMarr worked on co-creating and voice-acting in a project titled '' Goblins Animated''. The Kickstarter launched on October 23, 2017, and finished on November 22, 2017. LaMarr worked with Ellipsis Stephens, Danielle Stephens, and Matt King to produce the series. Voice actors on board were Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, Jim Cummings, Matthew Mercer, and Steve Blum.

Filmography

Live-action

Film

Television

Voice roles

Film

Television

Video games

Web series

Audio plays

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * *
An Audio Interview with Phil LaMarr by SiDEBAR

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamarr, Phil Living people 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American comedians African-American male child actors African-American male comedians American impressionists (entertainers) American male child actors American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male television writers American television writers American male video game actors American male voice actors American sketch comedians Cartoon Network people Comedians from Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake School alumni Inkpot Award winners Male actors from Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people)