Harland Williams
Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in Dumb and Dumber (1994) before playing starring roles in the short-lived sitcom Simon (1995–96) and the Disney comedy RocketMan (1997). He co-starred in Half Baked and played a psychopathic hitch-hiker in There's Something About Mary in 1998. He later appeared in films such as The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Freddy Got Fingered (2001) and Sorority Boys (2002), and provided voices in works such as Gary & Mike, Robots (2005), Meet the Robinsons (2007), and Sausage Party (2016). He is also an author of children's books, and creator of the children's animated series Puppy Dog Pals (2017-2023).
Harland Williams | |
|---|---|
Williams at the 34th Annie Awards in 2007 | |
| Born | Harland Michael Williams November 14, 1962 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Steve Williams (brother) Kevin Hearn (cousin) |
| Website | www |
Early life
Harland Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine Mary (née O'Donnell), a social worker and writer, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served as a member of the Ontario legislature.[1][2] He grew up in Toronto's Willowdale neighborhood with four sisters.[3] He is the brother of special effects artist Steve "Spaz" Williams, and a cousin to Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn.[4][5]
Williams enrolled in Sheridan College in 1983, where he studied animation and media arts,[6] while periodically working as a forest ranger at Fort Frances.[5][2]
Williams gained American citizenship circa 2009.[7]
Career
Williams began in stand-up comedy in 1984, when still at Sheridan College.[6][8] He performed in Toronto for seven years before relocating to Los Angeles in 1992.[9] He credits a 1993 appearance on Late Night with David Letterman for a break through,[10] and Jim Carrey for bringing him to the attention of the Farrelly brothers, who cast Williams in his debut role as a police officer in Dumb and Dumber (1994).[8][11]
Other film roles include Freddy Got Fingered, There's Something About Mary, Half Baked, RocketMan, Sorority Boys, Down Periscope, Superstar and Employee of The Month. He has performed his stand-up comedy routines on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central and at comedy clubs throughout the country.
His improvisational skills led to him winning the award for 'Best Improviser' on an episode of NBC's prime time series Thank God You're Here in 2007.
Williams's ventures include voicing 'Monster' on Nickelodeon's animated series Robot and Monster and starring as Warwick the Warlock in Disney's direct-to-DVD movie Spooky Buddies.
He is the author and illustrator of several children's books, including a series about a dinosaur named Lickety Split,[12] as well as books for adults.[13][14][15]
He has a free, bi-weekly podcast called The Harland Highway.
He has appeared on Tom Green's House Tonight and on the Adam Carolla Podcast numerous times.[16] He is known for his performance of bird sounds on Carolla's show.
In August 2012 he began filming in Vancouver a 13-part Citytv comedy series called Package Deal, in which he stars.[17]
Williams created the Disney Junior series Puppy Dog Pals that debuted in 2017.[18]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Dumb and Dumber | State Trooper | |
| 1996 | Down Periscope | E.T. 'Sonar' Lovacelli | |
| 1997 | RocketMan | Fred Z. Randall | |
| Wag the Dog | Pet Wrangler | ||
| 1998 | Half Baked | Kenny Davis | |
| There's Something About Mary | Hitchhiker | Uncredited | |
| Dog Park | Callum | ||
| Mr. Headmistress | Tucker | ||
| 1999 | Superstar | Eric Slater | |
| 2000 | The Whole Nine Yards | Special Agent Steve Hanson | |
| Big Money Hustlas | Officer Harry Cox | ||
| Becoming Dick | Richard Breggs | ||
| 2001 | Freddy Got Fingered | Darren | |
| Horrible Histories | Lawrence Dongle (voice) | ||
| 2002 | Back by Midnight | Sheriff Hubbard | |
| Sorority Boys | Doofer / Roberta | ||
| 2003 | Family Tree | Jake | |
| Kart Racer | Zee | ||
| 2005 | Lucky 13 | Bleckman | |
| Because of Winn-Dixie | Policeman | ||
| Robots | Lug (voice) | [19] | |
| 2006 | Employee of the Month | Russell Porpis-Gunders | |
| Surf School | Rip | ||
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Carl (voice) | [19] |
| The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning | Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane | ||
| Slacker Cats | Buckley (voice) | ||
| 2008 | Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation | Derek | |
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Giraffe (voice) | [19] | |
| 2009 | Fudgy Wudgy Fudge Face | Elmore P. Fudge | |
| My Life in Ruins | Al 'Big Al' Sawchuck | ||
| The Haunted World of El Superbeasto | Gerard, The Exterminator (voice) | [19] | |
| 2010 | Dahmer vs. Gacy | God | |
| 2011 | Spooky Buddies | Warwick The Warlock | |
| Lloyd the Conqueror | Vulcan | ||
| 2014 | Back in the Day | Skunk | |
| 2015 | Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | Helper Hue (voice) | [19] |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | Ketchup Bottle, Drug Dealer, Baba Ganoush (voices) | [19] |
| 2019 | The Addams Family | Norman Pickering, Ggerri (voices) | [19] |
| 2019 | The Turkey Bowl | Nolan | |
| 2020 | Fearless | Elliot aka Buckethead (voice) | |
| 2022 | The Brillant World of Tom Gates | Unknown role (voice) | Post-production |
| TBA | Wing Man | Pre-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ellen | Ticket Taker | Episode: "The Houseguest" |
| 1995 | Big News | Unknown role | Television film |
| 1995–1996 | Simon | Simon Hemple | 21 episodes |
| 1996 | Allen Hansen Cartoon Show | Store Employee, Meltman (voices) | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | 1 episode |
| 1997–1999 | Ned's Newt | Newton (voice) | Main role; Episodes 1–35[19] |
| 1998 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Tucker, Headmistress | Episode: "Mr. Headmistress" |
| 2000 | Becoming Dick | Richard Breggs | Television film |
| WWE Smackdown! | Mike (voice) | 1 episode | |
| 2000–2001 | The Geena Davis Show | Alan | 22 episodes |
| 2000–2021 | Sammy | Todd Blake (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 2001 | Family Guy | Jeff Foxworthy / Sam's Father (voice) | Episode: "To Love and Die in Dixie" |
| The Santa Claus Brothers | Daryl (voice) | Television film[19] | |
| Gary & Mike | Mike (voice) | 12 episodes | |
| 2003 | Midori's Nintendoland Bakery | Card Cadet, Card Cadet #3 (voices) | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Kenny | Episode: "Things That Go Jump in the Night" |
| 2005 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | George (voice) | Episode: "A Scooby-Doo Valentine" |
| My Name is Earl | Johnny Bubblewrapn | Episode: "White Lie Christmas" | |
| 2007–2009 | Slacker Cats | Buckley (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 2008 | The Emperor's New School | Cabbie (voice) | Episode: "Cornivale" |
| 2011 | Dan Vs. | Hiram | Episode: "Technology" |
| Robot Chicken | Professor Cornelius Q. Quibblefingers (voice) | 1 episode; also writes 4 episodes | |
| 2011–2015 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Captain Frost (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2012–2014 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Apple, Appilles, Vegetable Mob, Additional voices | 53 episodes[19] |
| 2012–2015 | Robot and Monster | Monster (voice) | 24 episodes[19] |
| 2013 | Age of Conan: Hyboria Hangover | Carl | 1 episode |
| 2013–2014 | Package Deal | Sheldon White | 26 episodes |
| 2014 | Sweet Dreams | Terry | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014–2016 | TripTank | Bear, Male Hiker, Roman Soldier #2, Bob the First, DWP Guy, Subway Koala Guy (voices) | 6 episodes[19] |
| 2015 | Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | Helper Hue (voice) | Episode: "It's a Colorful Life"[19] |
| Webovision: The Tom Green Show | Guest | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Skylanders Academy | Hugo (voice) | 19 episodes |
| The 7D | Sandy the Sandman (voice) | 1 episode[19] | |
| Still Single | Demo D | Television film | |
| 2017 | Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! | Joe McGarth (voice) | Episode: "Vote Velma"[19] |
| Bunnicula | Thomas Edison's Ghost, Alien (voices) | Episode: "Indistinguishable from Magic" | |
| 2017–2023 | Puppy Dog Pals | Bob (voice) | Also show creator[19] |
| 2022 | Super PupZ | Fisk | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2022 | Oddballs | Patrick, Podcast Host, Guy (voices) | 6 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Robots | Lug |
References
- ^ . The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
- ^ a b Riggs, Thomas, ed. (2002). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Vol. 40. Detroit: Thomson Gale. p. 371. ISBN 978-1-4144-4510-6.
- ^ Posner, Michael (September 21, 2005). "Laughing his way to the big screen". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Sumi, Glenn (April 17, 2008). . NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Poisson, Jayme (August 16, 2009). "Harland Williams". Streets of Toronto.
- ^ a b Clark, Andrew (November 1995). "What's so funny about Harland Williams?". Saturday Night. Vol. 110, no. 9. p. 97.
- ^ Boedeker, Hal (July 22, 2019). "Comedian Harland Williams: My act is my career". Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ a b Harris, Will (August 28, 2014). "Harland Williams heard voices... he listened". The Virginian-Pilot.
- ^ Kronke, David (December 28, 1993). "He Seems Like Such a Pleasant Young Man..." Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (19 October 1997). "Harland Williams / Actor". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Profile: Toronto Comic is on Brink of Hollywood Film Stardom". The London Free Press. Canadian Press. March 21, 1996. p. C3 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Johnson, Phil (November 3, 1987). "Likety Split! He's hoping kids' books will zoom him to top". The Toronto Star. pp. N8 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Ciemcioch, Mark (October 30, 2017). "Comedian Harland Williams is rocketing into Helium". The Buffalo News.
- ^ "Funnyman for the Whole Family: Harland Williams". The Washington Post. March 10, 2010.
- ^ Williams, Christian (March 10, 2010). "Harland Williams knew he was destined for greatness". The A.V. Club.
- ^ . TomGreen.com. April 13, 2009. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ^ Hall, Shannon. . Thunderbird Films (Press Release). CityTV. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (23 March 2017). "Harland Williams' 'Puppy Dog Pals' to Sit, Stay on Disney TV". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Harland Williams (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
External links
- Official website
- Harland Williams at IMDb