H. Jon Benjamin

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H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Birth name Harry Jon Benjamin
Born (1966-05-23) May 23, 1966 (age 57)
Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Medium television & film (primarily voice), stand-up
Nationality American
Years active 1991–present

Harry Jon Benjamin[1] (born May 23, 1966) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his voice acting roles, including the leads Sterling Archer in FX's secret agent series Archer, and Bob Belcher in the Fox sitcom series Bob's Burgers; and supporting roles as Ben on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and Coach McGuirk and Jason on Home Movies. He starred in the live action series Jon Benjamin Has a Van on Comedy Central.

Early life

Benjamin was born on May 23, 1966 to a Jewish family[2] in Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated from Worcester Academy in 1984.[3]

Career

Benjamin's comedy career began at age twenty-four in Boston where he was in a comedy duo with Sam Seder, then a member of Cross Comedy, a comedy team led by David Cross. For approximately the first seven years of his career, Benjamin almost exclusively worked in groups rather than independently. Afterwards, his independent work remained more experimental, rejecting traditional styles of stand-up comedy.

Benjamin's live projects include the Midnight Pajama Jam, a show performed in New York City with Jon Glaser, and Tinkle, a show combining stand-up comedy and live music co-hosted by Todd Barry and David Cross. A Midnight Pajama Jam DVD is currently in production. He and Cross also appear together on the album Invite Them Up.

He was the guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast in its eighty-first episode "King Dead" on December 17, 1999 where Zorak and Moltar kidnapped him. He has appeared in the television show Cheap Seats, on ESPN Classic, as "Gene Stapleton" and "Rabbi Marc Shalowitz". He co-starred in Todd Barry's short film Borrowing Saffron, and portrayed a talking can of vegetables with a shameful habit of autofellatio in the film Wet Hot American Summer. He also made short cameos in Not Another Teen Movie as the football trainer and on the FX Network comedy-drama Rescue Me as the pimp "F-bomb" in season two. He can also be seen in Turbocharge- the Unauthorized Story of the Cars, a comedy biopic about 80's rock band The Cars, playing the role of Cars' manager Elliot Roberts in his usual deadpan comedic delivery.[4]

Benjamin has done extensive voice work in animated TV shows. His credits include starring roles in several Soup2Nuts cartoon shows, such as Science Court, Home Movies, O'Grady, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and Assy McGee. He also co-created the show Freak Show with his friend David Cross. Benjamin also starred as the Devil and multiple other roles in Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, which ran for one season on Adult Swim beginning September 9, 2007. Benjamin also plays a recurring character on the PBS Kids series WordGirl, and is the announcer for The Sam Seder Show and the recently revived The Majority Report. He also did the voice of "Shelly", Sam Seder's accountant, on Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder.

Benjamin has made guest appearances in several animated shows. He was in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes "Bus of the Undead" and "The Last One" as Mothmonsterman, in "Broodwich" as Mr. Sticks, in "Bible Fruit" as Mortimer Mango, and played the live-action role of Master Shake in "Last Last One Forever and Ever", credited as Capt. Turd Mahoy. He also made a cameo appearance as a government agent in the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters alongside frequent collaborator Jon Glaser. He has appeared in Family Guy as Carl, a movie trivia obsessed convenience store clerk who also portrayed Yoda in the Star Wars parody episode "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side". Other notable recent appearances include The Venture Bros., in the episodes "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II," "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills," and "The Better Man," in which he played Dr. Orpheus's master—who appears in the form of Cerberus, Catherine the Great's horse and, in "The Better Man", both Dr. Orpheus's ex-wife and a future Dean Venture, respectively. He also appeared in the Stella short "Bar", which can be found as an easter egg on the Season 1 DVD. Benjamin appeared on the Comedy Central sketch/variety show Important Things with Demetri Martin and had nearly as much screen time as Martin himself. In 2009 Benjamin, along with David Cross, created and wrote for Paid Programming, a live action television pilot for Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim. Paid Programming was not picked up for a full series, this was confirmed when Benjamin referred to it as an "abject failure".[5]

Benjamin was featured in a Super Bowl XLIII Bud Light commercial with Conan O'Brien[6] and was responsible for the McCain Girls[7] videos on YouTube.[8] He voices Sterling Archer, a secret agent in the FX series Archer that first aired January 14, 2010.[9] He has also appeared in several segments of the television show Human Giant and had a cameo in the American Dad! episode "License to Till" as a talking head of cabbage.

Benjamin starred in the Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van, which he co-created with comedian Leo Allen.[10] The series debuted on May 14, 2011; a total of 10 episodes aired, the last on August 10, 2011.

Beginning in 2013, Benjamin's voice can be heard as the narrator of a series of TV commercials for Coke Zero, including some with tie-ins to ESPN's College Game Day program.

In 2014 Benjamin was named as the year's best male comedy performer for his work on Bob's Burgers and Archer by the Vulture TV Awards, a digital expansion of New York magazine.[11]

In 2015, Benjamin released his first jazz album, "Well, I Should Have...".[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Who's the Caboose? Ken Fold
1998 Next Stop Wonderland Eric
2000 Happy Accidents Reveler #1
2001 Wet Hot American Summer Can of Vegetables (voice)
2001 Not Another Teen Movie Trainer
2002 Martin & Orloff Keith
2002 Borrowing Saffron Ron Short film
2003 Temptation Kevin
2004 New York Minute Vendor
2007 Puberty: The Movie The Torah / Uncle Irving
2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters CIA Agent #1 (voice)
2007 The Ten Lying Rhyno (voice)
2008 The Toe Tactic Police Officer
2008 A Bad Situationist Isaiah
2008 Turbocharge: the Unauthorized Story of the Cars Dance Instructor
2014 22 Jump Street MCS Coach Uncredited
2014 Jason Nash Is Married Dennis
2015 Creative Control Gary Gass
2015 Limbo Jim Short film
2015 Hell & Back The Tree (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Understanding Quack Episode: "Uncertainty"
1995–1999
2002
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Ben / Various voices 80 episodes; also writer
1997 The Chris Rock Show Third man on the street Episode: "1.4"
1997 The Jenny McCarthy Show Various roles 6 episodes
1997–2000 Science Court Prof. Nick Parsons (voice) 29 episodes
1998 Sex and the City Jeff Episode: "Bay of Married Pigs"
1998 Upright Citizens Brigade Various roles 10 episodes
1999 Dick and Paula Celebrity Special Various voices 2 episodes; also writer
1999–2004 Home Movies Coach John McGuirk / Jason Penopolis / Various voices 52 episodes; also writer, producer
1999 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "King Dead"
2001–2009 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Various voices 5 episodes
2002 Saddle Rash Gummy / Tommy Morgan (voices) Television pilot; also writer
2004 Pilot Season Ken Fold 2 episodes
2004–2006 Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker Rabbi Marc Shalowitz / Gene Stapleton 4 episodes
2004–2006 O'Grady Kevin Harnisch / Iris / Philip (voices) 19 episodes
2005 Rescue Me Gary Episode: "Rebirth"
2005–2007 Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil Satan / Special Father #1 (voices) 11 episodes; also writer
2006 Freak Show Tuck / Various voices 7 episodes; also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2006–2012 The Venture Bros. The Master (voice) 4 episodes
2006–present Family Guy Carl 16 episodes
2006–2008 Assy McGee The Mayor / Various voices 19 episodes; also writer, consulting producer
2007–present WordGirl Reginald / InvisiBill / Jewelry Store Clerk / Additional voices 30 episodes
2007–2008 Human Giant Various characters 4 episodes; also consultant writer
2009 Michael and Michael Have Issues Larry Episode: "Frog Box"
2009 Paid Programming Various Characters Television pilot
Co-creator, writer, executive producer
2009 Parks and Recreation Scott Braddock Episode: "Kaboom"
2009 Titan Maximum Tap Banister (voice) Episode: "Dirty Lansbury"
2009–present Archer Sterling Archer (voice) 75 episodes
2009–2010 Important Things with Demetri Martin Various characters 7 episodes; also writer, co-producer
2011 Jon Benjamin Has a Van Host 10 episodes; also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2011 Soul Quest Overdrive Mortimer (voice) 6 episodes; also co-creator, co-writer
2011–present Bob's Burgers Bob Belcher / Jimmy Pesto Jr. (voices) 93 episodes
2011 American Dad! Talking Cabbage (voice) Episode: "License to Till"
2012 Suburgatory Tabitha Episode: "Ryan's Song"
2012 Ugly Americans Dick Maggotbone (voice) Episode: "Mark Loves Dick"
2013 Nathan For You Himself Episode: "Yogurt Shop/Pizzeria"
2014 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Ben Episode: "State Legislatures and ALEC"
2015 Conan Sterling Archer (voice) Episode: "677"
2015 Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Mitch/Can of Vegetables 4 episodes
2015 The Jim Gaffigan Show Kevin Episode: "The Bible Story"
2015 The Adventures of Puss in Boots Baltasar (voice) Episode: "Luck"
2015 Master of None Benjamin 3 episodes

References

Notes

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  3. "Class Notes" The [Worcester Academy] Hilltopper (Spring 2011) p.28
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External links