Harland Williams
Harland Williams | |
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Williams at the 34th Annie Awards, 2007. Photo by John B. Mueller[1] | |
Born |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | November 14, 1962
Occupation | Actor/Comedian |
Years active | 1994–present |
Website | harlandwilliams.com |
Harland Reesor Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, author, artist, musician and radio personality.
Personal life
Harland Reesor Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine Mary (née O'Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served as a member of the Ontario legislature from 1975 to 1985.[2] He is the middle child of five with two older and two younger sisters.
Harland holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States.
He is an author and illustrator of his own series of children's books involving a little brontosaurus named Jimbo. Williams' love of art drove him to create the series, in which the curious, young dinosaur embarks on a series of amazing adventures and learns important life lessons in the process. The artistically inclined Williams had refined his passion for drawing and painting at Canada's Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Finding a creative outlet in poetry and painting while working as a forest ranger for five years after dropping out of Sheridan College, Williams set his goals to leave the forest as a stand-up comic and actor, soon moving to Los Angeles to pursue his newfound calling.
Williams is cousin to Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn, and together they have a hobby band called The Cousins.
Career
Williams is known for his movie roles, which include Dumb and Dumber, Freddy Got Fingered, There's Something About Mary, Half Baked, RocketMan, Sorority Boys, Down Periscope and Employee of The Month. Williams was featured as a security guard in the music video for Barenaked Ladies "Falling for the First Time". He has performed his stand-up comedy routines on Late Night with David Letterman, 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 has a free, bi-weekly podcast called The Harland Highway. The Harland Highway can be downloaded on iTunes or streamed live from your mobile device on Stitcher Radio. His podcast is unique in that instead of focusing on interviews and similar content, it is made up of unique pop culture commentary, as well as improvisation by Williams, featuring a diverse lineup of recurring characters.
Rocker Parry Gripp of the rock band Nerf Herder wrote a song in homage to Williams, entitled "I Wanna Be Your Harland Williams".[3]
He has appeared on Tom Green's House Tonight and on the Adam Carolla Podcast numerous times.[4] 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.[5]
Filmography
Year | Film | 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 | ||
Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | 1 episode | |
1998 | Half Baked | Kenny Davis | |
There's Something About Mary | Hitchhiker (uncredited) | ||
Dog Park | Callum | ||
Ned's Newt | Newton (voice) | ||
Mr. Headmistress | Tucker | ||
1999 | Superstar | 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 | |
2002 | Back by Midnight | Sheriff Hubbard | |
Sorority Boys | Doofer/Roberta | ||
2003 | Family Tree | Jake | |
Gary & Mike | Mike Bonner (voice) | ||
Kart Racer | Zee | ||
2005 | Lucky 13 | Bleckman | |
Because of Winn-Dixie | Policeman | ||
Robots | Lugnut (voice) | ||
2006 | Employee of the Month | Russell Porpis-Gunders | |
Surf School | Rip | ||
Ergo Proxy | Head Dog Cop (voice) | 1 episode | |
2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Carl (voice) | |
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning | Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane | ||
2008 | Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation | Derek | |
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Giraffe (voice) | ||
2009 | Fudgy Wudgy Fudge Face | Elmore P. Fudge | |
My Life in Ruins | Big Al Sawchuck | ||
2011 | Spooky Buddies | Warwick the Warlock | |
Lloyd the Conqueror | Vulcan | ||
Dahmer Vs. Gacy | God | ||
Robot Chicken | Professor Cornelius Q. Quibblefingers (voice) | 1 episode; also writes 4 episodes | |
2012 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Apple (voice) | |
Robot and Monster | Monster (voice) | Main Role | |
2014 | Back in the Day | Skunk | |
2015 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Captain Frost (voice) | |
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | Helper Hue (voice) | ||
2016 | Sausage Party | Ketchup Bottle/Drug Dealer/Baba Ganoush Bowl (voice) | |
Skylanders Academy | Hugo (voice) |
References
- ↑ John B. Mueller Photography
- ↑ http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20140707.93345765/BDAStory/BDA/deaths
- ↑ "Parry Gripp Song of the Week". Parrygripp.com. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ↑ "The Channel". TomGreen.com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ↑ Hall, Shannon. "Casting Announced for Citytv Original Comedy Series, Package Deal". Thunderbird Films (Press Release). CityTV.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harland Williams. |