Alan Tudyk Biography
Born: March 16, 1971
Date of Birth: March 16, 1971
Don't let Alan Tudyk's string of cute, animated Blockbuster hits fool you — he can embody a wealth of diverse characters.
Alan was born in El Paso, Texas but later moved 600 miles east to Plano, Texas, where he grew up.
After attending Plano Sr. High, he enrolled in Lon Morris Jr. College, located in Jacksonville, Texas in 1990. He studied drama at the school, was named Most Likely to Succeed while there, and graduated with the Academic Award for Excellence. He was also a member of the Delta Psi Omega fraternity.
Alan moved from Texas to New York City to study at Julliard, and after graduation, made his feature film debut in the 1997 drama 35 Miles from Normal. He followed that up with the part of Everton in the 1998 Oscar-nominated biopic Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams.
In 1999, Alan won his first Broadway part in Epic Proportions, then went back to film in 2000 to appear alongside Sandra Bullock in the comedy 28 Days, as well as the ensemble dramedy Wonder Boys. The latter film stars Academy Award winners Michael Douglas and Frances McDormand, as well as Robert Downey Jr., Katie Holmes and Tobey Maguire. Bob Dylan's hit track for the film, "Things Have Changed," picked up an Oscar and Golden Globe in 2001 for Best Original Song.
Alan joined forces with Heath Ledger for the action/ romance A Knight's Tale in 2001 and lent his voice to the Oscar-nominated animated film Ice Age in 2002.
Also in 2002, he began working on a comedy series that many people would associate him with for years to come. He played Hoban "Wash" Washburne on the sci-fi western dramedy Firefly in 14 episodes, wrapping up his stint in 2003.
The following year, he scored parts in the Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the Oscar-nominated sci-fi action film I, Robot with Will Smith.
Alan remained in the sci-fi genre in 2005, taking a part in Joss Whedon's film Serenity, which also starred Chiwetel Ejiofor. In 2006, he went back to Ice Age to voice Cholly in Ice Age: The Meltdown before acting in the 2007 comedies Death at a Funeral and Knocked Up. He also played Doc Potter in the 2007 Oscar-nominated drama 3:10 to Yuma, which stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.
In 2009, Alan returned to the realm of animated films with Astro Boy. Charlize Theron, Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage and Kristen Bell also lent their voices to the film.
The next year, he appeared in the drama Beautiful Boy with Michael Sheen and Maria Bello, and began work on the animated series Young Justice. He was featured in 10 episodes between 2010 and 2013.
Alan worked on a variety of projects in 2011. He played Dutch in the Oscar-nominated Transformers: Dark of the Moon with Shia LaBeouf, voiced Simone in the animated film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, played Lonnie on 12 episodes of Good Vibes, and began stepping into the role of Noah Werner in the comedy series Suburgatory. He wrapped up his part on Suburgatory in 2014 after appearing in 47 episodes.
Going back to the world of Ice Age in 2012, Alan worked on the franchise's fourth film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, with Ray Romano and John Leguizamo. He also lent his voice to the Oscar-nominated animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph.
In 2013, he explored his sporty side in the biopic 42, which chronicles the life of baseball player Jackie Robinson. The film stars Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford. Also in 2013, he voiced the character Duke in the highly-successful Oscar winner Frozen.
Alan stayed animated in 2014, working on the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6 with T.J. Miller, James Cromwell and Maya Rudolph. He also acted alongside Kristen Wiig, James Marsden and Linda Cardellini in the dramedy Welcome to Me and started a 14-episode run on the comedy series Newsreaders, which he ended in 2015.
Acting alongside Dylan O'Brien, Alan appeared in the 2015 sci-fi action thriller Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. He also landed the part of Ian McLellan Hunter in Trumbo, the biopic of famed Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. The Oscar-nominated film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane and Helen Mirren.
He went back to TV for 18 episodes of the comedy series Con Man between 2015 and 2016. Also in 2016, he voiced Duke Weaselton in the animated hit Zootopia and Hei Hei the Rooster in the animated adventure film Moana.
His biggest film of 2016 was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in which he plays droid K-2SO via motion capture. The sci-fi film is set before Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope and stars Felicity Jones and Mads Mikkelsen.
While discussing K-2SO with Entertainment Weekly in August 2016, Alan said, "He's not an overly emotional guy. He's not like C-3PO, who's like a f***ing neurotic mess. He's flappable. Kaytoo is much more in the unflappable category."
Alan also chatted with journalist Jon Waterhouse for StarWarsNews.com in August 2016, shedding light on what it means to be part of the Star Wars family and how it feels to be involved in Rogue One. He said, "I don't even know if I've even experienced the full understanding of what I'm a part of. It doesn't happen all at once. I was part of a really well-run film with amazing actors from all over the world. You're immediately working with a caliber of actor, and a level of detail in production and design that is rare."
More recently, he lent his voice to the animated Disney film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).
In September 2016, Alan married choreographer Charissa Barton in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to People, Charissa has "performed in famous venues like the Sydney Opera House and the Kennedy Center" and has worked as an associate choreographer on one of Katy Perry's Grammy performances.
Filmography:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Moana (2016)
Zootopia (2016)
Trumbo (2015)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Welcome to Me (2014)
Frozen (2013)
42 (2013)
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Beautiful Boy (2010)
Astro Boy (2009)
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Knocked Up (2007)
Death at a Funeral (2007)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Serenity (2005)
I, Robot (2004)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Ice Age (2002)
A Knight's Tale (2001)
Wonder Boys (2000)
28 Days (2000)
Patch Adams (1998)
35 Miles from Normal (1997)