Alan Wray Tudyk (/ˈtuːdɪk/ too-dik; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor and voice actor known for his roles as Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the space western television series Firefly and movie Serenity, Alpha in the science fiction TV series Dollhouse, Tucker McGee in Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story and Wat in A Knight's Tale. He also co-starred on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory. He also had a supporting role in the film 42 as baseball manager Ben Chapman, and voiced significant roles in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. Most recently, he has finished development on the web series Con Man also recently played Marcus in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and recently finished shooting on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Early life

Tudyk was born on March 16, 1971 in El Paso, Texas, the son of Betty Loyce (née Wiley) and Timothy Nicholas Tudyk. His father is of Polish descent and his mother has German, English, and Scottish ancestry. He was raised in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where he attended Plano Senior High School. He had a brief experience as a stand-up comic, before quitting after an angry audience member threatened to kill him. Tudyk studied drama at the Methodist-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas where he won the Academic Excellence award for drama. While in college, he played Beaver Smith in an eastern New Mexico summer stock theater production of Billy the Kid. Tudyk entered Juilliard but left in 1996 before earning a degree.

Career

Film

In 2000, Tudyk played Gerhardt, a gay German drug addict, alongside Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen in 28 Days. He played Wat in 2001's A Knight's Tale, Steve the Pirate in the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the emotional robot Sonny in I, Robot. In 2005, he reprised his role as the playful, easy-going Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the film Serenity, derived from the cult television series Firefly by Joss Whedon.

In 2007, Tudyk had a supporting role as a strong-willed doctor in the western film 3:10 to Yuma alongside Christian Bale and Russell Crowe along with a brief but memorable role in the film Knocked Up and a highly physical comedic performance in the British film Death at a Funeral. Tudyk starred as Tucker in the indie horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs Evil. He also appears in Transformers: Dark of the Moon as Dutch.

In Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, he voiced Simone (a reckless French accent speaking Chipmunk, the result after Simon was bitten by a spider). In 2012, Tudyk appeared in Timur Bekmambetov's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, in the role of Stephen A. Douglas. Tudyk also voiced King Candy in the 2012 Disney animated film, Wreck-It Ralph, a performance for which he won the Annie Award for Voice Acting. He played Ben Chapman in the 2013 movie 42 about Jackie Robinson.

Tudyk voiced the Duke of Weselton in Disney's 2013 film Frozen. In 2014, he voiced Alistair Krei in Disney's Big Hero 6, and in 2016 he voiced Duke Weaselton in Disney's Zootopia.

Broadway

In 1999, Tudyk made his Broadway debut in Epic Proportions. He was also in Wonder of the World, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Misalliance, Oedipus and Bunny Bunny. In 2005, Tudyk filled in for Hank Azaria's roles in Spamalot from June to December, and starred in a limited run of Prelude to a Kiss on Broadway.

Television

One of Tudyk's better known roles is the playful, easy-going Hoban "Wash" Washburne in the television series Firefly by Joss Whedon. Although the series ran for only one season, Universal Studios purchased the rights to the show and turned it into a film, Serenity, in which he reprised the role. He did a few voices from Make Way for Noddy. In 2014, Tudyk took over the role of lead anchor on the live action [adult swim] comedy, Newsreaders. Tudyk appeared as the cult leader, Father, in a two-part episode of Strangers With Candy entitled "Blank Stare." Among several guest spots on popular shows such as Arrested Development, he played a convicted pedophile on a popular episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Tudyk was cast as a special guest star in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The show featured people whose personalities had been erased, with Tudyk portraying Alpha, a former "active" who accidentally downloaded 48 separate personalities. Alpha served as the main antagonist of the series' first season, with guest appearances in the show's second season. Tudyk also guest-starred in three episodes of ABC's modern remake of the television miniseries V. Tudyk provided the voice of superhero Green Arrow and villain Psimon in the animated series Young Justice. He also co-starred in the ABC comedy series Suburgatory as Noah Werner, a dentist from the city, who moves to the suburbs. Tudyk voiced Debbie the prostitute in season 3 of The Life and Times of Tim.

He is currently working on his own TV series Con Man based loosely upon his experiences touring the convention circuit after the cancellation of Firefly.

Personal life

Tudyk married choreographer Charissa Barton on September 24, 2016. The couple became engaged in December 2015.

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