Phil LaMarr

Phillip "Phil" LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and prolific voice actor as well as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv.

Biography

Phil LaMarr was born in Los Angeles, California, U.S.. He is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood and Yale University, where he helped found the improv comedy group Purple Crayon. One of his biggest roles at Yale was the title character in the British comedy Trevor. After graduating in 1989, LaMarr became a member of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings. He also studied improv at Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. Phil has also improvised with Cold Tofu and Off the Wall.

Phil LaMarr as Marvin in Pulp Fiction.

His early film jobs arose from connections from his improv and college years. For example, LaMarr appeared in the film It's Pat (1994), written by friends from the Groundlings, and he appeared in Bio-Dome because the director was a friend from college. However, his big break came in a small but memorable role in Pulp Fiction as Marvin, a character whose brains are literally blown out. (He would later reprise the role in a MADtv skit parodying the film.)

Career

MADtv

Phil LaMarr as Funky Walker Dirty Talker Desperation Lee with Halle Berry

LaMarr, unlike most of the other original nine cast members of MADtv, had extensive television and film jobs under his belt. Even before college, he had voiced a character on the Mr. T cartoon show. The versatile LaMarr specialized in outrageous characters, including Jaq the UBS Guy, the "sexy player" Rick, Funky Walker Dirty Talker Desperation Lee, the talentless R&B singer Savante or Rocket Revengers star Lt. Abraham Jefferson (a.k.a Lincoln Willis). LaMarr also proved a gifted celebrity impressionist, lampooning political figures like Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan and Louis Farrakhan, and impersonating Sidney Poitier, Michael Jackson, Spike Lee, Prince, Sammy Davis Jr., Tommy Davidson and Martin Lawrence. LaMarr's most celebrated impersonation was that of Chris Rock for the MADtv spoof video "Ain't No Blacks on the TV Screen," where he and Aries Spears humorously criticize major network television for not having enough positive African-American role models on prime time television shows. LaMarr has since received numerous requests to impersonate Rock's voice for various comedy projects. LaMarr decided not to renew his contract in 2000, and left at the end of the fifth season.

MADtv characters

• Bill (Al Casdy)
• Chance Cumulus (News at Six)
• Crazy-Fingered Freddy (Shaunda)
• Desperation Lee (Funky Walker, Dirty Talker)
• Jaq (UPS Guy)
• Justin Thomas (Susan Whitfield)
• Lincoln Willis/Lt. Abraham Jefferson (Rocket Revengers)
• Rick
• Robert (That's My White Mama)
• Savante
• Steve (The Eracists)

MADtv impersonations

LaMarr impersonated these celebrities for MADtv:

Other television projects

Aside from MADtv, LaMarr has had many television, theatrical and movie roles. His television credits include a semi-regular role as the Jamaican bureaucrat Hermes Conrad and various other characters in Futurama, and guest starring roles on Cold Case, Eve, Reno 911!, the British version of Whose Line is it Anyway?, Without A Trace, The Bernie Mac Show, NYPD Blue, Living Single, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murphy Brown, and Family Guy. Lamarr will reprise his role as Hermes Conrad in the forthcoming Futurama movie.

Film and theatre projects

Phil LaMarr with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson on the set of Pulp Fiction

Phil LaMarr is an accomplished thespian, whose many stage credits include The Tempest, As You Like It, Guys and Dolls, Asylum, South Coast Repertory's Make the Break and Sacred Fools Theater's inaugural production of The Fatty Arbuckle Spookhouse Revue. On the big screen, LaMarr has appeared in the comedies Kill the Man, Free Enterprise, Cherish and Manna from Heaven. He also had featured roles in Speaking of Sex with Bill Murray and Catherine O'Hara and Back by Midnight with Randy Quaid, Kirstie Alley and Rodney Dangerfield. LaMarr had a cameo in Spider-Man 2, as the train passenger who caught Spider-Man before he fell. LaMarr's recent film appearances include Fronterz (2004) and (2005). As of April 2006, LaMarr is filming Cook-Off!, in which he will appear as Rev. Thaddeus Briggs, Esq.

Voice acting projects

LaMarr is also a prominent voice actor in animated shows such as:

• Jazz (Transformers Animated)
• Green Lantern / John Stewart (Justice League and Justice League Unlimited)
• Steel (John Henry Irons) (Justice League Unlimited)
• Static / Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock)
• Ozzy (Ozzy & Drix)
• Maxie Zeus (The Batman)
• Marcus Conner (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee)
• Hermes Conrad on Futurama
• Title character of Samurai Jack
• Carver Descartes (The Weekenders)
• Black Vulcan (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law)
• Poop Dogg, The Letter M, Shnooky (Invader Zim)
• Ollie Williams the Blaccuweather Forecaster and other various voices on Family Guy
• Hector Con Carne (Evil Con Carne)
• Wilt, Jackie Khones, additional voices (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
• Virgil "Bull" Sharkwowski (My Gym Partner's a Monkey)
• Dracula, Judge Roy Spleen, Irwin's Dad, Irwin's Grandmama, additional voices (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)
• Various voices on Robot Chicken
• Philly Phil (Class of 3000)
• The Earth King (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Afro (teen) (Afro Samurai)
• Sypher (Loonatics Unleashed)

Video Games

• Vamp (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty) and (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
• Oscar the Fish (Shark Tale (game adaptation))
• Sig, Count Veger, Kaeden & G.T Blitz (Jak and Daxter series: Jak II, Jak 3, Jak X, Daxter)
• Gadon Thek (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
• Chris Jacobs (Mercenaries)
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
• Uatu the Watcher and The Black Panther (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)
• Reddas, Tomaj, and Gijuk (Final Fantasy XII)
• Marine (Quake 4)
• Donald, and others (Samurai Western)
• Dracula (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (game))
• Kane (The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning)
• Ramza Beoulve (Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions)
• Apocalypse Thug (Spiderman 3)

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• LaMarr was in Spider-Man 2. He is one of the people who catches Spider-Man as he starts to fall from the train. He can be seen all throughout the scene. He was not credited for his role.
• Static Shock and Justice League have had a few crossovers where the characters Green Lantern and Static appear. As the voice of both superheroes, LaMarr literally talks to himself in some scenes. This also happens in Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends with his two characters Wilt and Jackie Khones
• He was also a contestant on the British Whose Line Is It Anyway? season that was filmed in Hollywood.
• In the video game Samurai Western, he voiced Donald, the well-to-do but slow-to-catch-on sheriff of Cactus Gulch who was inspired to become a samurai. LaMarr also voiced a few other characters in the game.
• LaMarr appeared in a sexual harassment video for Perkins Restaurant and Bakery.
• According to an audio interview with GameFAQs user Chris Ho, John Travolta was the one that came up with the idea of Marvin being shot in the face since the character was originally supposed to be accidentally shot in the throat and suffer in agony while John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson's characters were asking each other what they should do about him, with the eventual conclusion about putting LaMarr's character out of his misery. Knowing that the intentional kill would make his character unlikeable, in rehearsal Travolta came up with this particular idea instead, and Tarantino agreed to it.
• According to that same interview, LaMarr auditioned for Commander Scott Dolph and Peter Stillman before he got chosen to voice Vamp; in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• LaMarr is one of the few Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty cast members to play the game (another notable member is David Hayter).
• In Static Shock, LaMarr voiced the title character, an African American superhero with dreadlocks, and his best friend was a caucasian male with blonde hair voiced by Jason Marsden. Coincidentally LaMarr played an African American dreadlocked character named Carver in Disney's The Weekenders, and Marsden voiced his blonde friend Tino.
• LaMarr played two judges, on Family Guy and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.

Filmography

Television

Voice acting and video game appearances

External links

• Official web pages
• Phil LaMarr at the Internet Movie Database
• Phil LaMarr at TV.com
• Phil LaMarr at Planet MADtv
• Phil LaMarr at the Voice Chasers Database
• Official MADtv site