Alan Tudyk

An energetic and amiable actor with a flair for comedy, Texas-bred Alan Tudyk has become known for leading stage roles in off-beat productions and scene-stealing supporting turns in film. The usually spiky haired blonde possesses chiseled Germanic good looks and an oft-revealed muscular body, power-connoting attributes interestingly offset by his frequent portrayals of effete or inane characters. The Juilliard graduate first made his mark with work on stage in both regional and Off-Broadway productions before marking his Broadway debut with 1999's "Epic Proportions" and essaying memorable supporting turns in the 2000 features "Wonder Boys" and "28 Days."

An early theater credit that proved Tudyk's versatility and drew on the fast paced skills he had honed as an improv actor was his work in "Bunny Bunny--Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy." Here he starred with Bruno Kirby and Paula Cale, playing every supporting player in each scene. He took this most unusual role from its Philadelphia debut in 1996 to New York City in 1997.

That same year he was featured in two productions of works by legendary playwright George Bernard Shaw, co-starring in "Misalliance" at New York's Roundabout Theater and "Candida" at The Yale Rep. Both of these turns earned the actor good reviews, and raised his stage profile. The big screen began to beckon Tudyk, who was featured in that year's "35 Miles from Normal" and 1998's "Patch Adams."

Around this time, his stage career began to really take off, going from a supporting role in CSC's star-studded but troubled production of "Oedipus" and a turn as one-dimensional drunk Hutch in "The Country Club" to a starring role in Paul Rudnick's "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told." The latter, a tongue-in-cheek take on the story of creation, substituting Steve for Eve as Adam's partner, the play was a raucous and sometimes crass affair, but the attention it garnered earned the actor some well-deserved note.

Tudyk played Adam, a somewhat shallow and dim but likable character in a winning turn that called for the actor to appear on stage completely nude for a significant portion of the play. Tudyk proved game for such a challenge, and next bared some above-the-belt flesh on the Great White Way, co-starring in "Epic Proportions," a comedy set during the production of a 1930s biblical epic. He played Benny Bennet, the less fortunate of two brothers, who is an extra in the film.

The following year, Tudyk returned to the big screen with supporting roles in the well-received comedy/dramas "Wonder Boys" and "28 Days." In the former he played Traxler, a happily wasted janitor who meets up with his former professor, the falling-apart writer Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas). His turn in the film made an impression with moviegoers, who enjoyed his charming take on the dim character. Next up was a role as Gerhardt, a gay, German addict whose stay in rehab gets him in touch with his emotions and threatens to ruin his romantic chances in the Sandra Bullock movie "28 Days."

Tudyk veritably stole every scene he was featured in with his engaging take on the high-strung and high-maintenance but lovable character. In 2001, Tudyk once again had a small but memorable role, playing the oddly lovable and faithful Squire to Heath Ledger's Sir William in "A Knight's Tale." The next year, Tudyk voiced characters in the hit animated movie "Ice Age" and landed a featured role on Joss Whedon's ensemble sci-fi series "Firefly," which was set on a cramped spaceship hundreds of years in the future.

Although the fan-favorite show did not last long on the air, it was later revived as the film "Serenity" (2005), and Tudyk reprised his character "Wash" Washburne, providing both comic relief and a touch of pathos.

Adding another extreme eccentric to his resume, the actor took on the role of Steve the Pirate, a patron of Vince Vaughn's Average Joe gym who genuinely believes he's a buccaneer, in the sports comedy "Dodgeball" (2004). Shortly thereafter, he provided the voice of the soft-spoken android Sonny in the sci-fi action film "I, Robot," based on the famed Isaac Asimov story.

Continuing to win featured parts in major movies, Tudyk played the hapless and hallucinating Simon in "Death at a Funeral" (2007) and Doc Potter in the Western remake "3:10 to Yuma" (2007), starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. He later reunited with Whedon for a stint on his sci-fi show "Dollhouse" (Fox, 2009-2010), starred in the cult-favorite horror comedy "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" (2010) and voiced the wacky ruler King Candy in the cartoon blockbuster "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012).

Remaining perpetually busy, Tudyk was also featured in the baseball drama "42" (2013) and played a duke in the Disney animated movie "Frozen" (2013).