Dee Bradley Baker

Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962)[3][4] is an American voice actor. His major roles, many of which feature his vocalizations of animals, include animated series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, American Dad!, SpongeBob SquarePants, Codename: Kids Next Door, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Phineas and Ferb, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Ben 10, The Legend of Korra and The 7D, live action series such as Legends of the Hidden Temple and Shop 'til You Drop, films such as The Boxtrolls and Space Jam and video games such as Halo, Gears of War, Viewtiful Joe, Spore, and Overwatch.

Dee Bradley Baker
Baker at the 2016 WonderCon
Born (1962-08-31) August 31, 1962
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Alma materColorado College
OccupationVoice actor
Years active1989–present
AgentCynthia McLean[1][2]
Home townGreeley, Colorado, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Michelle Baker
(
m. 1990)
Children2
Websitedeebaker.com

Early life

Baker was born in Bloomington, Indiana to Buddy and Nancy Baker,[5][6] and grew up in Greeley, Colorado.[7] He started performing at age nine and steadily worked in musicals, operas, plays and stand-up. As a child he was a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Frank Zappa and the Planet of the Apes, and also liked insects, arthropods and dinosaurs.[8] He graduated from University High School in 1981[6] and received a Boettcher Scholarship.[9]

He attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he studied philosophy, biology, fine arts and German, the last of which he studied overseas for a year at the University of Göttingen.[10] He was involved in local theater productions and singing groups. After graduating with a BA in philosophy, he was involved in many community theatre projects, including a sketch movie that aired on local public television.[7]

Career
Baker at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con

Baker moved to Orlando in 1989 to work on an improv sketch comedy show titled "The Anacomical Players" at EPCOT Center's Wonders of Life pavilion and joined various projects for Disney and Universal Studios.[4][7][11] His first major experience on national television was on the Nickelodeon game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, where he was not only the announcer, but also the giant talking rock-god Olmec.[7][12] He portrayed Olmec with a "big, booming, loud, god-like voice". During parts of the show, he would narrate a legend, and then ask the kid contestants related trivia questions. The show lasted three seasons and 120 episodes. When host Kirk Fogg moved to Los Angeles, he was encouraged to move there as well.[13] In 2016, he and Fogg reprised their roles for a live action television movie adaptation of the show.[14]

Baker moved to Southern California in time for the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He got involved in voice-over work; his first major character was Cow & Chicken's dad in the Cow & Chicken and I Am Weasel cartoons.[7] His first feature film voice-over was on the basketball/Looney Tunes-themed movie Space Jam where he voiced Daffy Duck, Taz and Toro.[7] He did voice work for various episodic and recurring cartoon characters on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest,[15] Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory,[16] SpongeBob SquarePants[17] and The Powerpuff Girls.[18] He voiced starring characters Og in Mike, Lu & Og[19] and Bagheera in the second season of Jungle Cubs.[20] In 2001, he added voice roles for Sanjay, Binky and other characters for The Fairly OddParents[21][22] and co-starred as Mandy's father on Billy and Mandy.[23][22] He had a lead role as Numbuh 4 in Codename: Kids Next Door.[24] On the live action front, he became the co-host and announcer for the game show Shop 'til You Drop which spanned several hundred episodes when it resumed broadcasting on the Family Channel and on the Pax television network, until a series retool in 2003; it was produced by Stone Stanley Entertainment, which had earlier co-produced Legends of the Hidden Temple.[25] He also had a recurring role as Phil Berg in the Nickelodeon sitcom series The Journey of Allen Strange where he plays a crazed journalist who tries to expose Allen's identity as a space alien.[26]

Starting with gigs on The Wild Thornberrys, he voiced an assortment of animal characters, which would become one of his specialties.[22] He voiced Pig George in the live action animal film My Brother the Pig.[27] Baker has also been involved with television shows for younger children including: Dora the Explorer where he provided animal sounds;[28] Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where he voices Boo Boo Chicken;[29] Curious George where he voices Gnocchi;[30] My Friends Tigger & Pooh where he voices Buster the dog[31] and Jake and the Neverland Pirates (airing on Disney Junior) where he voices Tick-Tock the crocodile.[22] In Avatar: The Last Airbender where he voiced the creatures Appa and Momo[32] and would soon voice many other creatures in the series as well as its sequel, The Legend of Korra, where he voices Naga, Pabu and Oogi. He voiced in the American Dragon: Jake Long[33] and Ben 10 series, the latter of which he voiced many alien creatures such as Stinkfly and Wildmutt, as well as some of the transformations.[22][34] He also voiced in the Ben 10 sequels such as Ben 10: Alien Force,[35] Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse, as well as its live-action adaptation.[22][36][37] Derrick J. Wyatt, who was the art director for Omniverse, noted that they had to allow other voice actors to do some of the aliens in the later series because Baker was doing almost all of them and some of the characters were putting a strain on his throat.[37] Outside of television, he provided the voice of Captain Jack Sparrow's talking parrot in the refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean rides at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.[11][38]

In 2007, Baker got the role of Perry the Platypus in the Disney series Phineas and Ferb. At the San Diego Comic-Con 2013 panel, Baker mentioned that when he auditioned, he was asked to provide three different creature sounds, regardless of whether it actually sounded like a platypus, of which one was selected as Perry's characteristic sound.[39] Perry has become a breakout character for the series,[40] with Baker appearing at multiple Comic-Con panels for the show.[39] In 2014, Perry was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Best Animal Sidekick. Coincidentally, another one of Baker's voiced characters, Waddles the pet pig in Gravity Falls, was nominated for the same category.[41]

Baker would continue to do regular voice-over roles. In 2005, he landed a role as Klaus Heissler, an Olympic ski jumper from Germany who was body-swapped into a goldfish, in the primetime cartoon sitcom American Dad!,[42][43] which has run over fifteen seasons on Fox and TBS and on DVD. In an interview with Pop Break, Baker said that he liked playing Klaus because he loves the German language, the part was well written, and it is light duty on his voice. He compared the table reads to being on The Carol Burnett Show.[44] He participated in American Dad panels at San Diego Comic-Con 2010[45] 2012,[46] and 2014;[47] and the New York Comic-Con in 2014.[48] His voicing of council member Tarrlok in Korra garnered a nomination for the Behind the Voice Actors (BTVA) Voice Acting Award in 2012.[49][50][51][52] In addition to television shows, Baker voiced characters in many animated and live action animation films, including some of the classic ghost monsters in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,[53] and Maurice in Happy Feet.[22] He also had roles in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated TV series and its direct-to-video releases.[22]

Baker was involved in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film released in 2008 and its television series afterwards which ran for seven seasons. He provided the voices for not only the characters Captain Rex and Commander Cody, but also all the supporting Clone Troopers,[49][54][55][56][57] the last of which he received an Annie Award nomination for Voice Acting in a Television Production in 2012.[55] He reprised the role of Captain Rex in Star Wars Rebels, beginning with its second season. He also provided the voice of Boba Fett for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.[11] In the 2011 Family Guy episode "It's a Trap!", a parody of the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi, he voiced Klaus as Admiral Ackbar.[58]

In the video game world, Baker reprised his roles in Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon's multitude of show-related game releases. He also voiced Gravemind in Halo 2 and Halo 3,[22] and the title character Joe in the Viewtiful Joe series released from 2003 to 2005.[59] He provided the creature sounds for the Spore video game which allows players to create and evolve their own creatures.[60][61] At San Diego Comic-Con 2008's opening night, he was a featured performer at the Video Games Live concert, where he voiced characters from Gears of War and other series.[62] He provided voices for two Blizzard Entertainment characters – Murky, a baby murloc in Heroes of the Storm, and Hammond, a genetically engineered hamster in Overwatch.[63] He is also the voice of Altlas and P-body in Portal 2, released in 2012.

In 2014, Baker continued participating in American Dad, Gravity Falls and a fourth season of The Legend of Korra. He voiced Dopey in the Disney XD series The 7D;[64] and Fish, Wheels and Bucket in The Boxtrolls film,[2][65] in which he was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Fish.[66][67] In the Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham video game, he voiced Brainiac.[68] He voiced George Clooney and his dog in "The Animated Episode" of the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland.[69]

Baker has appeared on various panels at Comic-Con and other conventions where he talks about voice acting in general.[70] He hosts a website where he answers frequently-asked questions about voice acting.[2] The site has been cited by fellow voice actors Steven Blum and Rob Paulsen as a valuable resource for getting into voice acting.[71][72]

Personal life

Baker met his wife, Michelle, when they were doing children's theatre at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. They were married in 1990 and have two daughters: Josie and Cora.[6][7] They live in the Los Angeles area. Outside of voice acting, Baker enjoys photography,[73] taking pictures of mostly small flowers and insects.[2]

Filmography
Main article: Dee Bradley Baker filmography
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References
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  2. Liu, Ed (September 25, 2014). "Toonzone Interviews Dee Bradley Baker & Steve Blum on How to Speak Boxtroll". Toonzone.
  3. Gigoux, Chris (August 31, 2011). "Happy Birthday, Dee Bradley Baker!". GeekDad. Wired.com. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  4. Whitmore, Laurie (August 30, 1991). "Baker Fits The Bill In 'West Side Story'". Orlando Sentinel. At the age of 28, Baker is among the lucky minority of entertainers who can call themselves working actors
  5. "Nancy Ann Baker Obituary – December 21, 1935 - April 24, 2007". ObitTree. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  6. England, Dan (February 14, 2007). "Vocal vocation: Greeley native makes a living voicing characters in films, TV shows". Greeley Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  7. "Dee Bradley Baker '86" (PDF). Colorado College. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  8. Zev Suissa (April 11, 2013). VO Studio: Dee Baker. VO Studio.
  9. "Featured Scholar Profiles – Under Water is a Good Thing". Boettcher Foundation. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
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  11. Full Voices of the Disney Theme Parks presentation from D23 Expo 2011 (YouTube). Attractions Magazine. August 27, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2012. – 4 minutes in for Pirates, 15 minutes in for Boba Fett
  12. Dee Bradley Baker [@deebradleybaker] (May 25, 2013). ""Legends of the Hidden Temple was my 1st show. Forever a fan favorite! RT @The90sLife: Olmec #beststatuesofthe90s"" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2014 – via Twitter.
  13. Etkin, Jamie (September 11, 2013). "The Legend Of "Legends Of The Hidden Temple," As Told By Kirk Fogg and Olmec". BuzzFeed.
  14. McClendon, Lamarco (June 22, 2016). "TV News Roundup: 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' Revival Brings Back Original Olmec; Brian Austin Green Joins 'Rosewood'". Variety. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
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  17. Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 1285
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  19. Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 895
  20. Terrace 2008, p. 549
  21. Terrace 2008, p. 322
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  25. Brooks & Marsh 2009, pp. 1230–1231
  26. Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 717
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  34. Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 123
  35. Terrace 2008, p. 89
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  51. Perlmutter 2014, p. 367
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  55. "39th Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
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  57. Goldman, Eric (September 6, 2011). "Star Wars: The Clone Wars - What's Next for Rex?". IGN.
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  59. Clover Studio (October 7, 2013). Viewtiful Joe. Capcom. Scene: Closing credits, Voices.
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  64. Orenda, Tami (July 10, 2014). "Dee Bradley Baker Whistles While He Works as Dopey on "The 7D"". Disney Examiner. Storyteller Media.
  65. "DT Interviews "Boxtrolls" Voice and Sound Artist, Dee Baker". Digital-Tutors Blog. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  66. "42nd Annual Annie Award Nominees". Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  67. "The Boxtrolls – Movie Overview". Focus Features. NBC Universal. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014. – Cast & Crew
  68. Hilliard, Kyle (August 2, 2014). "Lego Batman's Troy Baker On More Last Of Us And Dee Bradley Baker On Left 4 Dead". Game Informer.
  69. "The Animated Episode". Hot in Cleveland. Season 5. Episode 18. July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  70. Freeman, Crispin (July 24, 2011). "Comic Con Panel with Dee Bradley Baker and Chris Borders". Voice Acting Mastery: Become a Master Voice Actor in the World of Voice Over. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  71. Blum, Steve. "How do I become a voice actor?". Steve Blum Voices. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  72. Rob Paulsen (July 20, 2012). "050 – Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt on Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen – Weekly Voice Acting and Voice Over Tips". Talkin Tools (Podcast). Tech Jives Network. Event occurs at 43.
  73. "Dee Baker Photography – About". Dee Baker Photography. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
Book references
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