Alan Wray Tudyk born March 16, 1971 is an American voice, film and television actor known for his roles as Hoban “Wash” Washburne in the space western series Firefly and the film Serenity, Tucker McGee in Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. He has also had starring roles in the films, I, Robot, A Knight’s Tale, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 42, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Rogue One. He was also the voice of King Candy/Turbo in 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph, for which he won an Annie Award.
Tudyk appeared on the sitcom Suburgatory (2011–14) and has had guest roles on many other series. Earlier in his career, he appeared frequently in Broadway plays as well. He wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy web series Con Man (2015–17) about a struggling actor whose career is still defined by a successful science fiction TV show he was once on, loosely based on Tudyk’s own experience having been on Firefly. The series aired on Syfy in 2017 and earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
As of 2021, Tudyk plays the lead role, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, in the Syfy series Resident Alien and voices The Joker and Clayface in the DC Universe/HBO Max series Harley Quinn.
Early life
Tudyk was born on March 16, 1971, in El Paso, Texas, the son of Betty Loyce (née Wiley) and Timothy Nicholas Tudyk. He has Polish ancestry. Tudyk 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
Tudyk at the 2005 Serenity Flanvention
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/Turbo in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph, a performance for which he won the Annie Award for Voice Acting. He played Ben Chapman in the 2013 film 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 and Heihei in Disney’s Zootopia and Moana, respectively. That same year, he played the droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In 2018, he returned for Ralph Breaks the Internet as a new character, Knowsmore. He provided the voice of the parrot, Iago (originally voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) in the 2019 live-action adaptation of Aladdin.
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.
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 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 child sex offender 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 also provided the voices of Ludo Avarius and King River Butterfly in the Disney animated series Star vs the Forces of Evil.
In 2015, he released his own web series Con Man based loosely upon his experiences touring the convention circuit after the cancellation of Firefly. In 2017 he was a main cast member on the DC Comics-based show Powerless.
In 2017, season 2 of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency saw Tudyk in the role of Mr. Priest, a somewhat rogue Blackwing operative who is on familiar terms with Dirk, Bart and the Rowdy 3.
Video games
Tudyk, along with Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin have voice roles as unnamed Marines in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3. Tudyk would reunite with his Firefly co-stars in Halo 3: ODST as the character “Mickey”, an elite ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) who is part of the player character’s squad as they try to escape a city invaded by the Covenant. All three actors gave their likenesses to their characters and are given personalities in the game resembling those of their roles from Firefly.
He voiced the DC Comics character Green Arrow once again in the 2013 video game Injustice: Gods Among Us and reprised the role in the 2017 video game Injustice 2.