Biography
With an immediately identifiable baritone voice and deadpan delivery, H. Jon Benjamin was a popular American comedian and prolific voice actor. Benjamin lent his vocal talents to several of the funniest and most critically-acclaimed animated shows of his era, including "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" (Comedy Central 1995-99), "Home Movies" (UPN 1999, Adult Swim 2001-04), "Archer" (FX 2009- ) and "Bob's Burgers" (Fox 2011-). He was born Henry Jon Benjamin on May 23, 1966 in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1990, Benjamin moved to Boston where he partnered with fellow comedians Sam Seder and David Cross on the fertile local comedy scene. His first break in television came in 1995, when he partnered with fellow Bostonians Jonathan Katz and Tom Snyder for "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist." Each episode of "Dr. Katz" was "retroscripted," a process that allowed Katz, as the titular character, and Benjamin as his childish 24-year-old son Ben, to exercise their improv skills on tape before the best bits were selected to be animated in Snyder's trademark lo-fi "Squigglevision" format. While "Dr. Katz" remained a staple in Comedy Central's programming, Benjamin continued to expand his work in the entertainment industry, making his feature film debut in a small role in the Boston-set indie romantic comedy "Next Stop Wonderland" (1997). In 1999, Snyder and Benjamin teamed up again on the animated series "Home Movies." Created by Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small, "Home Movies" followed an eight-year-old named Brendon whose life was devoted to making his own movies; Benjamin provided the voices of both Brendon's dreamy and easily-distracted best friend Jason and John McGuirk, Brendon's alcoholic and temperamental soccer coach. Although the series debuted in the UPN Network, "Home Movies" found a more suitable home when it was picked up by Adult Swim in 2001. During this era, Benjamin scored his best-known film role, a voiceover part as a talking can of vegetables in the cult comedy "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001). Benjamin continued working regularly in animation and sketch comedy shows until 2009, when he was cast in his first starring role in the spy parody "Archer," playing suave and hedonistic secret agent Sterling Archer, whose preening ego frequently gets in the way of his missions. After starring in and producing his own sketch comedy series, "Jon Benjamin Has A Van" (Comedy Central 2010), Benjamin reunited with Bouchard for "Bob's Burgers." Playing easily exasperated diner owner Bob Belcher, Benjamin found himself in his most high-profile role yet in a series that slowly moved from cult favorite to mainstream success. In 2015, Benjamin appeared in the prequel series "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" (Netflix 2015), reprising his role as the can of vegetables and appearing in a minor onscreen role.
