Michael-Leon Wooley (born March 29, 1971) is an American actor. He was the voice of Louis the Alligator in Disney's Oscar-nominated animated feature film, The Princess and the Frog and played Judge Grady on the radio station WKTT in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.
Michael-Leon Wooley | |
|---|---|
 Wooley in 2008 | |
| Born | March 29, 1971 Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. |
| Other names | Michael Leon Wooley |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Early life
editWooley was born on March 29, 1971 in Fairfax, Virginia, to George and Winnie Wooley. He has a twin brother, Marcus-Leon, and a younger brother, George Jr. He grew up in Bowie, Maryland. Wooley began playing the piano at age 5 and initially wanted to be a classical concert pianist. However, after participating in a high-school production of Oklahoma! he became interested in theatre.
At 16, he was given the opportunity to study piano at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., but turned it down to instead focus on acting and singing. At age 18, Wooley was awarded a full scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City, one of 21 scholarships granted in a nationwide competition. He studied at AMDA for a year before embarking on his own to pursue an acting career.
Wooley performed in the national tour of Purlie,[1] after which, worked as a singing waiter on the Spirit of New York,[2] a dinner cruise ship that circles Manhattan.[citation needed]
Career
editTheatre
editIn 1992, Wooley made his Broadway debut as an understudy (Big Moe) in the Clarke Peters' musical, Five Guys Named Moe.[3] After Five Guys Named Moe he embarked on national tours with The Pointer Sisters in Ain't Misbehavin'[4] and The Wiz with Stephanie Mills. He returned to Broadway in 2000 as Olin Britt[5] in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.[6]
He was also the voice of the man-eating plant, Audrey II, in the 2003 Broadway revival of the musical Little Shop of Horrors[7] at the Virginia Theatre (renamed the August Wilson Theatre in 2005). Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote Wooley had a "soulful bass voice"[8] and Clive Barnes of the New York Post said Wooley as the "doom-struck voice of Audrey II" rounded out "one of the best casts on Broadway."[9]
With conductor, Skitch Henderson, Wooley made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops as one of the "New Faces of 2004," along with other Broadway notables such as John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, the stars of the Broadway's Avenue Q. The event was hosted by New York Post gossip columnist Liz Smith.[10]
| Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| American Buffalo (Broadway) | Donnie Dubrow | Understudy for Cedric the Entertainer |
| A Soldier's Play (National tour) | C.J. Memphis | |
| Ain't Misbehavin' (National tour) | Ken | Featuring The Pointer Sisters |
| At Least It's Pink (Off-Broadway) | Simon | Michael Patrick King, director |
| Five Guys Named Moe (Broadway) | Big Moe | Understudy |
| Floyd Collins (Regional) | Ed Bishop | |
| Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway) | Voice of Audrey II, the plant | |
| New Faces of 2004 | Featured Artist | Carnegie Hall debut |
| Purlie (National tour) | Chorus | |
| The Music Man (Broadway) | Olin Britt | Susan Stroman, director and choreographer |
| The Wiz (National tour) | Uncle Henry | Starring Stephanie Mills |
| Up in the Air (The Kennedy Center) | Bull Frog |
Film
editWooley was the voice of Louis the jazz trumpet-playing alligator, in Disney's The Princess and the Frog; and Tiny Joe Dixon in the 2006 motion picture, Dreamgirls, singing "Takin' The Long Way Home" on the film's soundtrack.[citation needed] He also played Cocoa Butter in the Netflix Original series AJ and the Queen.
Voice work
editWooley's voice has been heard in many television ad campaigns for Reebok, General Motors, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, K-Mart, Oxygen Network and others. He was the voice of the demon boss, Twayne Boneraper, on Comedy Central's Ugly Americans.[11] He made numerous guest appearances on Cosby,[12][13] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,[14] The Knights of Prosperity,[15] Now & Again, Rescue Me[16] and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. He was a guest singer on The Penguins of Madagascar in "The Falcon and the Snow Job" and voiced the DC Comics villains Darkseid and Kalibak on the animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold.[citation needed]
From 2013 to 2014, Wooley voiced Tobias Whale in Beware the Batman. In 2014, he voiced Chill Bill from Sanjay and Craig as well as Master Lun in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and Pumpers in Breadwinners. In 2015 and 2017, he was a guest voice on Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero and Acorn and Achaka in the 2015–16 video game series King's Quest.[17] He voices Judge Grady on radio station WKTT, in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV and Dexter DeShawn in the video game Cyberpunk 2077.[citation needed]
Web series
editIn 2012, he voiced Impossibear in Pendleton Ward's Bravest Warriors which airs on Frederator's YouTube funded channel Cartoon Hangover.[18]
Personal life
editJon-Marc McDonald, a close friend and sometimes-publicist for Wooley, confirmed on his website that Wooley performed We Have To Change at a fundraiser for Barack Obama in New York City on August 11, 2008. The song was specifically written for the fundraiser by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger.[19][20]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dreamgirls | Tiny Joe Dixon | Singing "Takin' the Long Way Home" |
| 2008 | Ghost Town | Medical Attorney | |
| 2009 | A Secret Promise | Booth Attendant | |
| The Princess and the Frog | Louis the Alligator (voice) | [21] | |
| 2012 | Premium Rush | NYPD Tow Truck Driver | |
| 2013 | Superman Unbound | Ron Troupe (voice) | Direct-to-video[21] |
| 2015 | Hotel Transylvania 2 | Additional Voices | |
| 2016 | Savva: Heart of the Warrior | Morton | [21] |
| 2018 | Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Additional Voices | |
| 2022 | Hotel Transylvania: Transformania | ||
| 2023 | Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie | Dream Santa, Plastic Reindeer (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| Once Upon a Studio | Louis (voice) | Archival Recordings[21] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Cosby | George | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Singer (voice) | Episode: "The Falcon and the Snow Job"[21] |
| 2010 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Kalibak, Darkseid (voice) | 2 episodes[21] |
| 2010–2012 | Ugly Americans | Twayne Boneraper (voice) | Main role |
| 2013–2014 | Beware the Batman | Tobias Whale, Matatoa (voice) | 5 episodes[21] |
| 2014 | Sanjay and Craig | Chill Bill (voice) | Episode: "Chill Bill"[21] |
| 2014 | Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness | Master Lun (voice) | Episode: "Eternal Chord"[21] |
| 2014–2015 | Breadwinners | Mr. Pumpers (voice) | Main role[21] |
| 2014–2017 | Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | General, Additional Voices (voice) | Recurring role[21] |
| 2015 | Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! | Chazz (voice) | Episode: "Kitchen Frightmare"[21] |
| 2015–2016 | Sofia the First | King Oberlyn (voice) | 2 episodes[21] |
| 2015–2017 | Harvey Beaks | Officer Fredd, Lobster Guy, Skeleton Statue (voice) | Recurring role |
| 2015–2016 | The Adventures of Puss in Boots | Taranis (voice) | 2 episodes[21] |
| 2016 | Avengers Assemble | Galen-Kor (voice) | Episode: "Captain Marvel"[21] |
| 2016 | The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show | Ziryab, George Crum (voice) | 2 episodes[21] |
| 2017–2019 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Cool Sun, Bell Beefer, Galgarion, Big Bull Demon, RPG Narrator | Recurring role[21] |
| 2019 | Young Justice | Darkseid (voice) | Episode: "Evolution"[21] |
| 2019 | Grace and Frankie | Will | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Where's Waldo? | Tinsel (voice) | Episode: "A Wanderer Christmas" |
| 2020 | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | Tad Mulholland (voice) | 3 episodes[21] |
| 2020 | AJ and the Queen | Louis Bell, Cocoa Butter | 10 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | Trolls: TrollsTopia | Lownote Jones (voice) | Main role |
| 2021–2022 | Madagascar: A Little Wild | Oggie (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Hamster & Gretel | Roman Carter, The Nightmarionette (voice) | 7 episodes[21] |
| 2023 | Record of Ragnarok | Papiyas (voice) | 2 episodes[21] |
| 2023 | The Tiny Chef Show | Spoon (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Akuma-kun | Satan (voice) | [21] |
| 2023 | City Island | Carry (voice) |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | Judge Grady from Just or Unjust |
| 2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Louis the Alligator |
| 2011 | Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon | Twayne Boneraper |
| 2012 | Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom | Louis |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | The Local Population |
| 2015 | King's Quest | Acorn, Achaka, Goblin Man, Mordon |
| 2017 | Injustice 2 | Darkseid |
| 2020 | Cyberpunk 2077 | Dexter "Dex" Deshawn[21] |
| 2022 | World of Warcraft: Dragonflight | Echo of Neltharion |
References
edit- ^ Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Spirit of New York Homepage
- ^ "Black Broadway". Archived from the original on May 28, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Ain't Misbehavin' (The New Cast Recording) Archived July 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Musicals101
- ^ Review: Music Man, The New York Times
- ^ New York Magazine accessed June 5, 2008,
- ^ New York Times Theater Review accessed June 6, 2008,
- ^ Clive Barnes, New York Post via Peter Fox Shoes accessed June 6, 2008
- ^ The New York Pops: Spring 2004 Newsletter[permanent dead link]
- ^ Comedy Central: Ugly American's
- ^ TV Guide Com: Cosby-Raising Paranoia
- ^ TV Guide Com: Cosby-The Wedding
- ^ Hollywood.com Law & Order: SVU cast listing
- ^ IMDB: Knights of Prosperity-Operation Montecristo
- ^ Yahoo TV Rescue Me Cast and Crew
- ^ The Odd Gentlemen. King's Quest – Chapter III: Once Upon A Climb. Sierra Entertainment. Scene: Closing credits, 1 min in, Cast.
- ^ "Next Time on Bravest Warriors - Gas Powered Stick on Cartoon Hangover". YouTube. December 20, 2012.
- ^ Bake It Til You Make It
- ^ YouTube video of We Have To Change
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Michael-Leon Wooley (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 9, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.