Stephen Root
Stephen Root | |
|---|---|
 Root in 2009 | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He is principally known for his comedic work, but has won acclaim for his occasional dramatic roles.
Early life
Root was born in Sarasota, Florida, the son of Leona Estelle and Rolland Clair Root, a construction supervisor.[1] He is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he majored in acting and broadcasting.
Career
Among his most recognized television roles are eccentric billionaire Jimmy James on the sitcom NewsRadio and as the voice of depressed Army barber Bill Dauterive and Hank Hill's skirt-chasing boss Buck Strickland on the animated television series King of the Hill (Root originally auditioned for the role of Dale). He had a recurring role on the final two seasons of The West Wing as Republican campaign consultant Bob Mayer. His most recognizable film roles to date are as the mumbling, quirky Milton Waddams in Office Space, as the mild-mannered gymrat Gordon Pibb in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, as Suds, a drunk sports writer, in Leatherheads, and as the dimwitted principal in the 2008 Judd Apatow produced comedy Drillbit Taylor.
Root is a favorite of the Coen Brothers; He has appeared in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Ladykillers, and No Country For Old Men. Kevin Smith wrote a role in Jersey Girl specifically for Root.
Root reunited with Mike Judge in Idiocracy and has also portrayed NASA flight director Chris Kraft in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. He took on the biographical role of Richard A. Clarke in The Path to 9/11. He has also had many guest appearances in television programs across several genres. He was Klingon Captain K'Vada in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Unification". In 1992, Root appeared on the TV series Night Court as Mr. Willard. In the 1993-1994 television season, Root appeared as a series regular as "R.O." on the Beau Bridges/Lloyd Bridges comedy/western series Harts of the West on CBS.
Root guest starred on Seinfeld, playing the role of a bank manager in the episode "The Invitations", handling Kramer's hello greeting issue. He had a role in Frasier in the episode "Detour" as the father of the family helping Frasier when his car broke down. In the CSI episode "Homebodies", he played the father of a rape victim. In addition, Root had a series regular role on the short-lived CBS series Ladies Man, which starred Sharon Lawrence, soon after she left NYPD Blue. He played Raymond, a hunting store owner involved in illegal gun trading, in the 1993 In the Heat of the Night episode "A Love Lost".
Root also has an active career as a voice artist. Aside from his roles in King of the Hill, he has played various characters in animated films, such as Ice Age, Finding Nemo, and Courage the Cowardly Dog. In other animated television, series regular roles include: Commander Chode in Tripping the Rift and Homebase in The X's. Additionally, he has provided guest-starring vocal talent in animated television series, like Chowder and Teen Titans. He recently lent his voice to Batman: The Brave and the Bold as Woozy Winks and The Penguin.
Recently, Root has appeared in HBO's series True Blood as a vampire named Eddie. He also had a multi-episode arc in the second season of Pushing Daisies on ABC, playing the mysterious Dwight Dixon. He appeared as Johnny Forreals, inventor of the word "boo-yah" on an episode of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program entitled "Cangamangus". He appeared in the 2009 comedy film The Men Who Stare at Goats as Gus Lacey. In 2010, he appeared in a multi-episode arc in Season 8 of the Fox television series 24 as a probation officer named Bill Prady, and in the FX television series Justified as the eccentric Judge Mike "The Hammer" Reardon.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1988 | "Crocodile" Dundee II | DEA Agent (Toilet) | |
| Monkey Shines | Dean Burbage | ||
| 1989 | Black Rain | Berg | |
| 1990 | Stanley & Iris | Mr. Hershey | |
| Ghost | Police Sgt. | ||
| 1991 | Guilty by Suspicion | RKO Guard | |
| V.I. Warshawski | Mickey | ||
| Bed & Breakfast | Randolph | ||
| 1992 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Gary Murray | |
| 1993 | Dave | Don Durenberger | |
| RoboCop 3 | Coontz | ||
| Extreme Justice | Max Alvarez | ||
| 1995 | Bye Bye Love | Awakened Neighbor | |
| Night of the Scarecrow | Uncle Frank/The Sherriff | ||
| 1998 | Krippendorf's Tribe | Gerald Adams | |
| 1999 | Gut Feeling | Kane Cohen | |
| Office Space | Milton Waddams | ||
| Natural Selection | Mr. Crenshaw | a.k.a. The Monster Hunter | |
| Bicentennial Man | Dennis Mansky - Head of NorthAm Robotics | ||
| 2000 | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Radio Station Man | |
| Tripping the Rift | Chode | ||
| 2002 | Ice Age | Rhino / Start | |
| The Country Bears | Zeb | ||
| White Oleander | Michael | (scenes deleted) | |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | Bubbles | |
| Grind | Cameron | ||
| 2004 | Raising Genius | Dwight Nestor | |
| The Ladykillers | Fernand Gudge | ||
| Jersey Girl | Greenie | ||
| Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | Gordon | ||
| Surviving Christmas | Dr. Freeman | ||
| Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie | Vince Masters | ||
| 2005 | Just Friends | KC | |
| 2006 | Cook-Off! | Morty Van Rookle | |
| Ice Age: The Meltdown | Aardvark Dad | ||
| Gretchen | Herb | ||
| Idiocracy | Judge Hank "The Hangman" BMW | ||
| The Frank Anderson | John Simon | ||
| The Fox and the Hound 2 | Talent Scout | ||
| 2007 | No Country for Old Men | Man who hires Wells | |
| Have Dreams, Will Travel | Sheriff Brock | ||
| Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage | Bubbles | ||
| Sunny & Share Love You | Clive Anderson | ||
| 2008 | Mad Money | Glover | |
| Over Her Dead Body | Sculptor | ||
| Drillbit Taylor | Principal Doppler | ||
| Leatherheads | Suds | ||
| Tripping the Rift: The Movie | Chode | ||
| 2009 | Glock | ||
| Bob Funk | Steve | ||
| The Soloist | Curt Reynolds | ||
| Imagine That | Fred Franklin | ||
| The Men Who Stare at Goats | Gus Lacey | ||
| 2010 | Son of Mourning | Senator Lewis | |
| Unthinkable | Charlie | ||
| The Conspirator | |||
| 2011 | Cedar Rapids | Bill Korgstad | |
| TV | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Cross of Fire | Beggs | |
| 1990 | Wiseguy | Bishop | (1 episode, 1990) |
| Roseanne | Peter Lundy | (1 episode, 1990) | |
| Jake and the Fatman | Hastings | (1 episode, 1990) | |
| The Young Riders | (1 episode, 1990) | ||
| Head of the Class | Mr. Birch | (1 episode, 1990) | |
| 1991 | Davis Rules | Porter | (1 episode, 1991) |
| Golden Years | Major Moreland | (6 episodes, 1991) | |
| Home Improvement | Exterminator | (1 episode, 1991) | |
| The Torkelsons | Sheriff Bobby Clinton | (1 episode, 1991) | |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain K'Vada | (2 episodes, 1991) | |
| 1992 | Night Court | Mr. Willard / Spirit of Death | (2 episodes, 1990–1992) |
| A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story | Kevin McDonald | ||
| Eerie, Indiana | Mr. Chaney | (1 episode, 1992) | |
| Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter | Kevin McDonald | ||
| Murphy Brown | John Brophy | (1 episode, 1992) | |
| Civil Wars | Mrs. Caldecott's Lawyer | (2 episodes, 1992) | |
| 1993 | Northern Exposure | Brother Timothy | (1 episode, 1993) |
| The Golden Palace | Mr. Tucker | (1 episode, 1993) | |
| Quantum Leap | John Tremaine Jr. | (1 episode, 1993) | |
| Class of '61 | |||
| Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story | Dr. Kirby | ||
| Sirens | George Bailey | (1 episode, 1993) | |
| Blossom | Louie | (4 episodes, 1993) | |
| In the Heat of the Night | Raymond Mercer | (1 episode, 1993) | |
| 1994 | L.A. Law | Atty. Brandon McCafferty | (4 episodes, 1990–1994) |
| NYPD Blue | IAB Sgt. Fulmer | (1 episode, 1994) | |
| Harts of the West | R.O | (15 episodes, 1993–1994) | |
| Party of Five | Football Coach | (1 episode, 1994) | |
| Sweet Justice | (1 episode, 1994) | ||
| Diagnosis Murder | Charlie Lane | (1 episode, 1994) | |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Trumpet Playing Mental Patient | (1 episode, 1995) |
| Cybill | Phil Asher | (1 episode, 1995) | |
| Christy | Clarence Sweetwater | (1 episode, 1995) | |
| VR.5 | F.A.A. Negotiator | (1 episode, 1995) | |
| In the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice | Jaan Laaman | ||
| 1996 | Seinfeld | Mr. Lager | (1 episode, 1996) |
| The Lottery | Graham Dunbar | ||
| Pandora's Clock | Mark Hastings | ||
| The Road to Galveston | Ed Kirkman | ||
| 1997 | steve.oedekerk.com | ||
| From the Earth to the Moon | Chris Kraft | (5 episodes, 1998) | |
| Profiler | Houston Plant Manager | (1 episode, 1998) | |
| 1999 | NewsRadio | Jimmy James | (97 episodes, 1995–1999) |
| Superman: The Animated Series | Revered Amos Howell/Unity | (1 episode, 1999) | |
| The Sissy Duckling | Big Ducky | ||
| Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | Dr. Donovan | (unknown episodes) | |
| 2001 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Sheriff / Sentry #2 | (3 episodes, 2000) |
| 2001 | Me & My Needs | ||
| The Andy Dick Show | Manager of 98+1 Store | (1 episode, 2001) | |
| The Norm Show | Mr. Sweeney | (2 episodes, 2001) | |
| DAG | Senator Culpepper | (1 episode, 2001) | |
| Ladies Man | Gene | (30 episodes, 1999–2001) | |
| The Legend of Tarzan | Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt | (1 episode, 2001) | |
| Ed | George MacPherson | (1 episode, 2001) | |
| 2002 | Dexter Prep | Charles | |
| The Proud Family | Mr. Andrews | (1 episode, 2002) | |
| Malcolm in the Middle | John Pratt | (2 episodes, 2002) | |
| Just Shoot Me! | Dr. Drake Kelson | (1 episode, 2002) | |
| Justice League | Cat Man | (2 episodes, 2002) | |
| According to Jim | Al Crannis | (1 episode, 2002) | |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Michael Kirkwood | (1 episode, 2003) |
| 2004 | Grounded for Life | Tony Bustamante | (3 episodes, 2002–2004) |
| Frasier | Harbin | (1 episode, 2004) | |
| Brandy & Mr. Whiskers | Santa Claus | (1 episode, 2004) | |
| 2005 | Kim Possible: So the Drama | Cowboy Gambler | (6 episodes, 2002–2005) |
| Kim Possible | (Several) | (6 episodes, 2002–2005) | |
| Teen Titans | Val Yor | (1 episode, 2005) | |
| 2006 | The X's | Homebase | (6 episodes, 2005–2006) |
| The West Wing | Bob Mayer | (9 episodes, 2005–2006) | |
| The Path to 9/11 | Richard Clarke | ||
| 2007 | Random! Cartoons | Lance | (1 episode, 2007) |
| American Dad! | Dick / Dentist's Father | (7 episodes, 2005–2007) | |
| Slacker Cats | Tommy | (unknown episodes) | |
| Tripping the Rift | Chode | (39 episodes, 2004–2007) | |
| 2008 | Head Case | Pat Jennings | (1 episode, 2008) |
| Boston Legal | Ethan Melman | (1 episode, 2008) | |
| Chowder | Stilton/Dancer | (1 episode, 2008) | |
| The Sarah Silverman Program | Johnny Forrealz | (1 episode, 2008) | |
| Pushing Daisies | Dwight Dixon | (5 episodes, 2008) | |
| 2009 | True Blood | Eddie | (4 episodes, 2008–2009) |
| King of the Hill | Bill Dauterive | (253 episodes, 1997–2009) | |
| Californication | Ricardo Collini | (1 episode, 2009) | |
| 2010 | 24 | Bill Prady | (2 episodes, 2010) |
| Video Game | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Blade Runner | Early Q | |
References
External links
- Stephen Root at IMDb
- Stephen Root at Memory Alpha
- Interview The Oregon Herald