Top Three Thursday - Patrick Warburton

I've decided to have a little bit of new fun to keep myself writing on a regular basis - Top Three Thursday! Every Thursday, I'm going to pick an actor, director, producer, etc.. and pick my (you guessed it) Top Three favorite things that actor has done! The only requirement - the person I write about has to be involved a film coming out that coming weekend. Generally speaking, it will be movies or TV shows, but I'll also include other forms of media for the heck of it.

So, for my first Top Three Thursday, we're going to take a look at a very well known and equally under-appreciated actor, Patrick Warburton.

Warburton is a New Jersey native, born in Paterson (relatively close to my own home town!), but was raised in Huntington Beach CA. Before pursuing an acting and modeling career, he actually studied Marine Biology in Costa Mesa. Warburton is perhaps most well known for his performance in Seinfeld as the air headed ex-boyfriend of Elaine, David Puddy, as well as his praised, albeit short-lived,  performance in "The Tick". The rest of his physical acting career is most often based on his large physique and distinct voice, often casting him as dimwitted, buff, or social uncomfortable characters.

But most people don't seem to pay too much attention to Warburton's physical acting career. His distinct voice has gotten him voice work all over for advertising, children's TV, adult TV, animated films and other areas of voice performance. In fact, two of my favorite performances from Warburton are animated. What are they, you ask?

3) Joe Swanson (Family Guy)

I'm sure I don't need to talk too much about Joe Swanson, the paraplegic police officer from Seth MacFarlane's "Family Guy". Swanson is a loud, muscular police officer. His backstory for a long time involved falling off a rooftop on Christmas Eve after a fight with The Grinch, who was stealing children's presents. Swanson is a perfect demonstration of how Warburton is used best - short, sometimes even fleeting or unnecessary roles, enough to let his distinct voice give comical lines, but never so much that it becomes tiresome to listen to. Most of the humor from Joe is incredibly uncomfortable, i.e, jokes about going to the bathroom or having sex since being paralyzed. Most of the jokes would be incredibly tasteless or uncomfortable from any other actor. But Warburton's voice allows for a sensitive touch, a tone that lets us know its okay to laugh. It's strangely comforting, and probably the only way such a character could ever work.

2) Scott (Ted, 2012)

I don't know what it was about this role that had me laughing so hard, but it definitely is another role that only Warburton could put so much laughter in. Scott is a coworker of John (Mark Wahlberg), a rental car dealer, who may be gay except that he likes chicks. That's his own unintentional description. The film introduces his character through a story from the night before, where he claims he texted someone asking them to beat him up, and later texted them back saying "thanks". It's incredibly strange, a joke that for most people wouldn't work. But Warburton's use of the words "wasted" and "thanks" in such bizarre lines, as well as the inflections his voice uses, make it impossible not to laugh. Somehow, this man can make jokes about BDSM gay sex and have them actually work. Bravo, Warburton. The rest of the film he makes periodic appearances, each of which either reinstate possible homosexuality or just drop a zany quip about farting in your sleep. Real high-brow humor. My favorite. 

1) Kronk (The Emperors New Groove, 2000)

Because DUH. My earliest memory of Warburton's iconic voice is this movie, where he plays the zany, dimwitted, and shockingly multi-talented Kronk. The sidekick of the films villain Yzma, Kronk is given the task to kill Emperor Kuzco so that Yzma can take the throne. But instead of giving Kuzco poison, Kronk gives him a potion that turns him into a llama. Kronk then sets off with Yzma to find and kill the Emperor before he returns to the kingdom. It's through these shenanigans we see some of Kronk's many hilarious and zany talents. These include but are not limited to apparent super strength, hilarious attempts at stealth, squirrel communication, and apparently culinary ability. Simple lines that would be pointlessly put in to waste time for a cheap laugh are instead made hilarious, often times just through the repetition of a single word or phrase. In particular, I love one scene where he simply says "right" a few times, in his iconic voice. His interactions and relationship with his boss are both creepy and funny, often allowing both actors to demonstrate their comedic ability. I guess nostalgia wins out, my first memory of Warburton's voice is also my favorite. 

Check out Patrick Warburton as King Agamemnon this weekend in "Mr. Peabody and Sherman"!