Mike Henry (voice actor)
Michael Robert Henry[1] (born November 7, 1965)[2][3] is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his work on the animated sitcom Family Guy, where he was a writer and producer, as well as the voice of Cleveland Brown (until 2021), Herbert, Bruce, Consuela, the Greased-up Deaf Guy, among others. Henry is also known for co-creating and starring in the spin-off The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), for which he voiced Cleveland Brown and Rallo Tubbs, among others. He is also known for his recurring role as Dann in the television series The Orville.[4]
Mike Henry
- Actor
- comedian
- writer
- producer
1989–present
2
Early life and education[edit]
Henry was born in Pontiac, Michigan,[5] on November 7, 1965, to artist parents and raised in Richmond, Virginia, with his younger brother Patrick. Their parents divorced when Henry was eight years old and the boys were primarily raised by their mother.[6] He was awarded a scholarship and attended the nearby preparatory Collegiate School.[6] Henry graduated from Washington and Lee University (1988) where he earned his B.A. in history and served as class president his sophomore-senior years. Although interested in comedy, Henry never believed he could make a career of it so instead opted for more "business stuff".[7]
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
At 24, after a brief career in advertising, Henry moved to California to pursue acting. There he began taking classes at the Groundlings Theater and performing stand-up comedy.[8] After three years in Los Angeles, Henry returned to Virginia to shoot short comedy films that he wrote and acted in.[9] During that time, Henry often acted in his brother Patrick's student films at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he was introduced to his brother's college roommate, Seth MacFarlane.[6] Henry recalled in 2018, "We immediately hit it off and cracked each other up and kept in touch."[8]
Henry later moved to New York City where he acted in commercials, studied improvisation at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater[10] and wrote, produced, starred in and co-directed (with his brother Patrick) comedy shorts for Lorne Michaels' Burly Bear Network.[11]
Family Guy[edit]
Henry’s break came in 1998, when MacFarlane contacted him about being part of a new show called Family Guy. Mike agreed and joined the project as a writer and voice actor. Henry has stated that the inspiration for Cleveland's voice was based on "this guy that [he] had once played basketball with".[12] During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears" he has been credited as a main cast member.[13]
Two episodes into the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes; all the cast came back for the series return. During its second season, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled.[14] Despite the announced cancellation, in 2001 Fox decided to make the third season.[15] During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good.[16][17] Soon after Family Guy was cancelled, Henry and his brother created the popular web series Kicked in the Nuts!, a spoof of hidden camera shows. Family Guy was renewed again in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its syndication on basic cable networks.[18][19] Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works. In October 2017, Family Guy was renewed for its 16th season.[20]
Personal life[edit]
Henry married Linda Murray in 2002. They divorced in 2005 after three years of marriage.[6] They have a son together named Jack.[6] Henry has been married to his second wife, Sara Voelker, since 2007.[6] They have a daughter together named Josie.[6] Henry and Voelker currently reside in Henrico, Virginia.