Who is Gary Anthony Williams?
Gary Anthony Williams was born on 14 March 1966, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He is a comedian, actor and voice actor, perhaps best known for his work as a recurring guest in the television series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” He’s also done voice work for various AAA video game titles, such as “Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm” and “Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty”.
The Net Worth of Gary Anthony Williams
As of early-2020, Gary Anthony Williams’ net worth is estimated to be over $2 million, earned through a successful career in the entertainment industry since 1999, especially on numerous popular television programs.
Early Life and Acting Beginnings
Gary Anthony grew up in nearby Fayetteville, and discovered a love for acting during high school. He was signing up for classes when an error accidentally put him inside a drama class. He was too lazy to correct it and took the class anyway, resulting in his desire to pursue a career in that craft. After matriculating from high school, he became increasingly active with the comedy and theatrical circuit around Georgia, particularly in Atlanta.
He appeared in the Georgia Shakespeare Festival both as a performer and a writer, but eventually became a part of Laughing Matters, which is the oldest improvisational comedy group in the area.
He performed numerous shows with the group, and eventually landed a few guest roles in television including “In the Heat of the Night” as it was filmed in Atlanta. Desiring to have more opportunities in the field, he moved to Los Angeles in 1998, and the following year gained his first role as the unnamed bailiff of “The Amanda Show”, appearing during skits of Judge Trudy, a role he held for a year.
Rise to Fame
In 2000, Williams gained more attention as he was cast as Stevie’s dad Abe Kenarban in the show “Malcolm in the Middle”.
The sitcom follows the life of the titular character Malcolm played by Frankie Muniz as he navigates a dysfunctional family, with other stars of the show including Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek. The show gained a lot of positive reviews and praise during its entire run, becoming one of the most successful of the Fox network.
Concurrently he was also a regular performer in the comedy sketch series “Blue Collar TV”, joining Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engval. In the 2000s, he continued work on television with guest appearances in popular shows of the time such as “Boston Legal” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”.
He also found regular work in Adult Swim, the late-night programming for the Cartoon Network, working on numerous shows, such as on “The Eric Andre Show” as the voice-over announcer, and began foraying into more voice work, playing the character Riff Tamson in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
Voice Acting and Recent Television Projects
In 2010 Gary Anthony lent his voice for the villain Thunderball in “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”. He also worked for several episodes of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” as the voice of the villain Mongul. While doing voice work, he didn’t neglect his live acting performances, such as in “Two and a Half Men” and “How I Met Your Mother”.
He also continued his love for comedy sketch and improvisational work, joining the show “Mad”. In the 2010s, he was a voice character for several children’s shows, including “Sheriff Callie’s Wild West” in which he plays Dusty Dan and Dirty Dan. He also voiced Mr. McStuffins in the show “Doc McStuffins”.
In 2012, he was cast as Lester, a recurring character in the sitcom “The Soul Man”. It follows the story of a star singer who discovers a passion for preaching, leading to complications with his family who don’t want to give up the life of a celebrity. A few of his latest projects include the television show revival of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” which resurfaced in 2013.
He also voices for the programs “Puppy Dog Pals” and “Star Wars Rebels”.
Film Work
While Williams has been noted mostly for his television work, he’s also worked on films his entire career. Some of his most notable projects include “Undercover Brother” and “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”, the latter a story following the titular characters, and the first installment of the “Harold & Kumar” franchise starring Kal Penn along with John Cho in the stoner comedy film, following the duo in their unusual endeavors involving marijuana.
He’s also done voice work for films as heard in “The Trumpet and the Swan”.
In 2013, he played the character Melvin in the film “House Party: Tonight’s the Night”. Recent years have seen him focus more on voice work for films, especially in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” which had a lot of heavy CGI work revolving around the unusual Turtles characters and their foes. In 2018, he voiced the demon in the horror film “Truth or Dare”, starring Tyler Posey and Lucy Hale, which received generally negative reviews due to the alleged lack of originality and scares.
Personal Life
Gary Anthony is married to Leslie Williams though he rarely talks about his wife or their relationship, keeping it out of the spotlight. He is a vegetarian, and proclaims himself as the largest vegetarian living in the state of California. During his later career, many of his fans have noticed a significant change in his physique as he dropped weight significantly, and even looks younger than he did when he started his career. He claims that daily workouts and cutting down on his carbohydrates have significantly helped with his health as well as his weight – he had a real wake-up call when he discovered that his weight was around the 360-pound mark.