Jess Harnell
Encyclopedia
Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor
and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs
. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos
since 1998.
, New Jersey. He started his career with minimal experience. But in 1993, he voiced his most popular roles Wakko Warner
on Animaniacs
, and Secret Squirrel
on 2 Stupid Dogs
.
From 1994 to 1996 he supplied the voice of Sewer Urchin
in the animated series The Tick.
Meanwhile in 1996 he was Hunter on Road Rovers
. Harnell voiced Joe Tabootie on the Nickelodeon
show ChalkZone
, Petrol on Firehouse Tales
, Crash Bandicoot
in Crash Tag Team Racing
, Crash of the Titans
, and Crash: Mind over Mutant
, Lo-Lo in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
, Spyro the Dragon in Spyro: A Hero's Tail
and Spyro: Shadow Legacy
, Jerry in Totally Spies, Linguni in Pucca
, and Doctor Finklestein in The Nightmare Before Christmas
video game spin-offs, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts series replacing the late William Hickey
who voiced him in the film. In 2005 he voiced Buzz Blister in Tom & Jerry: Blast off to Mars.
In 2007, he replaced Neil Flynn
to voice The Plumber in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
. He also voiced the Smuggler in the Ratchet & Clank Future series. In 2001, he was the singing voice of Buster on Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
. He also voiced Captain Hero on Comedy Central's animated comedy Drawn Together
and he also does the voices of Wooton Bassett, and Bennett Charles on the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey
, plays the lead role of Finnian Jones for the Lamplighter Theatre Radio Drama, as well as Br'er Rabbit on the Disney TV show House of Mouse as well as in the Disney attraction, Splash Mountain
(both at Disneyland and Walt Disney World). He also made a few appearances on Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad
, both on-screen and in voice-over. His voice also made an appearance in NASCAR Rumble
, and is credited for in-game commentary in the follow-up game Rumble Racing
. Jess also replaced Brad Garrett
as the voice of Fatso during season 3 of The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
.
He voiced the characters of Ironhide and Barricade in Michael Bay's
Transformers, released on July 2, 2007, making him the only voice actor to play both an Autobot
(Ironhide) and a Decepticon
(Barricade). He returned to voice Ironhide once again in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
He also was in the short film Star Wars Cops: Troops as a Stormtrooper and in 2009, he voiced a character in the popular animated film Up
, which Ratchet & Clank
co-star David Kaye was also in.
Harnell's father was composer Joe Harnell
. He is the uncle of Jeremy Harnell. Based in London, Jeremy (aka- JC Harnell, sonsofwolves), is an award-winning, ambient electronic-music composer and graphic designer. Winner of 2011 People's Choice Music Awards, presenter - Natalia Tena
from the Harry Potter
series.
, which evolved from his previous band, Loud & Clear. With Loud & Clear/Rock Sugar, Harnell released four albums: 2003's Disc-Connected, 2007's self-titled demo album, 2008's Festival Of Fire, and 2010's Reimaginator.
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
since 1998.
Life and acting career
Harnell is originally from TeaneckTeaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, New Jersey. He started his career with minimal experience. But in 1993, he voiced his most popular roles Wakko Warner
Yakko, Wakko, and Dot
Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner, also known as "The Warner Brothers " or "The Warner Siblings", or just simply "The Warners", are the three titular cartoon characters featured on the animated series Animaniacs. The trio of red-nosed Warner siblings were considered to be the stars of the ensemble of...
on Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, and Secret Squirrel
Secret Squirrel
Secret Squirrel is a cartoon created by Hanna-Barbera. Secret Squirrel was one of two co-stars of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, but was reunited with Atom Ant for one more season in 1967...
on 2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...
.
From 1994 to 1996 he supplied the voice of Sewer Urchin
Sewer Urchin
Sewer Urchin is a superhero from the animated series, The Tick. He is the sworn defender of The City's sewers and has a Rain Man-like personality, frequently utilizing interjections such as "Yeah," "Definitely," and "Very ." He is somewhat unpopular with many superheroes from the surface, including...
in the animated series The Tick.
Meanwhile in 1996 he was Hunter on Road Rovers
Road Rovers
Road Rovers is an American 2D animated television series written and produced by Warner Bros. Animation that premiered on Kids' WB on September 7, 1996. It lasted one season and ended on February 22, 1997. Reruns continued to air until September 6, 1997. It was then on Cartoon Network from February...
. Harnell voiced Joe Tabootie on the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
show ChalkZone
ChalkZone
ChalkZone is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon. It was created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber, and produced by Frederator Studios for the Nickelodeon TV channel...
, Petrol on Firehouse Tales
Firehouse Tales
Firehouse Tales is an animated television series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, which premiered on Cartoon Network's Tickle-U preschool television programming block in the United States on March 4, 2005...
, Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot (character)
Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and...
in Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Tag Team Racing is a racing video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation Portable. A Nintendo DS version, which was to be developed by Sensory Sweep Studios rather than...
, Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans is an platform video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360. The Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions of the game were developed by Amaze Entertainment...
, and Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash: Mind over Mutant is a platform video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360. The Nintendo DS version of the game was developed by TOSE...
, Lo-Lo in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game video game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube video game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on October 29, 2001, in...
, Spyro the Dragon in Spyro: A Hero's Tail
Spyro: A Hero's Tail
Spyro: A Hero's Tail, is the fifth and final console game in the original Spyro series, and the ninth game in the series in all. Developed by Eurocom, it was the first game in the series for the Xbox, as well as the second game in the series for the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2. It is...
and Spyro: Shadow Legacy
Spyro: Shadow Legacy
Spyro: Shadow Legacy is the fifth handheld game and tenth installment in the original Spyro the Dragon series of video games. It is designed for the Nintendo DS and takes place after Spyro: A Hero's Tail...
, Jerry in Totally Spies, Linguni in Pucca
Pucca (TV series)
Pucca is a South Korean animated television series based on a series of shorts created by Vooz Character System. The series revolves around 11-year-old Pucca, a young girl who's in love and obsessed with a 12-year-old ninja named Garu. It also airs currently on Champ Vision and MBC in Korea...
, and Doctor Finklestein in The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
video game spin-offs, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts series replacing the late William Hickey
William Hickey (actor)
William Edward Hickey was an American actor. He was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Don Corrado Prizzi in the John Huston 1985 film Prizzi's Honor, as well as the voice of Dr...
who voiced him in the film. In 2005 he voiced Buzz Blister in Tom & Jerry: Blast off to Mars.
In 2007, he replaced Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
to voice The Plumber in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 video game console...
. He also voiced the Smuggler in the Ratchet & Clank Future series. In 2001, he was the singing voice of Buster on Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure is a 2001 direct-to-video animated film which was released on February 27, 2001 by The Walt Disney Company as a sequel to the 1955 feature film Lady and the Tramp. The story centers around Lady and Tramp's anthropomorphic puppy, Scamp, and his desire to...
. He also voiced Captain Hero on Comedy Central's animated comedy Drawn Together
Drawn Together
Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
and he also does the voices of Wooton Bassett, and Bennett Charles on the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
, plays the lead role of Finnian Jones for the Lamplighter Theatre Radio Drama, as well as Br'er Rabbit on the Disney TV show House of Mouse as well as in the Disney attraction, Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
(both at Disneyland and Walt Disney World). He also made a few appearances on Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad is an American television series. It was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultracom and DIC Entertainment, with distribution by All American Television , and ran for two seasons from September 12, 1994 to July 15, 1995 on ABC, as well as syndication...
, both on-screen and in voice-over. His voice also made an appearance in NASCAR Rumble
NASCAR Rumble
NASCAR Rumble is a racing game by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. The player or players can race through 18 different courses set in six different areas collecting powerups to aid them...
, and is credited for in-game commentary in the follow-up game Rumble Racing
Rumble Racing
Rumble Racing is a PlayStation 2 racing video game from Electronic Arts. It is based on EA's NASCAR Rumble, developed by the same team at EA's Redwood Shores location, which was released for the Sony PlayStation.-Gameplay:...
. Jess also replaced Brad Garrett
Brad Garrett
Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
as the voice of Fatso during season 3 of The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper was an animated television spin-off of the feature film Casper, which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics character of Casper the Friendly Ghost....
.
He voiced the characters of Ironhide and Barricade in Michael Bay's
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
Transformers, released on July 2, 2007, making him the only voice actor to play both an Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
(Ironhide) and a Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
(Barricade). He returned to voice Ironhide once again in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
He also was in the short film Star Wars Cops: Troops as a Stormtrooper and in 2009, he voiced a character in the popular animated film Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
, which Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank (series)
Ratchet & Clank is a series of platform video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PS2 and PS3 consoles, with the exclusion of Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank, which were developed by High Impact Games for the PSP...
co-star David Kaye was also in.
Harnell's father was composer Joe Harnell
Joe Harnell
Joe Harnell was an American easy listening composer and arranger....
. He is the uncle of Jeremy Harnell. Based in London, Jeremy (aka- JC Harnell, sonsofwolves), is an award-winning, ambient electronic-music composer and graphic designer. Winner of 2011 People's Choice Music Awards, presenter - Natalia Tena
Natalia Tena
Natalia Gastiain Tena is a British actress and musician. She sings and plays the accordion in the band Molotov Jukebox. In her acting career, Tena is best known for playing Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter film series, and Ellie in the movie About a Boy.-Life and career:Tena was born in...
from the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series.
Music career
As a musician, Harnell released his only solo album in 1995 called The Sound Of Your Voice. He is the lead vocalist in the Pop/Metal mashup rock band, Rock SugarRock Sugar (band)
Rock Sugar is a Los Angeles based band known for their mashups of pop music and hair metal from the 1980s. The band's backstory claims the sound was achieved when the metal band was stranded on a desert island in 1989 with a CD player, plenty of batteries and the CD collection of a 13 year old girl...
, which evolved from his previous band, Loud & Clear. With Loud & Clear/Rock Sugar, Harnell released four albums: 2003's Disc-Connected, 2007's self-titled demo album, 2008's Festival Of Fire, and 2010's Reimaginator.