Danny McBride

Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976[2]) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, which he co-created with frequent collaborator Jody Hill, and The Righteous Gemstones, which he created himself. He has appeared in films such as The Foot Fist Way (2006), Hot Rod (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Tropic Thunder (2008), Up in the Air (2009), Land of the Lost (2009), Your Highness (2011), This Is the End (2013), and Alien: Covenant (2017). He has done voice acting for Despicable Me (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Hell and Back (2015), The Angry Birds Movie (2016), Sausage Party (2016), The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), and The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021).

Danny McBride
McBride at Wondercon 2013
Born
Daniel Richard McBride[1]

(1976-12-29) December 29, 1976 (age 47)
EducationUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
  • producer
Years active1999–present
Spouse
Gia Ruiz
(m. 2010)
Children2

Early life

McBride was born in Statesboro, Georgia.[3] His mother, Kathy Rudy, and his stepfather both work at Marine Corps Base Quantico, as civilian support.[4] McBride has Irish, Scottish, English and Jewish ancestry,[5][6] with Catholic ancestors from Ulster who emigrated to Virginia in the 1870s.[7] He was raised Baptist and has said, "church was very much part of my life when I was a kid. My parents were really involved and went all the time."[5][8] His mother performed sermons in church using puppets, and McBride stated that his "interest in telling stories comes from her."[4] He was raised in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, where he graduated from Courtland High School and attended University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and became one of the "Three Flavas" along with director Jody Hill and Kris Baucom.[9][10][11][12][13]

Career

McBride was a second unit director for David Gordon Green's feature film debut George Washington. McBride made his acting debut in 2003, starring in Green's second film All the Real Girls.[14]

In 2006, McBride played Fred Simmons in the low-budget comedy film The Foot Fist Way, which he co-wrote with collaborators Jody Hill and Ben Best. His character later appeared in Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 26, 2008. McBride wrote and starred in the HBO original comedy series Eastbound & Down (also a collaboration with Hill and Best), as Kenny Powers, a washed-up former major league baseball pitcher with anger management issues. The series was produced by Gary Sanchez Productions, and the pilot episode premiered on February 15, 2009, featuring Will Ferrell and Craig Robinson.

On April 8, 2009, HBO announced it had renewed the series for a second season.[15] On July 2, 2012, HBO renewed the series for a fourth season.[16][17] The series ended on November 17, 2013. In March 2009, because of his role as Powers, he received an offer to play semi-professional baseball for the Pensacola Pelicans, a team in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.[18][19]

McBride in 2009 promoting the film Observe and Report

In 2010, he signed an endorsement deal with K-Swiss shoes and played the eponymous roadie in the Tenacious D music video for "Roadie" in 2012. McBride co-starred in the HBO comedy series Vice Principals from 2016 to 2017.

McBride voiced Duane Earl, a fictional talk radio host in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Earl, the owner of the Blaine County Radio station, is the host of Beyond Insemination, a segment where he converses with callers.

In 2017, McBride appeared in the prequel film Alien: Covenant, alongside Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender and Billy Crudup. McBride told Vanity Fair in an interview that he was both surprised and glad for the opportunity to be involved with the Alien movie since he had been a longtime fan of the franchise.[20]

In January 2018, two trailers were released online for what was supposedly a Crocodile Dundee sequel, titled Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home. The film was said to star McBride as Brian Dundee, the son of the original Crocodile Dundee. The trailers feature cameo appearances by Australian actors Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie and Ruby Rose.[21] From the beginning, various aspects of the campaign made some publications believe that film was an elaborate hoax.[22] It was later reported that these ads were actually part of a lead-up to a Super Bowl commercial for Tourism Australia.[22]

McBride served as an executive producer for the films, Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), which served as one of the final films for the franchise of the same name. The sequel trilogy is directed and written by Green, and produced by Jason Blum.[23][24][25]

Since 2018, McBride has been the face of bookmaker Coral's television commercials in the United Kingdom, playing a character called "Sports Rodstein", described as "the world's biggest sports fan (although not the savviest)".[26][27]

In late 2018, HBO ordered The Righteous Gemstones, the series from McBride and his Rough House Pictures label, straight to series.[28] The series also stars John Goodman, Adam Devine and Edi Patterson. It follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work.[29]

McBride celebrating at TIFF 2018

In 2021, McBride voiced Rick Mitchell in the Sony Pictures Animation film The Mitchells vs. the Machines.[30]

Personal life

McBride married art director Gia Ruiz in 2010. They have a son and a daughter.[31][32] He and his family reside in Charleston, South Carolina.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleActorWriterExecutive ProducerRoleNotes
2003All the Real GirlsYesNoNoBust-Ass
2006The Foot Fist WayYesYesNoFred Simmons
2007Hot RodYesNoNoRico Brown
SuperbadUncreditedNoNoBuddy at Party
The Heartbreak KidYesNoNoMartin
2008Drillbit TaylorYesNoNoDon Armstrong
Pineapple ExpressYesNoNoRed
Tropic ThunderYesNoNoCody Underwood
2009FanboysUncreditedNoNoHead of Security
Observe and ReportYesNoNoCaucasian Crackhead
Land of the LostYesNoNoWill Stanton
Up in the AirYesNoNoJim Miller
2010Despicable MeYesNoNoFred McDade (voice)
Due DateYesNoNoLonnie
2011Your HighnessYesYesYesThadeous
Fight for Your Right RevisitedYesNoNoMCAShort film
Kung Fu Panda 2YesNoNoWolf Boss (voice)
30 Minutes or LessYesNoNoDwayne King
2013As I Lay DyingYesNoNoVernon Tull
This Is the EndYesNoNoHimself
2014The Sound and the FuryYesNoNoPolice Sheriff
Don VerdeanYesNoNoTony Lazarus
2015AlohaYesNoNoColonel Lacy
Hell and BackYesNoNoOrpheus (voice)
Rock the KasbahYesNoNoNick
2016The Angry Birds Movie[33]YesNoNoBomb (voice)
Sausage PartyYesNoNoHoney Mustard (voice)
In Dubious BattleYesNoNoTramp
2017Alien: Covenant - Prologue: Last SupperYesNoNoTennessee FarisShort film[34]
Alien: CovenantYesNoNo
The Disaster ArtistYesNoNoHimself
2018ArizonaYesNoNoSonnyAlso producer
The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer HunterYesYesYesDon
HalloweenNoYesYes
2019The Angry Birds Movie 2YesNoNoBomb (voice)
ZerovilleYesNoNoFinancier
2021The Mitchells vs. the MachinesYesNoNoRick Mitchell (voice)
Halloween KillsNoYesYes
2022Halloween EndsNoYesYes
2023The Exorcist: BelieverNoStoryYes

Executive producer only

McBride at the 2013 WonderCon, Anaheim, California
YearTitleNotes
2011The Catechism CataclysmProducer
2012The Comedy
2013Prince Avalanche
2013Joe
2013Manglehorn
2015The D Train
2016Donald Cried
2016Masterminds
2017Dayveon
2017Flower
2020Fatman

Television

YearTitleActorDirectorWriterExecutive ProducerCreatorRoleNotes
2009–2013Eastbound & DownYesNoYesYesYesKenny Powers29 episodes
2011Good VibesYesNoNoNoNoVoneeta Teets (voice)12 episodes
2013Clear HistoryYesNoNoNoNoFrankTelevision film
2014ChozenYesNoNoYesNoJimmy (voice)8 episodes
2016AnimalsYesNoNoNoNoGregory (voice)Episode: "Turkeys"
2016–2017Vice PrincipalsYesYesYesYesYesNeal Gamby18 episodes and directed 2 episodes
2019–presentThe Righteous GemstonesYesYesYesYesYesJesse Gemstone27 episodes and directed 4 episodes
2023TelemarketersNoNoNoExecutiveNo

Music videos

YearTitleArtist(s)RoleNotes
2011"Make Some Noise"The Beastie BoysMCA
2012"Roadie"Tenacious DSebastian / "The Roadie"
2013"YOLO"The Lonely Island featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick LamarDrug dealerCameo

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2013Grand Theft Auto VDuane EarlVoice role[35]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2008Austin Film Critics AssociationBreakthrough Artist AwardPineapple Express, The Foot Fist Way, Tropic ThunderWon
Detroit Film Critics SocietyBest NewcomerPineapple ExpressNominated
2009MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Fight (shared with James Franco and Seth Rogen)Nominated
Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Television Series Musical or ComedyEastbound & DownNominated
Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV: Male Breakout StarNominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest EnsembleUp in the AirNominated
Awards Circuit Community AwardsBest Cast Ensemble[36]Nominated
2010Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Television Series Musical or ComedyEastbound & DownNominated
Writers Guild of AmericaEpisodic ComedyNominated
Central Ohio Film Critics AssociationBest Ensemble[37]Up in the AirNominated
Denver Film Critics SocietyBest Acting EnsembleNominated
Gold Derby AwardsEnsemble CastNominated
2014American Comedy AwardsComedy Supporting Actor – FilmThis is the EndNominated
MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest WTF Moment (shared with Channing Tatum)Nominated
2016SXSW Film FestivalEpisodicVice PrincipalsWon
Behind the Voice Actors AwardsBest Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film[38]Hell and BackNominated
2017The BAM AwardsBest Cast[39]The Disaster ArtistNominated
2018Fright Meter AwardsBest Screenplay[40]HalloweenNominated
2019Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Television Series Musical or ComedyThe Righteous GemstonesNominated
IGN Summer Movie AwardsBest TV Ensemble[41]Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media AwardsBest Original Song – TV Show/Limited SeriesNominated
North Carolina Film Critics AssociationTar Heel AwardHalloweenNominated
2022Austin Film Critics AssociationBest Voice Acting/Animated/Digital PerformanceThe Mitchells vs. the MachinesNominated
North Carolina Film Critics AssociationBest Vocal Performance in Animation or Mixed MediaNominated
Hawaii Film Critics SocietyBest Vocal/Motion Capture PerformanceNominated
Hollywood Critics Association Television AwardsBest Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series – Comedy[42]The Righteous GemstonesNominated
Best Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series – ComedyNominated
2023Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Television Series Musical or ComedyNominated
Gotham AwardsBreakthrough Series – Over 40 MinutesTelemarketersNominated
2024International Documentary AssociationBest Episodic SeriesNominated

References