Karl Diedrich Bader (born December 24, 1966) is an American actor and comedian who has done supporting roles in comedies such as Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite, The Drew Carey Show and the Outsourced TV series. He is also a voice-over artist for multiple animated series; some of his roles include: Batman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold and JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, android Zeta in The Zeta Project, Warp Darkmatter in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the Fiskerton Phantom in The Secret Saturdays, and his recurring role as Hoss Delgado in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
Early life
Karl Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on Christmas Eve, 1966, the son of German-born Gretta (Lange) Bader, a sculptor, and William B. Bader, a foundation executive who worked in politics. His paternal great-grandfather was Edward Lawrence Bader, who was mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey. When Bader was two years old, his family moved to Paris, France, but he returned to the U.S. to attend Groveton High School. He graduated from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended college at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Career
After a few guest roles on popular television series such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Diagnosis: Murder and Cheers, Bader's first major role was in the 1993 series Danger Theatre, playing The Searcher. He moved into cinema acting for the 1993 film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, but returned to TV, playing Oswald on The Drew Carey Show starting in 1995.
Bader has had roles in animated features and TV series such as Ice Age, The Simpsons, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, South Park and The Penguins of Madagascar. He appeared in the 1999 film Office Space as Peter's mulleted neighbor Lawrence, and in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite as Rex, the owner of a Taekwondo dojang. He performs in the 2004 film Eurotrip as a thief. In 2010, Bader took the role of Charlie on the television series Outsourced. In 2012, he reprised his role as Rex in the animated TV series Napoleon Dynamite. He played the Russian Cosmonaut 'Yuri' in Disney's "Space Buddies". Bader has lent his voice to several different Batman cartoons, portraying both heroes and villains: Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, The Batman, and starring as the title character in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Bader also voices Guy Gardner in Green Lantern: The Animated Series.
Filmography
References
External links
- Diedrich Bader at the Internet Movie Database
- Diedrich Bader at AllMovie
- One on One with Diedrich Bader
- Diedrich Bader Batman: Brave & the Bold Interview
- Diedrich Bader Pre-debut Interview with Diedrich Bader on Batman: The Brave and the Bold