Hello and welcome back to "Hey, It's That Voice!", where we look at the voices behind the voices behind the characters in We Bare Bears. Today, we will look at the voice behind the little internet celebrity, Nom Nom!
He's small, he's adorable, he's popular, and he's deceptively evil. Nom Nom might be famous, but that doesn't mean he's happy, as we have seen. Nevertheless, he wants to be adored by the masses, and he has been willing to put the bears' lives at risk for it. But, does Nom Nom have a softer side? Only time will tell. But who is the voice behind this little meanie? Why, that would be Patton Oswalt!
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| Look at Nom Nom just basking in Grizz's admiration. |
Born on January 27, 1969 in Portsmouth, Virginia, Patton Oswalt grew up in Sterling, Virginia. He graduated from Broad Run High School before attending the College of William & Mary, where he majored in English. He also has a younger brother, comedy writer Matt Oswalt.
He started doing stand-up in the late-1980s or the 1990s, by his own reckoning. He would often recall his early stand-up career in his stand-up, which often appears on his albums. His first stand-up album, titled 222, was released in 2003. The next year, an abridged version of 222 was released, titled Feelin' Kinda Patton. He would go on to release five more albums between 2007 and 2016; Werewolves and Lollipops, My Weakness Is Strong, Finest Hour, Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time, and Talking For Clapping. Each album would reach the top of the U.S. Comedy Albums chart. Oswalt would also share releases with other comedians such as Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, and Eugene Mirman, and even with the rock band The Melvins. Below is an example of his stand-up, which can be found on his album My Weakness Is Strong (warning: strong language).
Oswalt has had quite a career in front and behind the camera. For television, he first appeared in an episode Seinfeld. He would go on to have small roles in various television shows through the 1990s, including NewsRadio, Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Weird Al Show, and Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (voicing an animated version of himself). He was also one of the writers for MADtv for the first two seasons of the sketch comedy show. His most well-known role, from 1998 until 2007, was playing Spence Olchin in The King of Queens. Other reoccurring roles he has had in front of the camera include United States of Tara, Caprica, The Heart, She Holler, The Goldbergs, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As for Oswalt's non-reoccurring roles, he has appeared in quite a number of shows. These include The Man Show, The Fairly OddParents (as the Crimson Chin writer), Reno 911!, Cheap Seats without Ron Parker, Clark and Michael, numerous Comedy Central Roasts, Human Giant, Reaper, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, Flight of the Conchords, Iron Chef America, Dollhouse, Community, Bored to Death, The Sarah Silverman Program, Jon Benjamin Has a Van, Raising Hope, Two and a Half Men, Burn Notice, Portlandia, Justified, Parks and Recreation (a guest appearance that Critic's Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series which is shown below), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Mighty Med, Modern Family, Drunk History, Battle Creek, Veep, Maron, Inside Amy Schumer, Lady Dynamite, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Those Who Can't, Santa Clarita Diet, Dimension 404, and the revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
It should be noted that this was done in a single take.
As for animation, Patton has had his share of appearances on television, including a number for DC comic related shows. He had guest appearances in Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Home Movies, Crank Yankers (as a puppet), Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Kim Possible, Tom Goes to the Mayor, Squidbillies, The Batman, The Amazing Screw-On Head, SpongeBob Squarepants, American Dad!, The Venture Bros., Glenn Martin, DDS, Futurama, The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange, Bob's Burgers, Metalocalypse, The Simpsons, Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Archer, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (a role he has openly admitted he has done for his daughter), Pickle and Peanut, and Justice League Action. As for reoccurring voice roles, Oswalt has starred as Tobey in WordGirl, Pazuzu in Neighbors from Hell, Thrasher in Robotomy, Sockarang in Axe Cop, and Pinky Penguin in BoJack Horseman.
As for the silver screen, Oswalt has starred in a number of films both live-action and animation. He starred as Remy in the Disney/Pixar film Rataouille. He also co-starred in the film Young Adult with Charlize Theron. Oswalt also starred as the titular character in Big Fan. Other films that he has starred in includes Down Periscope, Man on the Moon, Magnolia, Desperate But Not Serious, Zoolander, Run Ronnie Run!, Calendar Girls, Taxi, Blade: Trinity, Starsky & Hutch, See This Movie, Failure to Launch, Reno 911!: Miami, Balls of Fury, All Roads Lead Home, Observe and Report, The Informant!, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Nature Calls, Odd Thomas, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 22 Jump Street, Nerdland, The Confirmation, and Keeping Up with the Joneses.
Unsurprising to many of his fans, Oswalt still has more work than just on television and in film. He has written for a number of comics, including JLA: Welcome to the Working Week, The Goon: Noir, Justice League of America. Lightning, and Serenity: Float Out. He has also written two autobiographies and two non-fiction books; The Overrated Book and The Rock Bible: Unholy Scripture for Fans & Bands.
Finally, Oswalt has starred in a few music videos for a number of musicians. The music videos include "Another Perfect Day" by American Hi-Fi, "Excuse" by The Ettes, "The Magic Clap" by The Coup, "Foil" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Will You Dance?" by The Bird and the Bee, and "I Love The USA" by Weezer. Oh yeah, he is also the male voice of Jesse for Minecraft: Story Mode.
Whew! That's quite a list of work from a single person! Join us next time for "Hey, It's That Voice!" when we look at the voice behind that lovable park ranger!
