Why Mr. Nobody From Doom Patrol Looks So Familiar
Though it's still relatively new, DC Entertainment's aptly-titled on demand service DC Universe has already made a bit of a name for itself on the strength of its original programming. One of the platform's biggest hits to date came in the form of a star-studded team-up by the name of Doom Patrol. Based on the DC comic of the same name, Doom Patrol follows the adventures of the titular super squad, who, despite the fact that their "gifts" have left them alienated from society and deeply traumatized, still fight evil and work to restore order to the world.
Season 1 of Doom Patrol hit DC Universe in February of 2019, and found the likes of Negative Man (Matt Bomer), Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Chief (Timothy Dalton), Elasti-Girl (April Bowlby), and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) banding together to take on all manner of evildoers. Even as the faces of that crew will likely seem quite familiar to viewers, there's little question the face of season 1 villain Mr. Nobody will ring just as many bells. It belongs to the great Alan Tudyk, and we can pretty much guarantee you've seen it a dozen times or so on screens big and small over the years.
Here's why Mr. Nobody from Doom Patrol looks so familiar.
Alan Tudyk was frequently the best part of Joss Whedon's Firefly
Fans of super geek auteur Joss Whedon (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will need no introduction to Alan Tudyk. The actor has featured prominently in two of Whedon's small-screen series, though both are slotted into the "tragically short-lived" category. If you count yourself among the handful of Whedon devotees who stuck with his egregiously underrated sci-fi drama Dollhouse, you no doubt recognize Tudyk as the nefarious Alpha, who rose to prominence as one of the series' biggest bads in its mostly marvelous second season.
It's far more likely, however, that you recognize Tudyk for his work on Whedon's other Fox short-timer Firefly. Fans categorically refuse to let that series die, and rightfully so, as Firefly (even in its brief, 14-episode existence) remains one of the most wildly original and endlessly entertaining science fiction shows to ever hit the airwaves. It found a galactic war veteran (a never-better Nathan Fillion) leading a wily crew of outsiders on a series of thrilling adventures in the outer reaches of space.
Though the series was canceled by Fox after airing just 11 episodes, the Firefly faithful continued to fervently champion the show for years. So fervid was their devotion, Whedon eventually convinced Universal Pictures to green-light a big screen adaptation in 2006, and named it Serenity after the ship central to the adventures. Tudyk's beloved character Hoban "Wash" Washburn piloted that ship for every episode of Firefly's small-screen run and the better part of the movie until ... well, we all know what happened in Serenity's fateful final showdown, right?
Alan Tudyk took part in some inadvertent carnage in Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Yes, Alan Tudyk and his razor-sharp comedic timing were frequently the best part of Firefly, Serenity, and numerous other screen ventures over the years (see also: A Knight's Tale, Knocked Up, etc), but his scene-stealing talents have largely relegated him to supporting player status. He finally got a chance to step into the spotlight with a starring role in the gory 2010 splatter-horror comedy Tucker and Dale vs Evil, and the super-talented actor did not disappoint.
Following the misadventures of the titular, good-humored hillbillies (played by Tudyk and Tyler Labine), Tucker and Dale vs Evil found the not-so dynamic duo heading out to an isolated cabin for a good, old-fashioned weekend of drinking and fishing fun. Their peaceful getaway is interrupted dramatically with the arrival of a group of preppy college kids on a camping trip in the general area, and once the kids start dying off in a series of bloody, increasingly absurd accidents, Tucker and Dale are quickly branded as psycho hillbilly murderers.
Equal parts cabin-in-the-woods creeper and slapstick, gross-out camp-fest, Tucker and Dale vs Evil has become a bit of a cult classic in the years since its release, largely thanks to the hilariously dexterous work of both Tudyk and Labine.
Alan Tudyk played a friendly pirate in Dodgeball
Few of Alan Tudyk's early roles were quite as quirky, or as memorable, as his turn in 2004's Vince Vaughn-fronted sports comedy Dodgeball. The film followed the travails of Vaughn's small-time gym owner as he gets in way over his head in a desperate attempt to save his gym from bankruptcy and eventual takeover by a vile super-gym fitness guru (played with over-the-top hilarity by Ben Stiller). Said attempt finds the man forming an alliance with the band of misfits who find his low-key gym a safe space in which to keep themselves in shape while getting away from the bullying fitness junkies who frequent super-gyms.
It also finds said band of misfits out to save their beloved Average Joe's Gym by entering into an all-or-nothing showdown with the super-gym toughs: A lucrative dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas. Yes, that setup is every bit as absurd as it sounds, and yes, Dodgeball is absurd, too. It's also a riotously funny little anti-sports movie that finds Vaughn and Stiller in top form and surrounded by a ridiculously talented cast of comic all-stars including Jason Bateman, Rip Torn, Christine Taylor, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Justin Long, and Mr. Alan Tudyk.
If you're having trouble placing Tudyk's face in the film, try picturing him with long hair, a flashy bandana, a puffy shirt, and the speech patterns of a pirate. Yep, that was Alan Tudyk portraying the kindly Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball. We have to admit that, even after so many years, his is still the standout supporting turn in a film that's absolutely stacked with them.
Alan Tudyk got the biggest laughs in Death at a Funeral
On the topic of Alan Tudyk's more memorable early roles, we're sincerely hoping you've seen him in the O.G. version of Death at a Funeral. If you haven't, we'd urge you to seek the film out on DVD or VOD immediately, because it's one of the great underrated comedies of the past 20 years or so, and Alan Tudyk is at his best throughout.
Set on a charming estate in the UK countryside, Death at a Funeral finds a properly reserved Englishman (Succession's Matthew McFadyen) desperately attempting to preserve the dignity of his father's funeral. It also finds the event going off the rails in beyond-hilarious ways we have absolutely no intention of spoiling for anyone who hasn't actually seen the film. Just know that the plot of Death at a Funeral twists and turns in ways you'll simply never see coming, and that Game of Thrones vet Peter Dinklage plays a big part in the ensuing tragicomic hilarity.
So, too, does Alan Tudyk, who very nearly steals the show as the unflappably insecure Simon. Of Simon's arc in Death at a Funeral, we'll simply say he's on edge because his soon-to-be wife's former lover (played to sleazy perfection by Ewen Bremmer) is desperate to use the dour affair to win the woman's affection, and that Simon's day takes a serious sideways turn when he accidentally ingests a large amount of hallucinogenics. Needless to say, Alan Tudyk plays that particular twist with exactly the sort of comedic flair you'd expect.
It might just be Alan Tudyk's voice you recognize
As sure as we are that you've seen Alan Tudyk's face before, we can assure you that you've at least heard his voice. Even as Tudyk continues to book gigs in live-action roles these days, he's kept himself just as busy with voice work.
In fact, recent years have actually seen Tudyk booking as much, if not more voice work than anything else, with the actor voicing characters in Ice Age: Continental Drift, Wreck-It-Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Alladin (2019), among others. Still, Tudyk's voice is perhaps best known for giving life to Cassian Andor's lumbering, opinionated droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Some might even go so far as to claim Tudyk's work in Rogue One was one of the film's high points.
Though we'd argue that film's merits are dramatically underrated in the current Star Wars canon, we'd also fully acknowledge that Tudyk's contributions as K-2SO are second to none, and added dimensions to the character that rivaled the work of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. Luckily, Rogue One will not be a one-and-done scenario for Alan Tudyk or K-2SO, as Tudky is set to reprise his role for the upcoming Disney + prequel series, which still doesn't have an official title. Whatever they end up calling it, we're more than amped to dive into Cassian and K-2SO's pre-Rogue One adventures with the Rebellion.