Patrick Warburton’s commanding voice and looming presence have made him one of the most recognizable character actors in Hollywood. Though often typecast into comedic tough-guy roles, Warburton has leveraged his booming baritone and intimidating physique to land numerous lucrative voice-acting gigs while continuing to land prominent live-action parts. Let’s take a look at Warburton’s early days, his rise to fame, interesting facts about the actor, and how he has maintained decades of steady work in the entertainment industry.
Humble Beginnings
Born in 1964 and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Patrick Warburton was athletically gifted from a young age, excelling at football, basketball, and swimming in high school. Though he initially pursued a career as a professional model, he soon caught the acting bug and decided to study theatre at Orange Coast College.
Early Acting Roles
One of Warburton’s earliest breaks was a role on the sitcom Dave’s World in 1993. Though only a minor character, this first taste of television prepared the aspiring thespian for larger parts to come. His intimidating presence also clinched him tough guy roles in series like Seinfeld and films such as the sci-fi western Screamers.
Though often typecast as a bruiser or bodyguard character, Warburton’s willingness to poke fun at his hulking physique landed him numerous comedic parts as well. His mixture of deadpan humor and brute force charisma was the perfect balance for iconic roles like David Puddy on Seinfeld and the live-action superhero series The Tick.
Rise to Prominence
Though he had achieved modest success on various television shows in the 90s, the early 2000s marked a sharp rise in notoriety and fame for Warburton. High-profile film roles in hits like Men in Black II and a starring voice part in the new primetime animated series Family Guy made Warburton a highly sought-after Hollywood commodity seemingly overnight.
Voicing Joe Swanson
While Warburton was portraying some live-action characters, his dominant voice acting talent earned him the role of paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson on Family Guy. The show’s immense popularity ensured viewers couldn’t miss Warburton’s commanding yet silly vocal performances.
The exposure from Family Guy opened further voiceover opportunities as well, as Patrick voiced roles in both TV shows and films like Disney’s Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and The Emperor’s New Groove. His voice could reach from booming depths to hilarious high pitches, making him an extremely versatile voice actor.
Scene-Stealing Supporting Roles
Even while his voiceover profile grew exponentially in the 2000s, Warburton continued landing scene-stealing live-action parts as well. He often portrayed pompous authority figures that served as situational foils for protagonists. These roles included a watching agent in Undercover Brother and a corporate exec in the comedy Big Trouble.
Perhaps his most hilarious counterpoint performance came as vain champion golfer Shooter McGavin in 1996’s Happy Gilmore. His overconfident trash talk and eventual over-the-top defeat to Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore caused many busts-a-gut moments in theatres. These perfectly-timed supporting turns kept Warburton in the public eye even as his voice acting took centre stage.
Wealth From All Sides
Thanks to over 150 acting credits in a nearly 30-year career in Hollywood, Patrick Warburton has amassed quite a healthy net worth. Various sites estimate his wealth between $30 to 45 million dollars. This nest egg comes from a variety of sources:
Lucrative Voice Work
A huge portion of Warburton’s funds have been earned in the recording booth instead of on camera. His two-decade run as Joe Swanson on Family Guy earns him approximately $75,000 per episode. With over 300 episodes completed, this equals over $22 million from that voice job alone.
On top of his Family Guy salary, Warburton has voiced characters in films like 2007’s Bee Movie, television shows like Disney’s The Emperor’s New School, and over 50 video games. With an hourly voice acting rate rumoured between $500 to $1000, Warburton has clearly bolstered his savings through voiceover work.
Long-Running Shows
Though best known currently as a voice actor, much of Warburton’s early wealth came from appearances and supporting roles in long-running live-action series. Beyond his breakout part on Seinfeld, the dynamic actor landed recurring roles on hits like the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement and sci-fi procedural The X-Files.
With regularly scheduled guest appearances and multiple seasons under his belt on these highly-rated shows, Warburton padded his bank account with years of steady primetime paychecks. Even just single episodes of top series can pay upwards of $50,000, so these ongoing gigs were quite lucrative.
Younger Ventures
While acting and voice work may provide Patrick Warburton with his highest annual earnings, the 58-year-old has begun exploring business ventures outside of Hollywood as well. He opened a brewery in 2019 called Pacific Plate Brewing. He also maintains an interest in auto racing, even trying his hand behind the wheel of pro races.
These budding ventures into brewing and racing likely represent Warburton’s desire to transition into less demanding work in the latter years of his career. They allow the use of his fame and connections without the day-to-day grind of voice acting or being on call for acting auditions. Still, with over 20 credited roles in the past 2 years alone, it seems a full retirement is still on the distant horizon for Warburton.
Interesting Facts
Beyond the considerable credits and accolades accrued during Patrick Warburton’s distinguished Hollywood tenure, he has accumulated some fascinating stories and little-known tidbits that bear mentioning as well:
Distinctive Voice
Warburton’s impossibly deep voice seems almost too unique to be real at times. But in actuality, that booming baritone is 100% authentic. In interviews, Warburton admits his mother heard him utter “Gesundheit” after a sneeze as a small child and immediately thought “, My goodness, what a voice!” The actor has certainly made the most of that natural gift.
Worked With Weinstein
Early in his career, Warburton landed a role as a bouncer in 1989’s Eddie and the Cruisers II. Notorious and now-disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein produced the film. Warburton reports he found the burgeoning mogul difficult to work with even back then due to his temperamental behaviour on set.
Oliver Platt Connection
In an interesting bit of Hollywood overlap, Warburton has twice played the brother of fellow actor Oliver Platt. First on the sitcom Working in the late 90s, then again years later on several episodes of Modern Family. The two actors’ similar heights and bearish builds sell them convincingly as siblings.
Lasting Success and Legacy
While so many Hollywood actors see red-hot fame fizzle into obscurity in a handful of years, Patrick Warburton has maintained sturdy success for over two decades. Thanks to a willingness to make self-deprecating fun of his hulking appearance coupled with an unmatched voiceover talent, Warburton transformed himself from a stereotypical bruiser into one of the most in-demand comedic performers in the business.
Giving Back
Now entering the elder statesman period of his respected career, Warburton dedicates more and more time to charity causes as well. He hosts an annual Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and similar pediatric care institutions. He also frequents events for Operation Underground Railroad, which aids survivors of child trafficking and exploitation.
What’s Next
Even after playing prominent parts in literally hundreds of films, video games, and television ventures, Patrick Warburton shows no signs of slowing down. 2021 saw him starring in the Apple TV series Physical while continuing his voice duties on Family Guy after over 400 episodes playing Joe. While he may further explore his brewing company and auto racing interests, acting clearly still runs strong in Warburton’s show business blood.
No matter the next phase of his impressive career, there’s no question Patrick Warburton has already cemented a lasting legacy in Hollywood. His looming height, bass vocals that could shake a room, and impeccable comedic timing will live on for decades in reruns, even if he chooses to walk away tomorrow. But with several potential projects still on the horizon, that tomorrow seems quite far off indeed. Whatever Patrick Warburton sets sights on next, his millions of fans will surely follow to witness more of that iconic baritone and outsized on-screen charm.
