H. Jon Benjamin
May 23, 1966 — Worcester, Massachusetts
H. Jon Benjamin is an American actor and comedian best known as the voice of two simultaneously running animated television leads — Bob Belcher in Bob's Burgers and Sterling Archer in Archer — a feat unprecedented in American animation, delivered in a voice so distinct that it has become one of the most recognizable in comedy.
From Worcester to Alternative Comedy
Born on May 23, 1966, in Worcester, Massachusetts, Harvey Jon Benjamin got his start in Boston's alternative comedy scene in the early 1990s — a circuit that was producing a distinctive style of absurdist, deadpan humor quite different from the observational stand-up of mainstream comedy at the time. He broke through nationally with the Adult Swim animated series Home Movies (1999–2004), in which he voiced Coach McGuirk — an alcoholic soccer coach whose relationship with a precocious child formed the comedic core of the show. He also appeared in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist and other series. His voice — low, dry, with a quality of barely concealed exasperation — became a recognizable instrument in American comedy.
Bob and Archer
In 2009, Benjamin was cast as Sterling Archer, the narcissistic, incompetent superspy protagonist of the FX animated series Archer. The character's voice was a heightened, more aggressive version of Benjamin's natural register and the show became a cult hit. A year later, in 2011, he was cast as Bob Belcher, the dogged, decent burger restaurateur at the center of Fox's Bob's Burgers. For years, Benjamin was simultaneously the lead voice of both shows — a spy thriller and a family comedy — airing on the same network. The two characters could not be more different in temperament, yet both voices are unmistakably Benjamin. Bob's Burgers won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program in 2013.
Did You Know?
H. Jon Benjamin made an album called Well, I Should Have... in 2015 in which he played jazz piano — despite, by his own enthusiastic admission, having no piano training whatsoever. The album was intentionally terrible in a very specific way: Benjamin hired excellent jazz musicians, recorded himself playing random notes over their playing, and released the project as a meditation on amateurism, failure, and confidence. Critics weren't sure whether to review it as comedy or music. It charted.
Deliberately Low Profile
Despite his widely recognized voice, Benjamin is famous for avoiding personal publicity and maintaining an unusually low visual profile for someone in his position — rarely appearing in photographs and avoiding red-carpet culture. He has said he prefers working in voice acting precisely because it allows him to do the thing he loves (performing) without the aspects of celebrity he finds uncomfortable (visibility). He has done stand-up, sketch comedy, and on-screen acting roles throughout his career, but voice acting remains his primary and most celebrated medium. His continued work on both Bob's Burgers and Archer has made him a fixture in American animation comedy.