El Paso Native Alan Tudyk

I recently read an article about character actors and their ability/freedom to give fascinating performances that lead actors are unable or not allowed to give. Most people have never heard of Alan Tudyk. In the article, he identified as a character actor giving great performances today and as soon I read it his name, I nodded my head in agreement.

Tudyck appeared in the British movie Death at a Funeral which was in theaters this summer. He played the nervous boyfriend who unknowingly took some hallucinogenic drugs. I think his most famous role to date is giving voice to the robot Sonny in I, Robot starring Will Smith. I thought he was British based on his voice but it turns out he was born in El Paso and grew up in Plano near Dallas. I grew up in El Paso so its a small world. I can't think of many "famous" people from El Paso. Sandra Day O'Connor grew up there as did ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson. The only other actor I can think of is former Miss USA Laura Harring who had roles in Mulholland Falls, The Punisher, and the TV show The Shield.

Tudyk has been busy this summer. He appeared as Doc Potter (sporting eyeglasses and a mustache) in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma. Also, he was in the film Knocked Up which I did not see.

He has built an impressive filmography. I, Robot which I saw in the theaters has been on TV a lot the last few years. It's a film that is a full of small pleasures - James Cromwell's narration, Tudyk's voice and the animatronic facial features of Sonny. He had a small role in a little known film called Wonder Boys (based on a Michael Chabon novel by the same name) starring Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes, and Robert Downey Jr. and others. Set in Pittsburgh, Douglas is a English professor suffering from long-term writers block, Downey is his dubious agent, Maguire his sexually confused student with enormous creative talent and suicidal tendencies, and Holmes plays another student with a crush on teacher.

Tudyk's list of credits goes on and on - the cult hit Firefly and the movie sequel Serenity, Ice Age, its sequels, and A Knight's Tale.