r/KingOfTheHill • u/Mr_Dr_Prof_Jordan • 1d ago
Can we appreciate Stephen Root for a second?
I was just rewatching “O Brother, Where Art Thou.”
I’m cracking up because he’s doing the Buck Strickland voice and I’m in tears.
Between KOTH, Barry, Dodgeball, and Idiocracy; an absolute legend.
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u/alek_hiddel 1d ago edited 1d ago
One of my absolute favorite moments is when he voices the Buddhist monk that declares Bobby is not lama in Won't You Pimai Neighbor?
The line is something like "a difficult choice, but it is mine, and I made it". In that moment it is clearly Stephen Root. But he doesn't play it up into a racist stereotype. He conveys humility, strength, and the absolute conviction of a man speaking the word of god. So much wisdom in that simple little moment that could have easily been overplayed, or exaggerated into "Apu" territory. But no, treated with a delicate nuance far beyond early 2000's television.
Edit: "Tough call, but it's mine, and I made it" The exact line.
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u/feralfantastic 1d ago
That whole voice of god thing really benefited him in The Empty Man, when he was the mouthpiece for horrible eldritch beings beyond time and space.
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u/alek_hiddel 1d ago
I feel like there’s 2 ways to play god in a performance. You can either cast like Alan Rickman and make him elegant as hell, or give him a calm voice with an absolute confidence. Like a voice that knows the universe itself will bend to your command. Root pulled it off here, and similarly you had the chill cell mate/god talking to Brenden Frasier towards the end of Bedazzled.
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u/Direct-Status3260 1d ago
“Apu territory” man STFU
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u/alek_hiddel 1d ago
I know Apu was never intended to be racist. He was a great character conceived by brilliant writers and lovingly performed by Hank Azaria.
But the truth is that with the maturity of the average world view that we’ve seen come into play the last couple of decades, you can’t help but see that the character is racist. Every stereotype of Indians from the late 80’s, and a voice that is stereotype provided by a non-Indian.
It’s most damning to know that the character wasn’t just killed off in the name of political correctness, but that the voice actor said “fuck that, I’m not doing that character any more”.
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u/trentjpruitt97 1d ago
He’s one of the funniest voice actors ever. One of my favorite things is when he gives Bill or even Buck the random squealing sounds. The one for Bill is always like “eee, ahhh!” Well I can’t really describe it lol but you know what I mean. One of the funniest ones is when Bill beats his “diabetes” and looks at his bowling shirt. That sound effect in particular is what I mean haha.
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u/PurpleDreamer28 1d ago
I was a little surprised to see him in Get Out. He was the blind man who won the "auction."
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u/DavidMerrick89 1d ago
I went into that movie blind (fittingly) and was pumping my fist when his name appeared in the main titles.
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u/All_Lightning879 1d ago
Let’s not forget the GOAT NewsRadio
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u/KieferMcNaughty 1d ago
“Jimmy has fancy plans… and pants to match.”
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u/foxontherox 1d ago
Hands down the best voice actor on KotH. Fight me.
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u/Wowdavid2002 1d ago
I give Toby Huss the SLIGHT advantage but they are both leagues above everyone else
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u/99SoulsUp 1d ago
Leagues in what way? Both are amazing, but Johnny Hardwick absolutely blew me away as Dale. Do you mean in vocal range?
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u/NooNygooTh 1d ago
Toby is just so versatile, personally I give him the edge because of Cotton and Khan but I understand where you're coming from if we're just keeping it to this show. Dale has so many quotable lines and I love hearing Johnny as the racetrack/rodeo announcer too.
I'd also encourage you to check out Toby's work on the Venture Bros if you'd like to hear more funny characters of his.
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u/PerfectlyCromulent89 1d ago
He was also amazing on “Barry.” Plenty of comedic moments, but he also got to showcase his dramatic chops.
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u/Southern_Fan_9335 1d ago
He's perfection in Newsradio. I don't think anyone else could have played that character.
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u/BoydCrowders_Smile Get that penguin back here, I'm not done! 1d ago
He also plays a judge in Justified who only wears a Speedo under his judge garments (whatever that robe thing is called). His character on Barry is probably my favorite live action acting he's done, but that in no way diminishes his other roles - all great
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u/WayneS1980 1d ago
He killed it on Boardwalk Empire… his accent was great and his cadence was spot on for a southerner.
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u/Eldagustowned 1d ago
Dude is underrated and versatile. Gets me everytime watching o brother where art thou.
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u/dirk_510 1d ago
And a small part in the Ballad of Buster Scruggs
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u/wallsk9r 1d ago
Hes a solid dude in serious movies like Get Out and No Country For Old Men. And then do a full 180 and hes the goofy ass judge from Idocracy. That part never fails to crack me up.
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u/DallySagittarius14 1d ago
I bout shat myself when I was re-watching “Ghost” and he has a small part as the skeptical cop who tells Demi Moore about Whoopi Goldberg’s criminal history.
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u/DMmePuffyNipples 1d ago
Legit just saw him in an episode of Malcolm in the middle at the company picnic. Amazing actor
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u/timebomb011 1d ago
Jimmy James on news radio is my favourite performance of his. Such a classic sitcom! Sorta flies under the radar
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u/Kanzler1871 1d ago
His performance of Gaston Means in Boardwalk Empire was also fantastic
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u/Annhl8rX 1d ago
I love Boardwalk Empire and I love Stephen Root, but somehow I don’t remember that role. Sounds like it’s time for a rewatch!
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u/Commodore64Zapp 1d ago
Bud Gleeful, a used car salesman in the cartoon Gravity Falls - his voice sounds like Bill if he had a few pinches of Buck's pep and "charm"
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u/Latranis 1d ago
Some actors are good because their charisma is so high that they're THEM regardless of the movie (George Clooney is still just George Clooney in every single thing he's in); some actors are good because their characters are NOTHING like them or their other chacters (Rainn Wilson has a recurring role on Mom and not once did I think "yeah that's totally Dwight"). Stephen Root is amazing because he's simultaneously ALL of his characters and NONE of his other characters in everything he's in.
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u/ReticulatedPasta 1d ago edited 16h ago
Huh actually thinking about the body and quality of his work he’s kind of like John C Reilly. Hilarious actor + legit dramatic character actor.
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u/NewspaperAny3053 ⛽ JOCKEY! WORKS FOR TIPS! 💲 1d ago
"That there was some mighty fine ringin'-and-a-dingin!"
That's one of my favorite movie quotes of all time.
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u/Realistic_cat_6668 1d ago
He’s also The Man in the High Castle and if you haven’t seen him in a serious role yet, I highly recommend it because that man has some incredible acting range. He’s an incredible man and I always love finding him in things because he can do literally anything, and he’s so good at it that it takes me a long time to notice it’s him.
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u/Intelligent_Plan71 Boggle Playing Chicken 1d ago
He has a serious role in the From the Earth to the Moon HBO miniseries about the Apollo program
also Turn Washingtons Spies
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u/Master-Confection-21 1d ago
He’ll pop up when you least expect it. Watching a cartoon with my kid - Amphibia. The frog that is the Mayor of Amphibia sounds just like Buck Strickland. Sure enough, Stephen Root.
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u/Glittering-Voice-409 1d ago
He needs a lead role in several big money productions. He is very capable.
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u/RedfromTexas 1d ago
Also great as the Ben Franklin like character in Turn. And as the Man in the High Castle.
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u/JimboMagoo 1d ago
I wasn’t expecting him to be in Man in the High Castle. I had an “oh shit” moment when I saw him.
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u/DisPelengBoardom 1d ago
Stephen Root has my appreciation. I have always enjoyed the over the top billionaire , Jimmie James , the moping along the bottom , Bill Dauterive, and the most human vampire , Eddy .
Then the slow brained me realized all were portrayed by one great actor .
Sometimes, I think , why don't more people realize this genius .
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u/Mraliasfakename 1d ago
The mild mannered turn pots and pans wearing bank teller in Ballad of Buster Scruggs was a fun surprise.
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u/iamagoodbozo 1d ago
Stephen Root is the funniest man alive.
Of course Stephen Root is the funniest man alive.
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u/OffModelCartoon 1d ago
Stephen Root is GOAT, seriously one of my favorite actors of all time. He has such insane range. Like just think about how completely different his characters are in KOTH, Office Space, Get Out, and Barry… it’s crazy that it’s all the same guy!!!
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u/HaplessResearcher 1d ago
He was in an episode of the (extremely underrated) series FRINGE, and he absolutely killed it. Some of his best work, and one of the most memorable standalone episodes of the series. It was also a very serious role, so totally outside of what you typically see him in.
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u/spantaneous_joe0906 1d ago
I saw an appreciation post one time and one of the comments was that the best streaming service ever could be simply shows or movies with him in them. They weren’t wrong.
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u/MostlyH2O 1d ago
And don't forget his performance as Milton in office space.
He does really great work. One of my favorite actors with a lot of range.