Phil LaMarr

Phillip "Phil" LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction, as well as voice acting on the animated series Futurama, 'Wow Wow Wubbzy', Static Shock, Samurai Jack, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Transformers Animated, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as the video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the Jak and Daxter series of video games, Darksiders, Final Fantasy XII, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, inFAMOUS, and the Mercenaries series.

Early life

LaMarr was born in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Harvard High School in North Hollywood, and Yale University, where he helped found the improv comedy group Purple Crayon. One of his biggest roles at Yale was the title character in the British comedy Trevor. After graduating in 1989, LaMarr became a member of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings. He also studied improv at The Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. He has also improvised with Cold Tofu and Off the Wall. His early film jobs arose from connections from his improv and college years. For example, LaMarr appeared in the film It's Pat (1994), written by friends from the Groundlings, and he appeared in Bio-Dome because the director was a friend from college. However, his big break came in a small but memorable role in Pulp Fiction as Marvin (he would later reprise the role in a MADtv sketch parodying the film).