Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who has played a multitude of characters in animated series and video games. He is known for his distinctively deep voice and has played mostly villainous characters since the 1990s. He was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for voicing the Joker in The Batman.
Richardson has usually portrayed villainous characters due to his deep and powerful voice. In 1995 he obtained his first voice role, as Mayor Tilton on the animated TV version of The Mask. His credits include Captain Gantu in Lilo & Stitch and its franchise, Shnitzel in the Chowder pilot, Goro in Mortal Kombat, the second voice of Skulker on Danny Phantom, Sarevok in the Baldur's Gate series, Jolee Bindo in ', Crunch Bandicoot in the Crash Bandicoot games, Tartarus from Halo 2, Chairman Drek in Ratchet & Clank, Antauri in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Openly Gator from Queer Duck, Doctor Payne and others on The Proud Family, Dark Laser on The Fairly OddParents, Maurice from The Penguins of Madagascar, Slam Tasmanian and Tech E. Coyote on Loonatics Unleashed and the voice of Exile in the 1990s animated series Road Rovers. Richardson also replaced Keith David as the voice of Tombstone on The Spectacular Spider-Man. He provided a character voice set for Icewind Dale: ' and Icewind Dale II. He was the voice of Heihachi in the PlayStation 2 game Soul Calibur II, though he is listed in the role as Victor Stone. He also voiced Stump Smash and Tree Rex in ', ' and '. In 2001, he voiced Barney Rubble in the animated movie'. In 2004, he became the first black actor to portray the Joker, voicing the character on the animated series The Batman, a role for which he was twice nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. In 2005, he voiced Trigon on the animated series Teen Titans, taking over the role from Keith Szarabajka. In 2006, he appeared in the comedy Clerks II in which he plays a cop who notices the words "Porch Monkey 4 Life" written on the back of Randal Graves' work jacket; he also voiced the elder dragon Terrador from The Legend of Spyro game series. In 2008, he did the voice of Bishop for Wolverine and the X-Men. Later, he did the voice of Nick Fury on The Super Hero Squad Show. He also voiced Tyro in Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2004. He often plays characters based on comedian Bill Cosby, such as on Family Guy, where Stewie is a contestant on the comedian's Kids Say the Darndest Things; as Cosby himself on The Boondocks; and Numbuh 5's father Mr. Lincoln, an homage to Cosby on '. His most frequent role on Family Guy is Jerome, Lois's ex-boyfriend. He also voiced Cleveland Brown, Jr., Lester Krinklesac and numerous others on The Cleveland Show. He currently voices Principal Brian Lewis on American Dad!. Richardson's voice roles include Panthro in the 2011 Thundercats series, Martian Manhunter on Young Justice, and, one of the Autobots in '. He played Kilowog in ', the video game sequel to the live-action film Green Lantern, and later reprised the role in '. Richardson was nominated for Voice Actor of the Year by Behind the Voice Actors in 2012 and in 2013. In 2015, Richardson provided the voice of a Nigerian king on The Simpsons episode "The Princess Guide". Later, he provided the voice of Judge Michaels in Tyler Perry's first animated film Madea's Tough Love. In 2018, Richardson provided the voice of Jimbo in , a follow-up of the 2017 filmThe Boss Baby.
Personal life
Richardson has been married to his wife Monica since May 2006. His wife also has two children from a previous marriage. He lives in Los Angeles and likes to work in Manhattan.
