J. Lee

**J. Lee**, stylized in the opening credits as **J Lee**, is an American actor, writer, and musician who portrays Navigator, and later Chief Engineer, John LaMarr in *The Orville*.

## Background

J. Lee was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Unlike many other members of the main cast, Lee was not interested in science fiction as a child, instead preferring the works of Stephen King. King's emphasis for detailed world-building sparked an interest in Lee for large-scale, immersive storytelling like The Orville.

Lee attended Indiana University - Bloomington where he received a bachelor's degree from the Jacobs School of Music. After matriculation, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in film and worked at a Guess clothing retail store to support himself.

Lee's first job in Hollywood was as a receptionist for Fuzzy Door Productions, the production company for *Family Guy* (and later for The Orville). He was quickly coined the "bartender of Family Guy" because staff often conversed with him in their free time - including Seth MacFarlane. Soon, Lee was invited out to the writers' karaoke nights, which led to voice-over work. His first gig was as a black leprechaun on the MacFarlane show *American Dad!*

Later, MacFarlane launched a new cartoon sitcom, *The Cleveland Show*, which attracted the interest of Lee. During one of their nights out, Lee asked about the status of the new program and was hired a week later.

In addition to acting in short films and doing voice-over for other MacFarlane shows like *Family Guy* and *American Dad!*, he also worked as a production assistant on *Family Guy* and a writer for *The Cleveland Show*.

## The Orville

Around August 2015, Seth MacFarlane took J. Lee out for dinner. Lee at the time was trying to gather support to start a show called *Two Black Dudes*. MacFarlane nonchalantly mentioned that Lee would be perfect for a certain character on an upcoming project and asked if he was interested in acting in someone else's work. Lee accepted his, albeit vague, proposal but did not hear back from him. Unbeknownst to Lee, MacFarlane was also teasing information of the show to Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) at the same time.

Auditions began for the role of John LaMarr on The Orville, which Lee pieced together was the character MacFarlane told him about. "This guy says boom," Lee recalled thinking to himself while reading the script. "I say boom... Seth wrote this with me in mind." Part of the audition included pretending to hump a statue of Mella Giffendon (from *Majority Rule*). Several weeks later, MacFarlane told him the good news: Lee was always intended to play LaMarr, but MacFarlane needed him to go through the audition process first. He was announced as a regular on the show on April 19, 2017 alongside Peter Macon (Bortus).

## Trivia

* His audition included humping a statue of Mella Giffendon.
* He is an accomplished piano player who has won several awards, including first place at the DeBose National Piano Competition, and played at Carnegie Hall at the age of 12.
* After winning the part for John LaMarr, Lee asked his friend Ahmed Best, who played Jar-Jar Binks in several *Star War* movies, for advice. According to Lee, Best told him to "[j]ust have fun no matter what people say or think.' Because some people loved Jar Jar and some people hated him. But he did his job."
* His favorite prank on the show was Isaac severing Gordon Malloy's leg.
* His favorite episode is *Lasting Impressions*.
* He hated sitting in the Social Correction chair and called the experience "creepy."
* When Grimes and Lee's characters worked together at the helm of the Orville in Season 1, the actors frequently goofed off between takes pretending to be hosts of a breakfast talk show. They recall that MacFarlane was annoyed by the antic.
* Lee filmed the movie *aTypical Wednesday* between Season 2 and Season 3, which included Mark Mammone (production assistant and Ensign) and Kevin Daniels (Locar).
* On the character he portrays, Lee says: "It’s loosely based on me but the more I play John LaMarr and really step into his shoes, the more I find things that are very different for John and myself. He’s outspoken and funny, but John can be very cerebral at times and a quiet observer."

## Interviews

* January 2019: *Cheddar*
* May 2020: The Mike Henry Show
* June 2020: Interview with Egotastic FunTime

## Notes

1. ↑ Lee said that the dinner occurred the same time MacFarlane told Grimes about the show at a party, and Grimes said the party was around August 2015. *See* TV Guide Magazine, "'The Orville' Cast on What to Expect with the New Series (Part 2)", YouTube (Aug. 24, 2017).

## References

1. ↑ "THE ORVILLE Exclusive Seth MacFarlane & Cast Interviews - #SDCC 2017". *JoBlo TV Show Trailers*. July 23, 2017.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "J Lee Interview | AfterBuzz TV's Spotlight On". *AfterBuzz TV*. Oct. 10, 2017.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Eggertsen, Chris. "How a 'Family Guy' Receptionist Rocketed His Way Aboard 'The Orville'". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Sept. 21, 2017.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 EPISODE 12 J Lee. The Mike Henry Show. May 6, 2020.
5. ↑ TV Guide Magazine. "'The Orville' Cast on What to Expect with the New Series (Part 2)". Aug. 24, 2018.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Orville Live Stream Q&A with Scott Grimes, Kelly Hu, J Lee, Peter Macon, & Mark Jackson. GalaxyCon. July 16, 2020.
7. ↑ "Peter Macon &J Lee Join Seth MacFarlane's Sci-Fi Dramedy, 'Orville'". *Shadow and Act*. April 20, 2017.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Afterbuzz TV. "Scott Grimes & J. Lee (The Orville) | San Diego Comic Con 2018". YouTube. July 21, 2018.
9. ↑ Sun - Main Stage | NYCC 2019 | SYFY WIRE. SyFy Wire. Oct. 6, 2019.
10. ↑ Sisk, Angela. "The Orville Panel Comic Con 2018 Part One". YouTube. July 22, 2018.
11. ↑ From THE ORVILLE To aTYPICAL WEDNESDAY | JLee Interview. Egotastic FunTime. June 11, 2020.
12. ↑ LaPalme, Kevin. "THE ORVILLE’S J LEE AND HIS LEAP OF FAITH". *LaPalme Magazine*. Dec. 6, 2017.