Danny Jacobs

Comedian

**Daniel Charles Jacobs, Jr.** (born July 7, 1968) is an American actor, singer, voice artist, and comedian. He served as the voice of King Julien in the *Madagascar* franchise, substituting for Sacha Baron Cohen since 2008. In *Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted* (2012), he provided Julien's singing voice in the soundtrack.

Jacobs made his voice acting debut in 1999 with an uncredited role in *Full Blast*. He began his role of King Julien in *The Penguins of Madagascar* (2008–2015) and had reprised his role in the Christmas special *Merry Madagascar* (2009), the Valentine's Day special *Madly Madagascar* (2013), and *All Hail King Julien* (2014–2017). He also impersonated Baron Cohen's character Borat Sagdiyev (as well as a cameo appearance as a Pirate with an Eye Patch) in *Epic Movie* (2007).

Besides King Julien, his voice work includes the role of Rowdy Remington in *Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil* (2010–2012), Victor Zsasz in *Batman: Arkham Asylum* (2011), Special Agent Porter in *Justice League: Doom* (2012), Snake / Snakeweed in *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (2012), Grifter / Captain Cold in *Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox* (2013), Baron Mordo in *Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6* (2016), and Heinrich Zemo in *Avengers: Ultron Revolution* (2016).

## Early life

Jacobs was born **Daniel Charles Jacobs, Jr.** in Detroit, Michigan on July 7, 1968 to Danny Jacobs, Sr. (?-2011). He is the sixth of seven children.[*citation needed*]

Jacobs attended St. Matthew Elementary School and Bishop Gallagher High School (which later merged with St. Florian High School to become Trinity Catholic High School). He then went on to business school at Wayne State Universityfor 2 years. In 1988, he transferred to the University of Arizona and switched his major to musical theatre.[*citation needed*]

## Career

After graduating from the University of Arizona, Jacobs had acted in regional theaters across the country. He had established himself as a national voice-over talent with clients, such as Bissel, Blockbuster, Bud Light, Ford Dealers, GMAC, and KFC, among others.

In 1993, Jacobs originated the role of Chico Fernández in Jeff Daniels' comedy *The Vast Difference* at the Purple Rose Theatre.

In 1996–97, he won acting awards in Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin for his portrayal of Aram in Richard Kalinoski's "Beast on the Moon."

In 1999, Jacobs landed an uncredited voice role as Curt in *Full Blast*. In the same year, he appeared in his first live-action role in *Get the Hell Out of Hamtown*.

In 2003, he began touring the nation with "Triple Espresso: A Highly Caffeinated Comedy."

Jacobs portrayed Borat Sagdiyev and made a cameo appearance as a Pirate with an Eye Patch in *Epic Movie* (2007). When portraying the role of Borat, Jacobs did an impression of Sacha Baron Cohen.[*citation needed*]

In 2008–2015, Jacobs was a substitute for Baron Cohen as the voice of King Julien in *The Penguins of Madagascar*, again as an impression of Baron Cohen (Jacobs also provided additional voices in the series). In 2011, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for the role. Jacobs reprised his role in *Merry Madagascar* (2009) and *Madly Madagascar* (2013). In 2014–2017, he returned to the role in *All Hail King Julien*. In *Penguins of Madagascar* (2014), Jacobs once again reprised his role as King Julien. He had also done voice-overs in various commercials.

In addition to the jobs that led to *All Hail King Julien*, Jacobs had been doing voice-over work for animated television series, including *Phineas and Ferb* (in which he provided additional voices) and *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (in which he voiced Snake / Snakeweed), as well as several video games. He had said that animation, much like the theatre, gives actors a chance to play a wide range of roles. He said, "I can play any character of any ethnicity, any age, even any gender. And that's a freedom the camera doesn't give you. It's an incredibly freeing thing."[1] He also stated that King Julien is his favorite voice role and would gladly reprise his role if ever asked.[*citation needed*] Jacobs had received more recognition as King Julien than the character's predecessor Baron Cohen. In *Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted* (2012), Jacobs provided the singing voice of King Julien for the soundtrack.

He had a voice role in *Teen Titans Go!* as George Washington.