Patton Oswalt

**Patton Peter Oswalt** (born January 27, 1969) is an American

stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and writer. In television, he is
known for his role as Spence Olchin in the sitcom *The King of Queens* (1998–2007) and guest starring as the Koenigs on *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* (2014–2020). After making his acting debut in the *Seinfeld* episode "The Couch," he has since appeared in a variety of television shows, including *Kim Possible*, *Parks and Recreation*, *Community*, *Drunk History*, *Reno 911!*, *Mystery Science Theater 3000*, *Archer*, *Veep*, and *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*. He currently narrates the sitcom *The Goldbergs* (2013–present) as adult Adam F. Goldberg.

Oswalt is known for voicing Remy in the Pixar film *Ratatouille* (2007) and co-starring opposite Charlize Theron in *Young Adult* (2011). Other notable film credits include starring in *Big Fan* (2009), *Nature Calls* (2012), *Freaks of Nature* (2015), *Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie* (2016), *Nostalgia* (2018), and *The Secret Life of Pets 2* (2019). He also appeared in *Blade: Trinity* (2004), *The Informant!* (2009), and *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty* (2013).

In his work as a stand-up comedian, he has appeared in six stand-up specials and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his Netflix special *Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping* (2016).

## Early life

Oswalt was born in Portsmouth, Virginia,[1][2][3] the son of Carla (née Runfola) and Larry J. Oswalt, a career United States Marine Corps officer.[4] He was named after General George S. Patton.[5]
 He is of Italian, Irish, German, English, and Scottish descent. He has
one younger brother, Matt Oswalt, a comedy writer best known for writing
 and starring in the YouTube web series *Puddin'*. While he was a military brat, his family lived in Ohio and in Tustin, California before settling in Sterling, Virginia.[6] He is a 1987 graduate of Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia. He later graduated from The College of William & Mary where he majored in English[7] and was initiated into the Alpha Theta chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.[8]

## Career

Oswalt began performing stand-up comedy on July 18, 1988.[9] After writing for *MADtv* and starring in his own 1996 comedy special for HBO, he went on to garner notable roles in films and television shows with his film debut coming in the 1996 military comedy film *Down Periscope* alongside Kelsey Grammer. His television debut was in the *Seinfeld* episode "The Couch."[10] His most prominent and long-running role was as Spence Olchin on *The King of Queens*.[11] His first starring film role was as the voice of Remy, the lead character in the 2007 Academy Award-winning Pixar film *Ratatouille*.[10] He has also appeared in smaller roles in such films as *Magnolia*[10] and *22 Jump Street*.

Oswalt wrote the comic book story "JLA: Welcome to the Working Week," a backup story in *Batman* #600; a story for *Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir #01* and a story for *Masks: Too Hot for TV*.[12] Expanding his voice artist repertoire, he began voicing the villainous character Tobey on PBS Kids GO! series *WordGirl* in 2007.[13] He also appeared on the *Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner*. In August 2007, he appeared on the *Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav*.[14] In 2007, he appeared on an episode of *SpongeBob SquarePants*, "The Original Fry Cook," as Jim. In 2008, Oswalt moderated a reunion panel of the *Mystery Science Theater 3000* cast at the San Diego Comic-Con International.[15]

In 2009, Oswalt played Paul Aufiero, the leading role in Robert D. Siegel's 2009 directorial debut, *Big Fan*. He was to star in a 2010 Broadway revival of *Lips Together, Teeth Apart*.[16] However, the show was postponed then eventually canceled due to Megan Mullally's departure from the production when the director denied her request to replace Oswalt due to his lack of stage experience.[17]

He starred in the Showtime drama *The United States of Tara* as Neil, an employee of Four Winds Landscaping.[18] He also provided the voice of Thrasher, a robot protagonist from the Cartoon Network show *Robotomy*.[19]

In 2010, Oswalt emceed for BookExpo America, promoting his then-upcoming book *Zombie Spaceship Wasteland* and introducing the evening's panelists: Christopher Hitchens, William Gibson, and Sara Gruen.[20] In 2011, Oswalt released *Zombie Spaceship Wasteland*.[21]

In November 2011, Oswalt played the role of Hurlan Heartshe in the surrealist comedy miniseries *The Heart, She Holler* on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. Also in November 2011, Oswalt appeared in *A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas*.[10] In December 2011, Oswalt played Matt Freehauf in Jason Reitman's black comedy *Young Adult*.[11] In 2012, he played Billy Stanhope, ex-best friend of Ashton Kutcher's Walden Schmidt on *Two and a Half Men*.[22]

As of September 2013, Oswalt narrates the TV series *The Goldbergs*.[23] He also had a recurring role as Constable Bob Sweeney in the fourth season of the FX series *Justified*.

Patton played the role of Agent Koenig on the TV series *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* He later appeared in separate episodes as brothers Eric
 and Billy Koenig. He continued to appear in the second season as Billy
and a third brother named Sam. In season four, he also played a fourth
brother, Thurston.

In January 2015, Oswalt's memoir *Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film* was published by Simon & Schuster. He also voiced the male version of Jesse in *Minecraft: Story Mode*, which was released in October 2015.

In November 2015, Oswalt was announced to be playing Max in the reboot of *Mystery Science Theater 3000*, as the son of Frank Conniff's character TV's Frank.[24][25]

Oswalt had a voice-over role in science fiction comedy film *Sorry to Bother You*,[26] which was released in theaters on July 6, 2018.[27]

Oswalt replaced Louis C.K. in the 2019 film *The Secret Life of Pets 2*, as the voice of main character Max. In addition, he reprised his role as Professor Dementor in the Disney Channel Original Movie *Kim Possible*, a live action adaptation of the 2002-2007 animated series.

On April 15, 2019, Oswalt joined a host of other writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the unfair practice of packaging.[28]

Oswalt at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International

Oswalt's stand-up comedy covers topics ranging from pop culture frivolity, such as comic book supervillains and 1980s glam metal, to deeper social issues like American excess, materialism, foreign policy, and religion. He also discusses his atheism in his stand-up. On February 28, 2009, Oswalt recorded his third comedy album at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It premiered on Comedy Central as *Patton Oswalt: My Weakness Is Strong* on August 23, 2009 and was released on DVD August 25, 2009.[29]

In November 2009, an animated video of Patton's take on New Song's Christmas Shoes was posted on YouTube.[30] The track isn't found on any albums. The audio is claimed to be recorded at Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC.[31]

Oswalt's album *Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour* was released on
September 19, 2011. The extended and uncensored DVD of this special was
released in April 2012, a few days after its television premiere on
Comedy Central.[32][33]

Oswalt's comedy special *Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time* was to be released on January 16, 2014, via online movie streaming website Epix, but was pushed back by the company for unknown reasons.[34] However, it did premiere on Comedy Central on April 6, 2014, and became available for purchase on April 8, 2014, in both DVD and CD format.[35]

Oswalt's comedy special *Talking for Clapping* was released on Netflix on April 22, 2016. For the album, Oswalt received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.[36]

Oswalt's comedy special *Annihilation* was released on Netflix on October 17, 2017.

In an episode of *Hiking with Kevin Nealon* on YouTube, posted November 14, 2019, Oswalt confirmed a new special, *I Love Everything*, recorded three weeks prior to the recording of the hike.[37] It is currently airing on Netflix and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy Award.

## Personal life

Oswalt married true crime writer[38] and journalist Michelle McNamara on September 24, 2005. They had one daughter together, Alice, born in April 2009.[39]

On April 21, 2016, McNamara died in her sleep in the family's Los Angeles, California,
 home. Her death was attributed to a combination of a previously
undiagnosed heart condition and complications from ingested medications (Adderall, Xanax, and Fentanyl).[40] The season-three finale of *The Goldbergs* was dedicated to her memory.

On August 1, 2016, Oswalt announced that he had been working to complete McNamara's nonfiction book on the Golden State Killer, which was left unfinished at the time of Michelle McNamara's death.[41] In September 2017, Oswalt announced that the book, titled *I'll Be Gone in the Dark*, was scheduled for release on February 27, 2018, and was subsequently available for preorders.[42] Less than two months after the book's release, on April 25, 2018, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department announced they had made an arrest in the Golden State Killer case. Oswalt posted a brief video to Instagram, saying: "I think you got him, Michelle."[43]
 He also posted on Twitter that same day, saying that he hoped to visit
the suspect if he was indeed the Golden State Killer, "not to gloat or
gawk - to ask him the questions that [McNamara] wanted answered in her
'Letter to an Old Man'" at the end of her book.[44]

In July 2017 he and actress Meredith Salenger were confirmed to be engaged.[45] They were married in November 2017.[46][47]

In 2013, he teamed up with PETA, spoke out against chaining pet dogs, and sent a letter to the mayor and members of the city council of Newport News, Virginia urging them to ban the practice.[48]

Oswalt is an outspoken atheist[49] and has referred to his atheism in his comedy specials: *No Reason to Complain*, *Feelin' Kinda Patton*, *My Weakness Is Strong*, and *Finest Hour*.

Oswalt's influences include Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor,[50] Emo Philips, Blaine Capatch, Bill Hicks, Bobcat Goldthwait, Sam Kinison, Steve Martin,[51][52] and Louis C.K.[52]