Mike Henry is an American voice actor, comedian, writer and producer. He is known for his work on the animated TV seriesFamily Guy, where he writes and produces episodes along with voicing Cleveland Brown, Herbert, Bruce, and Consuela, among others. Henry is also known for co-creating and starring in the spin-off, The Cleveland Show and for his recurring role as Dann in the television series, The Orville.
Early life and education
Henry and was born in Pontiac, Michigan to artist parents and raised in Richmond, Virginia, with his younger brother Patrick. Their parents divorced when Henry was eight years old and the boys were primarily raised by their mother. He was awarded a scholarship and attended the nearby preparatory Collegiate School. Henry graduated from Washington and Lee University where he earned his B.A. in history and served as class president his sophomore-senior years. Although interested in comedy, Henry never believed he could make a career of it so instead opted for more “business stuff.”
Career
Early career
At 24, after a brief career in advertising, Henry moved to California to pursue acting. There he began taking classes at the Groundlings Theater and performing stand-up comedy. After three years in Los Angeles, Henry returned to Virginia to shoot short comedy films that he wrote and acted in. During that time, Henry often acted in his brother Patrick's student films at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was there that he was introduced to his brother's college roommate, Seth MacFarlane. The two quickly became friends. "We immediately hit it off and cracked each other up and kept in touch," Henry says. Henry later moved to New York City where he acted in commercials, studied improvisation at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and wrote, produced, starred-in and co-directed comedy shorts for Lorne Michaels’Burly Bear Network.
''Family Guy''
Henry’s break came in 1998, when MacFarlane contacted him about being part of a new show called Family Guy. Mike agreed and joined the project as a writer and voice actor. Henry has stated that the inspiration for Cleveland's voice was based on "this guy that had once played basketball with". During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears" he has been credited as a main cast member. Two episodes into the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes; all the cast came back for the series return. During its second season, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled. Despite the announced cancellation, in 2001 Fox decided to make the third season. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good. Soon after Family Guy was cancelled, Henry and his brother created the popular web seriesKicked in the Nuts, a spoof of hidden camera shows. Family Guy was renewed again in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its syndication on basic cable networks. Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works. In October 2017, Family Guy was renewed for its 16th season. On June 26, 2020, Mike Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color."
''The Cleveland Show''
On September 27, 2009, The Cleveland Show premiered on Fox. The project was created and executive produced by Henry, Seth MacFarlane, and American Dad!show runnerRich Appel. The show focused on the Family Guy character Cleveland Brown. Cleveland referenced the spinoff at the end of the Family Guy episode, "Baby Not on Board". The first season consisted of 22 episodes and was picked up by Fox for a second 13 episode season. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up two additional nine episode seasons, bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The show was renewed for a third and fourth season on May 9, 2011. The series was canceled after its fourth season on May 19, 2013 but reruns continue to air on Comedy Central in the United States and on MuchMusic in Canada. The series ran for a total of 4 seasons and 88 episodes.
Personal life
Henry is married to Sara Voelker Henry and has two children, a son, Jack and a daughter, Josie.
