David Herman

The shared hatred of printers

David Herman wasn't seeking mass fame when he joined the original cast of MADtv in 1995. His comedy style was dry, almost cutting, far from the physical slapstick that dominated American television at the end of the century. He left the show after just two seasons. He wasn't comfortable with the pace of weekly sketches and preferred roles with more edge.

His departure was a calculated risk.

In 1999, he played Michael Bolton in the movie Office Space. The character shared a name with a ballad singer and spent his days hating his gray job in a tech office. It was a role that captured the frustration of a generation of corporate employees. Mike Judge, the director, saw in Herman the ability to express contained but hilarious rage.

The movie didn't make millions at the box office, but it became a cult phenomenon years later. Herman earned a standard supporting actor's salary for a job that ended up appearing in thousands of parodies decades later. And although the public recognized his face on the street, he decided his future wasn't under the spotlights of the major Hollywood studios.

The Voice Behind the Cleanup

Starting in 1999, he lent his voice to the animated series Futurama. There he brought Scruffy to life, the janitor who barely spoke but was always present in the most absurd moments. He also played other minor characters such as Roberto, the psychopathic robot. Herman found in voice acting a refuge where his physical appearance didn't limit him from creating extreme psychological profiles.

The voice-over industry gave him the stability that film denied him.

In 2011, he joined the cast of Bob's Burgers to play Mr. Frond, the school counselor obsessed with order. His voice became indispensable to the series, and he took part in more than 150 episodes. But his collaboration with Mike Judge didn't end in the nineties. In 2006, he appeared in the satire Idiocracy with a small but essential role for the film's tone.

Longevity in the background

Between 2018 and 2023, he voiced multiple characters on Disenchantment, Matt Groening's fantasy series. Herman's work is meticulous because he shifts his tonal range without the average viewer noticing it's the same person behind the microphone. So his name appears in the credits of adult animation's most successful productions without any need for red carpets.

In 2021, he joined the cast of The Great North to voice Santiago Carpaccio. He is a tireless worker who prefers the sound booth to sixteen-hour outdoor shoots. Herman has taken part in more than 150 animated projects since he began his career at studios in Los Angeles.

Discretion is his greatest professional asset.

In 2023, he finished recording his final voice performances for the fifth season of Disenchantment. The recording studio wrapped up production after the actors completed their technical contracts. His name has continuously appeared on Fox payrolls for three decades.