Hate or love him, Uncle Ruckus was one of the most interesting and memorable characters on Adult Swim’s The Boondocks. Despite being a secondary character, Uncle Ruckus appeared in all episodes of the show. The Boondocks aired for 4 seasons from November 6, 2005, to June 23, 2014.
The Boondocks received critical acclaim for most of its seasons, having an ever-growing audience. The series centered around the Freemans family, a Black American family, and was set in the fictional suburb of Woodcrest, a predominantly white neighborhood. With a voice etched into the memory of millions of The Boondocks fans, here’s everything to know about the actor who voiced Uncle Ruckus in The Boondocks.
Who Was Uncle Ruckus In The Boondocks?
As far as antagonists go on the show, Uncle Ruckus was it. He had an intense hatred for all things African-American. Ironically, Uncle Ruckus had the darkest skin of all the black characters in The Boondocks. On the other hand, Uncle Ruckus adores and worships white people. It is the only reason he lives in Woodcrest, so he can be close to and smell white people. However, not only does he worship white people, but Uncle Ruckus believes he’s white and suffers from a self-inflicted, personally diagnosed “re-vitiligo.” He explains the condition as the opposite of what Michael Jackson had, which causes his “white” skin to turn dark.
With an obese, short-tempered, clumsy, and crude appearance and personality, it’s easy to spot Uncle Ruckus from a mile away. He also has a glass eye in his right eye, giving him a grotesque look. In the finale episode (“The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show”) of season 2, it was revealed that Uncle Ruckus was 102% African with a 2% margin of error after he had taken a DNA test. Not only was he devastated about the result, he tried to live his racist views by quitting all his jobs and “trying to live like a black man.” In season 3, episode 14 (“The Color Ruckus”), Uncle Ruckus’ backstory is revealed and told of his turbulent childhood and abuse by his father. It is revealed it was his mother who inadvertently instilled hatred for non-white people due to her inferiority complex and extreme internalized racism.
Gary Anthony Williams Voiced Uncle Ruckus In The Boondocks
American actor, comedian, and filmmaker Gary Anthony Williams was the voice behind Uncle Ruckus’ character in The Boondocks. The actor was 39 years old when the show premiered in 2005. The Georgia-born actor began his career in theater, performing with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival before branching out to screen. Gary Anthony Williams has had a successful acting career, with his credits extending from film and television, to web series and video games.
Although he may not have a famous name, Gary Anthony Williams has starred in several notable projects on the big and small screens. Interestingly, Gary Anthony Williams found a new passion in acting after a computer error mistakenly signed him up for drama classes in High School. He began taking the class after his laziness didn’t let him act fast enough to escape it. Gary Anthony Williams is happily married to Leslie Williams and is also a father of one.
Where You Know Gary Anthony Williams From
Besides his impressive voice roles in movies and television, Gary Anthony Williams has starred in several live-action projects. In the Eddie Griffin-led cast of the 2002 satirical spy action-comedy blaxploitation movie Undercover Brother, Gary Anthony Williams was cast as Smart Brother. He also played a supporting role in the star-studded African-American cast of the 2004 comedy Soul Plane.
Gary Anthony Williams was cast as Flame, the gay male hostess on the N.W.A. (Nashawn Wade Airlines) plane. Having lost a lot of weight over the years, Williams’ most recent movie appearances are the 2021 Christmas…Again?!, where he played Santa and Mayor Williams in Outlaw Johnny Black (2023). He also played Judge Flobert/Flobert in a recurring role in the sitcom Night Court (2023).
Gary Anthony Williams’ Other Notable Voice Roles
Most of Gary Anthony Williams’ credits in film and television are voice roles. Many of his voice acting on the big screen were produced in direct-to-video movie formats. Although he had a few voice roles before The Boondocks, his other notable voice roles came during or after the series aired. In Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series, Gary Anthony Williams voiced Mongul, Mongal, and Fun Haus in 3 episodes from 2008 to 2009. Williams voiced Ray Johnson and Duncan characters in 13 episodes of The Goode Family, which aired in 2009.
He has also voiced various characters in TV shows such as The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010), Mad (2010–2013), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011), Rick and Morty (2013–2022), American Dad!, and The Lion Guard (2016–2019). Williams also has credits in Bob’s Burgers (2017–2022), Star Wars Resistance (2018–2020), and SpongeBob SquarePants (2019–2023). Since the 2020s, Gary Anthony Williams has mostly starred as a voice actor on television. His most recent projects include Harley Quinn (2022–2023), Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Hailey’s On It!, and The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy. If you enjoyed reading about Uncle Ruckus’ voice actor in The Boondocks, read about the other voices behind the characters in The Boondocks.
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