| Craig Anton | |
|---|---|
Craig Anton as James Gilmore on the set of The Mother of Invention. |
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| Born | Craig Ward Anton August 28, 1962 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, voice actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.
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Anton, eldest son of Antoinette and Arthur Anton, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He has a younger brother, Brian and two sisters, Toni and Megan. Anton graduated from Omaha Burke High School in 1980.
He attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and graduated in 1984. Anton began his career as a college circuit comedian in the 1980s. In 1984 he traveled the Mediterranean and Middle East as part of an all-comedy USO tour, spending two months in Turkey, Greece, Bahrain, Italy, Israel and Spain entertaining troops. In 1985, he was named Showtime's Funniest Person in Nebraska.
In the late 1980s, Anton moved to New York City and pursued some acting opportunities. Seeing there were more open fields in Los Angeles, he moved there.
As of March 2006, Anton is currently living in Los Angeles, California with his wife Lesley Anton and two children, Ruby and Delphine
Anton guest starred on ABC's television drama series Boston Legal as Ray Richardson in the episode "Word Salad Days" on March 28, 2006. Anton made a guest appearance in HBO's television comedy series Entourage on July 23, 2006 in the episode "Strange Days".
Anton was in the movie Careless in 2007.
In 2010, Anton played the role of James Gilmore in The Mother of Invention.
Anton is a member of comedy group 2 Headed Dog with comedians Jim Turner, Mark Fite, and Dave (Gruber) Allen.
He is also a professor at California State University, Long Beach teaching theater.
During his three year tenure, Anton received limited screen time on the show. He primarily did a stand-up segment during some episodes. Aside from his stand-up routine, Anton was often cast as an extra or supporting character. Anton's most enduring character was Clorox from the "Star Trek: Deep Stain Nine" sketches. Clorox was supposed to be the main nemesis of the sketch and he was loosely based on Q from the Star Trek series. Anton also impersonated Dennis Miller and Nate Richert. Anton left MADtv in 1998, at the end of the third season.
Since leaving MADtv, Anton developed an extensive resume on television. He co-starred in several television series, including shows like The Army Show (1998), Random Play (1999) and Primetime Glick (2001). In the late 1990s, Anton guest star television series credits included Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995); Expert Truck Singer and Coach (1996). During the 2000s, Anton appeared in shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000); The King of Queens (2001, 2005); Ally McBeal (2001); Lizzie McGuire (2001); Everybody Loves Raymond (2002) and Weekends at the D.L. (2005). Anton has also appeared on shows like Premium Blend (1997) and Late Friday (2001) where he performed his stand-up routine.
In Phil of the Future Anton plays Lloyd Diffy, a father and a paranoid engineer trying to fix a broken time machine. Lloyd's main goal is to find a way so that he and his family can return to their home in the year 2121 from the year 2004, in which they find themselves stranded. In addition, Lloyd is a lover of older music and he works at a hardware store. He is also very paranoid about the government figuring out he and his family are from the future.
Anton has also promoted the show in other mediums. He had also appeared on the Disney Channel's Express Yourself segments alongside other members of the Phil of the Future cast.
Anton has appeared in many films. His film credits include Mail Bonding (1995), Deliver Us From Eva (2003), The Goldfish (2003) and Run Ronnie Run (2002). In 2005 he was in, D-WAR, in which he played a doctor. His most recent film is the 2010 film The Mother of Invention.
In 2004, Anton starred in the animated series Tom Goes to the Mayor. He provided the voice (and body) of one of the three city council members.
Along with comedians Ron Lynch and Brendon Small, Craig hosted the Tomorrow Show, a weekly live comedy show at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles, California. Though Anton and Small are no longer actively involved with the show the two occasionally make surprise appearances including a yearly anniversary performance.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Careless | Officer Bill | |
| 2005 | D-WAR | Dr. Austin | |
| 2003 | Deliver Us From Eva | Theo Wilson | |
| The Goldfish | Duncan Poole | ||
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run | Hollywood Agent | |
| 1995 | Mail Bonding | Poet |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Shake It Up | Dena's Father | |
| 2010 | Workaholics | Bart | |
| 2010 | True Jackson VP | Snackleberry Junction Chef | |
| 2004–2006 | Phil of the Future | Lloyd Diffy | |
| 2006 | The Office | Craig | Regional Manager, Dunder-Mifflin Albany |
| 2006 | Boston Legal | Ray Richardson | |
| 2005 | Weekends at the DL | Winston Sicklebee | |
| 2003 | Lucky | Unknown | |
| 2002 | Live From Baghdad | American Hostage #2 | |
| 2002 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Neil | |
| 2001–2005 | The King of Queens | Neal Berger / Mitch | |
| 2001 | Primetime Glick | Various Characters | |
| Ally McBeal | Roger Clayton | ||
| Late Friday | Himself | ||
| Lizzie McGuire | Mr. Pettus | ||
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Craig | |
| 1999 | Random Play | Various Roles | |
| 1998 | The Army Show | Lt. Branford Handy | |
| Driven to Drink | The Bartender | ||
| 1996 | Coach | Brian | |
| 1995–1998 | MADtv | Various Characters | Sketch Comedy |
| First Time Out | Nathan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | City Council Member/Various | TV Series |
| 1995 | Mr. Show with Bob and David | Expert Truck | TV Series |
Anton was nominated for the National Association for Campus Activities Campus Entertainer of the Year award three times.