Titus Andromedon
| Titus Andromedon | |
|---|---|
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt character | |
|
Tituss Burgess (left) portrays Titus Andromedon | |
| First appearance | "Kimmy Goes Outside!" (2015) |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Tituss Burgess |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Ronald Wilkerson (birth name) |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Actor/Singer/Waiter |
| Significant other(s) | Unnamed wife (separated) |
| Nationality | American |
Titus Andromedon (born Ronald Wilkerson) is the main male character on the Netflix original series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Character life
Born Ronald Wilkerson in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, Titus Andromedon had an extremely awkward time in high school, stuck as a popular kid on the football team who girls wanted to have sex with all the time. He was selected prom king during high school.[1][2]
Titus is openly gay, though he has a wife (who believed he was dead) and is an aspiring Broadway performer. He auditioned for The Lion King on Broadway at least 20 times and never got in because he never came off as straight. He tried to put on his own production, but only got one audience member, who had simply come to show him copyright laws.[3][4]
His rival is Corialanus Burt (James Monroe Iglehart), who beat him for the role of Cow/Townsperson in Alabama!, an all black version of Oklahoma!, by running onto the stage in the middle of his performance at callbacks and announced a death.[5]
Titus rents from Lillian Kaushtupper (Carol Kane), and makes a few bucks by walking around dressed as an Iron Man-esque character. Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) becomes his roommate, and convinces him to return the costume and get back his investment fee, which, with some effort, he does.
Unfortunately, the money ($200) is stolen from him after Titus awkwardly sang "I'll Make Love to You" at a random man's funeral. He later gets fancy new headshots taken, and gets an agent. He then auditions for the role of Spider-Man #12 in the musical Spider-Man Too: 2 Many Spider-Men, a parody of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and over-crowded superhero movies. However, he loses to Coriolanus (after humiliating him), making him happy because he realizes the Alabama! role wasn't the big break he thought it was.
Titus then makes a music video of an original song, titled Peeno Noir meaning An Ode to Black Penis. Lillian films it for him, though finding the exact location is hard (including a bat-infested chandelier factory). As a result, he helps Xanthippe Voorhees clean up after her drunken party, in order to shoot the video in her house and keep from getting Kimmy fired.[6][7]
Kimmy then gets Titus a gig singing at Jacqueline Voorhees' dinner party, where he meets the owner of a spooky-themed singing restaurant, where he gets a part as a Frankenwolf. He auditions for a part at the restaurant with a monologue, but after he doesn't get it, he takes very intense acting lessons about how to act like a straight man.
Titus drags Kimmy down to Indiana for the trial of Rev. Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, where he takes all the TV and radio shows for her. One TV show starts without him realizing, causing his viral video Gonna Be Famous (Remix) to became an Internet hit. This video later led to Titus' wife, who believed he was dead, arriving in Indiana to see him.
Critical reception
Burgess has received critical acclaim for his performance. Many critics hail him as the "scene-stealer' and breakout character of the series. In 2015, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Comedy Series.
| Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Webby Award | Best Actor | Won |
| Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby TV Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy | Won | |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Tituss Burgess Talks 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' Playing the Gay BFF and His Real Housewives Addiction - Essence.com". Essence. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ Megan Garber. "'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' and the Rise of Empathetic Comedy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' breakout Tituss Burgess on his alter ego (and 'Pinot Noir')". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Tituss Burgess: You're Rocking This Thing". NPR. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Pinot Noir, Broadway Star! Get to Know the Theatre Folk Behind "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" - Playbill.com". Playbill. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Tituss Burgess Entirely Improvised 'Pinot Noir' On The Set of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'". Out. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ Yvonne Villarreal (31 March 2015). "'Kimmy Schmidt' composer Jeff Richmond on the show's viral-friendly songs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.