Comedian and actor Harland Williams is known the world over for his hilarious movie roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines.Williams was born in to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Mary (O’Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served in the Ontario legislature. Williams has starred in numerous unforgettable roles such as the pee-drinking cop in “Dumb and Dumber””, the loveable horse-killing stoner, Kenny in “”Half Baked””, the hitchhiking serial killer in “”There’s Something About Mary””, the silent motorcycle stud Slater, in “”Superstar””, the goof-ball astronaut Fred Z. Randall in “”Rocketman,”” the whale-calling Sonar in “”Down Periscope””, and Robert/Roberta in the world of “”Sorority Boys.””Williams is also seen regularly on “”Late Night with David Letterman,”” “”The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,”” and “”Late Night with Conan O’Brian.”” He has done solo stand-up comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central, CTV, and CBC. In addition to his on-screen roles, Williams has provided voices for several animated productions including “”Robots”” and is also an accomplished author and illustrator of his own series of children’s books involving a little brontosaurus named Lickety Split.”
Harland Williams
Movies
Superstar
Orphan Mary Katherine Gallagher, an ugly duckling at St. Monica High School, has a dream: to kiss Sky, the most popular boy in school. She decides she can realize this dream if she becomes a superstar, so her prayers, her fantasies, and her conversations with her only friend focus on…
Fun Facts
Kevin Hearn, of Barenaked Ladies, is Harland's cousin.
Dropped out of Media Arts at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario to become a comedian.
Harland is the brother of Director 'Steve 'Spaz Williams of Walt Disney's The Wild (2006).
Harland once worked with Scott Rockett at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, along with Aisha Tyler and his "Employee of the Month"" co-star
Quotes
Did you know that pumpkins are the only living organisms with triangle eyes?
Did you know that rhinoceroses are just big, fat, white trash unicorns?
Did you know that you can't throw away a garbage can?
Did you know that elbow meat is the exact same texture as an 86 year old woman's nipple?
Did you know that KFC is just one letter away from being one of the rudest words in the English language?
I improvise a lot, that's kind of my thing. So we'll do three or four takes the way it's written, then I let the barn doors open, and I kind of rewrite every scene on the fly..I always improvise with the crowd. Sometimes it will be a 50 percent show, sometimes 70 percent, sometimes it's almost a whole show where I wing it. It depends on my mood, the energy in the room. For sure, a portion of it is just kind of winging it.
[on celebrity roasts] I've kind of stayed away from them. They're a little too mean-spirited for my tastes. I find them a bit insincere. Most of those people don't know each other. If you're going to take a jab at someone, you should at least have a bit more of a personal relationship with them. I feel like you can be funny and clever, as opposed to just outright vile.
It was such a pleasure to work with Eugene Levy. What a treat. That's a guy I grew up watching as a kid. Guys like that, they were hilarious and didn't have to be super vile or X-rated.
[on occasional moments of inspiration] I was walking around bored one day and I started filming stuff with my cellphone. There are all these shows where people are trying to do these outrageous stunts, and I thought it would be funny to do all these stunts that aren't outrageous, but then act like they are.. Again I was just bored one day, and it popped into my head, the idea of some guy thanking a robot. It made me laugh.