Alan Wray Tudyk is a popular American actor and voice artist who is best known to play the role of Hoban `Wash` Washburne in the TV series Firefly. He is also is known to lend his voice in several Walt Disney Animation Studios` films like Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, Zootopia and Moana.

Early Life
Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Plano, Texas Tudyk is the son of Betty Loyce and Timothy Nicholas Tudyk. His father has a Polish descent and his mother has English, German and Scottish ancestry. The actor attended Plano Senior High School and later went to study drama at the Methodist-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. While studying in college, he played Beaver Smith in a New Mexico summer stock theater production of Billy the Kid. Before venturing into acting, he had a brief experience as a stand-up comic but he eventually quit because an angry audience member threatened to kill him.

Personal Life
Alan Tudyk got engaged to Charissa Barton, a choreographer in December 2015 and about a year later, the two walked the aisle in September 2016.

Movie Career
Alan Tudyk made his debut on the big screen with a small role in 1997 with 35 Miles from Normal. The following yea, the actor appeared in Patch Adams, a semi-biographical comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bob Gunton. The film based on the life story of Dr. Hunter `Patch` Adams and his book, Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Maureen Mylander and Adams were panned by the critics but it emerged to be a box office hit.

At the dawn of the new millennium, the actor started working with some of the most established directors in Hollywood. In 2000, the actor had two releases, viz. 28 Days, an American comedy-drama film directed by Betty Thomas and Wonder Boys written by Steve Koves and Curtis Hanson. Whilst the former was a commercial hit, the latter was panned by the critics and bombed at the box office. After a shaky start to his career in the film industry, Tudyk got his major hit in 2002 but as a voice artist as he lent his voice to Lenny, a Homotherium in the American computer-animated buddy comedy film, Ice Age. The Academy Awards nominated film was the first of the Ice Age movie franchise and upon release in theatres it garnered wide positive reviews and emerged to be a blockbuster.

By 2004, Tudyk had established himself as one of the most accomplished actors and voice artist in Hollywood. He continued his good run with yet another hit film to his name as director Alex Proyas cast Tudyk in the Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan starrer neo-noir dystopian sci-fi film, I, Robot. Although the film got mixed to positive reviews and it grossed 347 million USD worldwide. His 2005 release includes the action-adventure movie Serenity. In 2006, the actor collaborated with director Carlos Saldanha for Ice Age: The Meltdown, the sequel to 2002 film of the same name. The film co-starring Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Seann William Scott received mixed reviews from the critics but turned to out a massive commercial hit, grossing 600.9 million USD.

Post the success of Ice Age 2, the actor had three releases in 2007, viz. Death at a Funeral, Knocked Up and 3:10 to Yuma and all the three were a critical and commercial hits. Tudyk`s next major hit came in 2009 as starred as a voice artist in the Hong Kong - American computer animated film, Astro Boy, which was loosely based on the manga series of the same name. The film directed by David Bowers and co-starring Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane and Eugene Levy and Matt Lucas got mixed critical reviews.

After lending his voice to several characters in animated films like Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and Ice Age: Continental Drift, the third film in the series, Tudyk finally was rewarded with an Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for Wreck-It Ralph. The 2012 film was directed by Rich Moore and it won Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature nominations. The following year, the actor lent to voice to the Duke of Weselton, one of the characters in the critically acclaimed animated film, Frozen. The film directed by Chris Buck andJennifer Lee had a massive following across the globe and emerged to be the third-highest grossing film in Japan that year.

In 2015, the actor appeared in Trumbo, a critically acclaimed film directed byJay Roach. The film had a special screening at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and featured Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane and Helen Mirren in the lead roles. His 2016 releases include Zootopia and Moana, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.

TV Career
After having already kick started his acting on the big screen, Tudyk made his debut on TV with Strangers with Candy created by Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris and Mitch Rouse and in 2007 it came to be known as a cult. Following his debut TV appearance, Tudyk played the role of Todd Peterson in a single episode of Frasier, an American sitcom, which was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. The same year the actor starred in one of the most significant TV appearances of his career, Firefly where he featured in 14 episodes.