Why Two Buck Chuck From Alpha Betas Sounds So Familiar

The YouTube series "Alpha Betas" was an outgrowth of the VanossGaming YouTube channel and stars Vanoss' own Terroriser (Evan Fong), BasicallyIDoWrk (Marcel Cunningham), and I AM WILDCAT (Tyler Wine). In an interview with Game Informer, the three gamers discussed how the series came together starting with a simple conversation with Chris Bruno and David Howard Lee, the show's creators. Even the Vanoss team was surprised with the level of famous voice talent that Bruno and Lee were able to get for the pilot. "That was all Cris Bruno and David [Howard] Lee, our showrunners, and 3BlackDot [production company], and Starburns [Industries]," said Wine. "It was all of them making those connections. We're just very fortunate that they were able to do that, obviously." Cunningham went on to explain that they had anyone who was available filling in lines for other characters and were surprised when the animation came back with such big-name voice actors.

One of the voice actors that they said surprised them was the outlaw NPC from the pilot, the dastardly "Two Buck" Chuck. And even a group of geeks like the Vanoss crew had to be reminded whose voice it was. It was, of course, John DiMaggio, one of the most prolific voice actors in the whole industry. So where have you heard DiMaggio before? Well, lots of places, but here are some of the highlights of his illustrious career.

Probably John DiMaggio's most famous role is as the lovable, drunken robot Bender on "Futurama" across all of the show's incarnations on multiple platforms. In an interview with Madman Anime, DiMaggio explained that he created the voice of Bender by combining three different voices: the drunk in any east coast bar around closing time, Slim Pickens in "Dr. Strangelove," and a character a friend of his created called Charlie the Sausage Lover.

With "Futurama" returning for its third iteration, this time on Hulu, DiMaggio made headlines when he was the only cast member not to immediately sign on for the upcoming revival due to a contract dispute (per EW). In a statement he tweeted out in February, DiMaggio addressed the contract dispute that had become known as Bendergate. "I've been thinking about everything that's been going on these past months and just to be clear, I don't think that only I deserve to be paid more. I think the entire cast does. ... Bender is part of my soul & nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family. It's about self-respect." According to Variety, Bendergate came to a close in March after DiMaggio finally came to an agreement with Hulu.

In 2001 John DiMaggio was cast in the role of Samurai Jack's overly eager Scottish friend known simply as The Scotsman in Adult Swim's "Samurai Jack." In his first appearance in "Episode XI – Jack and the Scotsman," Jack is forced to cross a very long rope bridge, only to find a large Scottish man coming the other way. But when bounty hunters shackle Jack to the Scotsman, the two have to team up to escape the situation.

In a video for Adult Swim to promote the video game "Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time," DiMaggio talked a little bit about how much he loves playing this character. "It's just one of those characters that, when it comes back around and then you get the chance to play it again, it's just a joy." He also described the character as simply "the same voice I use but with a Scottish accent." Judging from the video, DiMaggio really does seem to get a kick out of creating The Scotsman.

Shortly after being cast as The Scotsman in "Samurai Jack," John DiMaggio took up the role of the primary villain of the popular animated series "Kim Possible," the diabolical Dr. Drakken. In a 2022 interview for the 20th Anniversary of Kim Possible with the "I Hear Voices" podcast, DiMaggio explained that, shortly after getting his role in Futurama, "things just started to snowball" and he started getting more and more voice acting gigs.

DiMaggio was asked by his co-stars in the same podcast what it was that made "Kim Possible" such an enduring phenomenon for 20 years, DiMaggio pointed to the show's character development. "There's always someone that you're just like 'I love that guy. Oh my god, I love that guy." He also praised the show for its ability to secure such big name guest stars as Ricardo Montalbán and Estelle Harris.

Next, John DiMaggio went on to play Shnitzel, the incomprehensible best friend of the title character on Cartoon Network's "Chowder." While Shnitzel only says the word "Radda" over and over again, somehow, other characters on the show seem to know exactly what he's trying to say. DiMaggio does a surprisingly good job injecting a different meaning into every utterance of the word "Radda."

In a 2008 panel at Comic-Con International, the show's creator, C. H. Greenblatt, explained the origins of Shnitzel. "Basically Shnitzel was, the idea when I was writing it was to say I want to take somebody and make him like Lurch from the Addams Family mixed with Chewbacca. You know, Chewbacca, everybody understands him when he just makes that sound." DiMaggio went on to add that apparently the word "Radda" is a vulgar term in Spanish, so in Spanish dubs of the show "Radda" is replaced with "Gabbo."

In Cartoon Network's "Batman: The Brave and The Bold," Batman is teamed up with a different hero every episode. John DiMaggio made regular appearances as several characters, but most notably as fellow superhero Aquaman, who frequently teamed up with Batman. DiMaggio's version of Aquaman was an egotistical hero with a tendency towards bravado. In his first appearance as Aquaman in the Season 1 episode "Evil Under the Sea!" Batman goes to visit Aquaman but finds that the ruler of Atlantis has reunited with his brother Orm, who turns out to be working with Black Manta to destroy the underwater city. Luckily for Aquaman, Batman is there to save the day.

In an interview with Lawrence Brenner for Nerd Reactor, DiMaggio was asked what his favorite part of "Batman: The Brave and The Bold." "The most fun I had was doing the songs. Singing all the songs, singing all the big numbers. That was a lot of fun. ... I had a blast playing with all the other actors, too." DiMaggio also played a host of other characters on the show, including Gorilla Grodd and Mr. Freeze, but Aquaman remains the one he's most known for from the series.

In the animated film "Madagascar," Rico the penguin, who mostly communicates in a series of grunts, was played by Jeffery Katzenberg. However, when the spin-off TV series "The Penguins of Madagascar" came out, Katzenberg was replaced with none other than John DiMaggio.

In an interview at Comic Con in 2011 with NeoFGD, John DiMaggio was asked what the most fun part of making "The Penguins of Madagascar" was, and DiMaggio couldn't pin down one particular memory. "Every moment in the studio is ridiculous," DiMaggio said. "We always have a fun time. We could be done with the show in a half hour, [but] it takes us three hours." It does seem to be a common theme amongst all his roles that DiMaggio just has a great time recording all of them. It's also the another role where DiMaggio has to communicate the character's meaning through a series of nonsensical noises, which would be a challenge to any voice actor.

Probably John DiMaggio's most prominent role after "Futurama" is his role as Jake the Dog on Cartoon Network's hit animated series "Adventure Time." Jake the Dog, alongside his best friend Finn the Human, goes on wacky adventures in a bizarre magical world. Jake also has the power to shapeshift, which comes in handy on their adventures.

In an interview with Madman Anime, DiMaggio talked about the show as an example of how much a show has to go through to get on the air. "It originally started out at Nickelodeon and ended up at Cartoon Network in the states. And Nickelodeon said 'Nah, we don't know what to do with it.' And Cartoon Network said 'We know what to do with it.' ... You never can tell what's going hit the wall and stick there and what's going to hit the wall and fall off." DiMaggio admitted in the interview that he didn't entirely understand the show when he first started playing Jake and would often record the lines while still confused about what was going on in the episode.

In the 2010 reboot of "Pound Puppies" on The Hub Network, John DiMaggio played the friendly yet absent-minded dog Nibblet. In the show, a group of dogs at a pound create a secret underground network to help stray dogs get partnered with owners.

In an interview with Movieweb, DiMaggio explained his process for creating the character of Nibblet. "Nibblet is a big ol' dog. He is pretty much a mutt. And he is a big ol' slobberer. I went from there for the physical role of the voice. As far as the character is concerned, he is just a lovable dog. ... He is filled with amazement and wonderment about the world. He is very naïve. But that's what makes him so adorable." Nibblet is always happy to help others and eager to be everybody's friend, but his limited intellect also makes him the show's best comic relief character.

After working with "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening on "Futurama," John DiMaggio also took up a role on Groening's third animated series, Netflix's "Disenchantment." On the show, he plays King Zøg, the long suffering ruler of Dreamland who wishes to prepare his daughter to be married off to a prince from another land while she's more interested in drinking and partying.

DiMaggio talked to Red Carpet News about working with Matt Goening on "Disenchantment." "Matt [Goening] is brilliant. And the people who write the show are brilliant. They can be really dirty and filthy without being dirty or filthy. And it's a better way to tell a joke. I, unfortunately, am not that smart. So I go to the gutter immediately. They paint a very beautiful picture of the gutter." "Disenchantment" ran for four seasons on Netflix, with no announcement forthcoming about if there will be any further seasons. However, both of Matt Groening's other shows, which started in the '80s and '90s, continue to live on, suggesting that Groening doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to the renewal of his shows.