What Does Mr. Hankey From South Park Look Like In Real Life?

In a television landscape full of adult animated shows, how exactly did Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park" become such a massive hit? Surely the unique art style has drawn some folks in, as have the program's stories, which range from hilarious to downright bizarre. Of course, one would be remiss not to highlight the show's character roster as well. In the years since its 1997 debut, "South Park" has introduced a myriad of side characters, and while some of them didn't catch on or have fallen into obscurity, others have become as iconic as the main cast.

Undeniably one of the most famous names to come from "South Park" is Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo: a sentient piece of human excrement with an unabashed love for the holiday season. He's been around the "South Park" scene since the early days of the show, and while he doesn't make as many appearances as he once did, he remains synonymous with the series. That's not too surprising, though, seeing as the image of a jolly lump of feces running around with a Santa Claus hat on and a smile painted across his face isn't easy to forget.

Have you ever wondered what the person behind Mr. Hankey looks like in real life? As one could imagine, the character and his voice actor don't resemble one another in the slightest.

Yes, since the introduction of Mr. Hankey so many moons ago, "South Park" co-creator and voice actor Trey Parker — who, rather unsurprisingly, looks nothing like the character — has voiced him. In addition to the series itself, Parker has brought Mr. Hankey to life in video games such as "South Park: The Stick of Truth" and "South Park: Tenorman's Revenge," among others. The Christmas Poo is but one of many roles that Parker has taken on his and Matt Stone's show, with some of the others being Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, and Mr. Mackey, to name a few. 

Parker may not look anything like Mr. Hankey, but that's not to say that the character doesn't have real-world roots. During a chat on "The Project" (via TheGOODson on YouTube), Parker and Stone revealed that pretty much all "South Park" characters are based on one or more real people. The example Parker provided is his old school counselor Mr. Lackey, who served as the basis for Mr. Mackey. When asked about Mr. Hankey, they mentioned that he is indeed based on someone they know, but they didn't share who to avoid getting into any kind of trouble.

As gross as he may be, there's no denying that Mr. Hankey is a television icon. Without the voice acting talents of Trey Parker, one has to wonder if he would've ever reached such a status.