Please Rewind Talent Wall

John Ratzenberger

John Ratzenberger has built a career on voices that feel immediately lived-in, whether he is playing an opinionated regular at the end of the bar or giving an animated piggy bank a wonderfully dry sense of perspective. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 6, 1947, he began his performing career after moving to London in 1971, working across acting, writing and directing. During the 1970s, he toured Europe with Ray Hassett as the theatrical comedy duo Sal’s Meat Market. His first role in a major feature was as a patron in The Ritz in 1976. Ratzenberger subsequently appeared in films including A Bridge Too Far, Superman, Superman II, The Empire Strikes Back, Outland and Gandhi. These were often supporting parts, but they established the dependable character-actor presence that would remain central to his work. Television gave Ratzenberger his defining live-action role: mail carrier Cliff Clavin on Cheers. The barroom know-it-all was partly shaped by Ratzenberger himself, who suggested the character during the audition process and devised Cliff’s trademark white socks as a tribute to French comedian Jacques Tati. His performance earned Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1985 and 1986. A later generation came to know Ratzenberger through animation. He has voiced characters in 24 Pixar films, beginning with Hamm in Toy Story. His Pixar roles have also included P.T. Flea in A Bug’s Life, the Yeti in Monsters, Inc., Mack in Cars, the Underminer in The Incredibles and characters in Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Brave and Inside Out. In Toy Story 3, featured by Please Rewind, Ratzenberger returns as Hamm. The performance captures what makes so much of his voice work click: a sturdy, recognizable delivery, comic timing and the sense that the character has already formed an opinion about whatever is happening. Across stage, film, television and animation, Ratzenberger has made a lasting specialty of supporting characters who know exactly who they are.