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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
This is the page about the voice actor. For other uses, see Tom (disambiguation).
Person

Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, and voice director. He is a main cast member and most known for the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, voicing SpongeBob, Gary the Snail, and the French Narrator. He also portrays the series' host, Patchy the Pirate, in many special episodes and Nickelodeon commercials. He has voiced many characters over the years.

Kenny is the husband of Jill Talley (the voice of Karen Plankton). He is the only cast member to provide a voice role in every episode (with the exception of the dialogue-free episode "Reef Blower"). He has written several songs for the show, like "The Best Day Ever," and has held the position of voice director since season 9.

Tom Kenny is a prolific voice actor outside of SpongeBob, known for voicing characters such as the Ice King in Adventure Time and Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Dr. Two-Brains in WordGirl, the Mayor in both incarnations of The Powerpuff Girls, Heffer in Rocko's Modern Life and Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, and Dog in CatDog and Raimundo Pedrosa, Grand Master Dashi, Vlad, Klofange and Hannibal Roy Bean in Xiaolin Showdown. He is part of a rock-and-roll band called Tom Kenny and The Hi-Seas.

List of live-action cameos[]

Note: This list does not include the Patchy the Pirate appearances.

Non-SpongeBob filmography[]

The following is a list of works where Tom Kenny played a role, outside of the SpongeBob SquarePants series.

Television[]

This list is incomplete, but you can help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by expanding it.

Film[]

This list is incomplete, but you can help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by expanding it.

Video games[]

Trivia[]

  • At one point, voice actor Jess Harnell auditioned for the role of SpongeBob before Kenny was chosen.[2]
  • Over the years, many fans of the show have asked Kenny to lend SpongeBob's voice to their voice email and answering machines. In an interview, he joked that these custom messages might be more common than the factory (default voice).
LA Animation Festival - Tom Kenny and Nylon Pink

Tom Kenny with Nylon Pink

  • Kenny first used the voice for SpongeBob for a minor female alligator character called Al on Rocko's Modern Life who appeared in the episode "Dear John." This is also the first time Kenny and Stephen Hillenburg worked together. Hillenburg wanted Kenny to use that voice for SpongeBob, so he showed him a clip of Al in Rocko's Modern Life to remind Kenny of the voice.[citation needed]
  • He also voiced Han "Chuck" Solo in the Angry Birds Star Wars Cinematic Trailer. Han's laugh also sounds similar to SpongeBob's.[3]
  • To produce SpongeBob's trademark laugh, Kenny pats his throat while saying "ah."[4]
  • His birthday is July 13, one day before SpongeBob's, on July 14.
Krusty Koncessionaires 108
Mocking SpongeBob

SpongeBob acts like a chicken while he sees Mr. Krabs' new plaid kilt.

  • In the 2017 San Diego Comic Con, he said his favorite SpongeBob meme is "Mocking SpongeBob."[5]
  • The drop of Volcano Sauce was shot in the Nickelodeon restroom and Tom Kenny had to wear red makeup all over his face to portray the character. He also had an audition on that same day the scene was shot, but the red makeup did not completely come off in time. As a result, he still had a little bit of red makeup on his face and it made him look like he was having high blood pressure.[6]
Hot Sauce Drop in Karate Choppers credits
  • The Volcano Sauce drop is credited as "Hot Sauce Drop."
  • Before SpongeBob even became a global success, Tom showed a VHS tape of the pilot to random people and even his family and it made them laugh.[7]
  • Tom does not have a laptop, so the only way he can see memes is when Bill Fagerbakke sends it to him on his phone.[8]
  • Tom and his wife, Jill, appear in the music video for "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins.
  • According to an interview in an issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, Tom Kenny was very sick at the time of recording the lines for the episode "Suds." This made SpongeBob sound genuinely sick as well.
  • There's a digital collection that has his top 20 favorite episodes named The Tom Kenny Collection.

Roles[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

See also[]

External links[]

References[]


Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants VE

Annie AwardsAnnie Award

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff (in "No Free Rides," 2001)

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Wormy," 2001)

Outstanding Individual Achievement for a Song in an Animated Production

Songwriters: Peter Straus and Paul Tibbitt for "The Very First Christmas" (in "Christmas Who?," 2001)

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Directors: Stephen Hillenburg (for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 2004)

Music in an Animated Feature Production

Composers: Gregor F. Narholz (for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 2004)

Best Writing in an Animated Television Production

Writers: C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, and Tim Hill (for "Fear of a Krabby Patty," 2005)Dani Michaeli, Sean Charmatz, Nate Cash, Luke Brookshier, and Paul Tibbitt (for "Patrick's Staycation," 2011)

Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Spy Buddies," 2007)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Truth or Square," 2009)

Direction in an Animated Television Production

Directors: Alan Smart (for "Penny Foolish," 2008)Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," 2012)

Best Home Entertainment Production

DVDs: SpongeBob vs. The Big One (2009)

Music in a Television Production

Composers: Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, Nicolas Carr, and Tuck Tucker (2010)

Character Animation in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production

Animators: Dan Driscoll and Savelen Forrest (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," 2012)

Animated Effects in an Animated Production

Animators: Brice Mallier, Paul Buckley, Brent Droog, Alex Whyte, and Jonathan Freisler (for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, 2015)

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Voice Actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, 2015)

Best Animated Special Production

Episodes: "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" (2019)


Emmy Awards Cup Emmy

Primetime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)

Nominees: Sean Dempsey, Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Sam Henderson, Stephen Hillenburg, Jay Lender, Mark O'Hare, Kent Osborne, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "New Student Starfish"/"Clams," 2003)Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt (for "Ugh," 2004)Mike Bell, C.H. Greenblatt, Stephen Hillenburg, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Fear of a Krabby Patty"/"Shell of a Man," 2005)Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Stephen Hillenburg, Tom King, Dani Michaeli, Chris Mitchell, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Bummer Vacation"/"Wigstruck," 2007)Steven Banks, Charlie Bean, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Chris Reccardi, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "The Inmates of Summer"/"The Two Faces of Squidward," 2008)

Outstanding Short-format Animated Program

Nominees: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Dear Vikings," 2009)Luke Brookshier, Dina Buteyn, Nate Cash, Stephen Hillenburg, Doug Lawrence, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart and Paul Tibbitt (for "That Sinking Feeling," 2011)Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Kyle McCulloch, Jennie Monica, Jack Pendarvis, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Company Picnic," 2016)Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica, Adam Paloian, Alan Smart, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Plankton Paranoia," 2019)


Daytime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program

Directors: Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart and Tom Yasumi (2010)Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, Zeus Cervas, Sean Charmatz, Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller and Tom Yasumi (2012)

Outstanding Special Class Animated Program

Animators: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt (2010)

Outstanding Children's Animated Program

Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica Hammond and Paul Tibbitt (2012)Stephen Hillenburg, Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller and Jennie Monica (2018)

Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program

Voice actors: Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles (2012)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2018)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2020)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2021)

Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation

Nominees: Todd Brodie, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Chris Gresham, Matt Hall, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Aran Tanchum and Kimberlee Vanek (2012) • Mishelle Fordham, Vincent Guisetti, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Wes Otis, Monique Reymond and Aran Tanchum (2013) • Devon Bowman, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum and Vincent Guisetti (2014)

Outstanding Sound Mixing for an Animated Program

Nominees: D.J. Lynch, Justin Brinsfield, Ryan Greene, Manny Grijalva, Jeff Hutchins and Aran Tanchum (2020)

Outstanding Voice Directing for an Animated Series

Nominees: Tom Kenny (2021)


Children's and Family Emmy Awards

Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2022)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2023)

Individual Achievement in Animation - Storyboard

Nominees: Benjamin Arcand (for "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas," 2022)

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