George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II as well as Danny in Friends. He is also well known for his recurring role as Julia's son Payne in Designing Women and for providing the voices of Superman from the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series, as well as Nooj and Sephiroth from the Final Fantasy series and the Kingdom Hearts series.
He played Harold Abbott in Saw VI.
Career[]
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the son of Betty, a Spanish teacher, and David Newbern, a radiologist, George Newbern began his acting career at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, in the role of the younger brother in Life With Father, based on Clarence S. Day Jr.'s autobiographical novels. This first acting role spurred him on to other acting roles and eventually on to movie roles. Newbern's first lead role was in 1987's Double Switch, a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper, which aired as a part of the Wonderful World of Disney television series.
From 1986-1992, Newbern had a recurring role as Payne McElroy, the son of designer Julia Sugarbaker, on the series Designing Women. He has since guest-starred on television in such series as Providence, Chicago Hope, Friends, Bull, CSI, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Touched by an Angel, Criminal Minds and Private Practice. Besides that, he had a recurring role as a former CIA operative in Scandal.
He starred as Neal Morris, father of Melissa Morris, in the 2009 Disney Channel movie Dadnapped and portrayed Apollo 14 astronaut Stu Roosa in the HBO mini-series From The Earth To The Moon. Film credits include Adventures in Babysitting with Elisabeth Shue, Switching Channels with Kathleen Turner, Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeve and Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II. In 2009, he appeared in Locker 13.
Newbern's voice acting career began in 1991 with the cartoon series The Pirates of Dark Water and he has also done voiceovers on a number of video games and game-related productions. In 2003, Newbern provided the voice of Mevyn Nooj in Final Fantasy X-2.
His performance as Nooj reportedly impressed the developers at Square Enix enough for them to cast him as Sephiroth in the English version of Kingdom Hearts II as a replacement for Lance Bass and he would also go on to reprise the role in the English-language releases of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. He later appeared in the second season of Jericho as the President of the Allied States of America. In 2009, he sent a DNA sample into space to preserve the Newbern genome. Newbern also narrated Toyota's commercials for the 2010 model year of the Prius, one of the car company's younger automotive models.
Another one of his most notable voice acting performances was his role as Clark Kent/Superman on the Cartoon Network series Justice League, Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited as a replacement for Tim Daly due to his contractual obligations elsewhere. He also reprised his role as Superman in The Batman fifth season two-part opener The Batman/Superman Story and the series finale episode Lost Heroes, even though that series was described as existing in a different continuity. He also reprised his role as Superman in the DC Showcase short Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam as well as Superman vs The Elite. On February 26, 2016, the DC Universe Online Facebook page reported that Newbern would be taking over the role of Superman from Adam Baldwin. He also provided the voice of Superman in the game Injustice: Gods Among Us and its sequel.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | My Little Girl | Woody |
| 1987 | Adventures in Babysitting | Dan |
| 1988 | Switching Channels | Siegenthaler |
| Paramedics | Uptown | |
| It Takes Two | Travis Rogers | |
| 1990 | Poochinski | Detective Robert McKay |
| 1991 | Father of the Bride | Bryan MacKenzie |
| 1992 | Little Sister | Mike |
| 1993 | Doppelganger | Patrick Highsmith |
| Torch Song | Wedge | |
| Doorways | Dr. Thomas Mason | |
| 1994 | I Spy Returns | Bennett Robinson |
| Witness to the Execution | Phillip Tyler | |
| A Part of the Family | Marc | |
| 1995 | Father of the Bride Part II | Bryan MacKenzie |
| Theodore Rex | Theodore Rex | |
| 1996 | Far Harbor | Jordan |
| The Evening Star | Tommy Horton | |
| 1998 | Twice Upon a Time | Joe |
| 1999 | Friends & Lovers | Ian Wickham |
| The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | Christian Nelson | |
| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Tom |
| 2001 | The Sons of Mistletoe | Jimmy Adams |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: Stolen Jewels, Stolen Hearts | Matthew |
| 2005 | Buffalo Dream | Dr. Nick Townsend |
| Fainaru fantajî sebun adobento chirudoren | Sephiroth | |
| 2006 | Veiled Truth | Andy |
| Crazy Eights | Father Lyle Dey | |
| 2007 | Sublime | Frank / PVS Host |
| A Dennis the Menace Christmas | Henry Mitchell | |
| 2008 | Fireflies in the Garden | Jimmy |
| Batman: Gotham Knight | Man in Black / Guido / Man / Youth 3 | |
| Next of Kin | Robert | |
| 2009 | Dadnapped | Neal Morris |
| Saw VI | Harold Abbott | |
| The Patient | George | |
| 2010 | Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam | Superman / Clark Kent |
| DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection | Superman / Clark Kent | |
| The Assignment | John Baird | |
| 2011 | The Heart of Christmas | Dr. Don Sandler |
| 2012 | Unstable | Jason March |
| Monster High: Escape from Skull Shores | Andy Beast | |
| Superman vs. The Elite | Superman / Clark Kent / Robot | |
| Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups | Thomas Reynolds | |
| 3 Day Test | Martin Taylor | |
| Buried Treasure | Geocacher | |
| 2013 | Brahmin Bulls | Patrick |
| 2014 | Justice League: War | Steve Trevor |
| 2015 | Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | Steve Trevor |
| 2016 | Supertruck | Narrator |
| Pup Star | Bark | |
| 2017 | Brimming with Love | Addison Rickford |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Blue and the Grey | Private Lawrence 'Coward' Jones |
| 1986-1992 | Designing Women | Payne McIlroy |
| 1986 | Family Ties | Eric |
| 1987 | Disneyland | Bart / Matt |
| 1990 | Working Girl | Everett Rutledge |
| 1991-1993 | The Pirates of Dark Water | Ren |
| 1991 | Timeless Tales from Hallmark | The Tin Soldier |
| 1993 | Bob | Brett |
| 1994-1995 | The Boys Are Back | Mike Hansen |
| 1995 | Courthouse | Sean |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Ryan Unger |
| Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Damon | |
| Touched by an Angel | Michael Burns | |
| Promised Land | Michael Burns | |
| American Experience | Will Patterson | |
| Perversions of Science | Walter | |
| 1997-1998 | Chicago Hope | Dr. Scott Frank |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Stu Roosa |
| Cupid | Dave | |
| Friends | Danny | |
| 2000-2001 | Bull | Robert 'Ditto' Roberts III |
| 2001-2004 | Justice League | Superman / Clark Kent |
| 2002 | Providence | Owen Frank |
| 2003 | Static Shock | Clark Kent / Superman |
| The Lyon's Den | Zachary Easton | |
| The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | Boyle | |
| 2004-2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Superman / Clark Kent / Bizarro |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Dr. Todd Coombs |
| Johnny Bravo | Man / Waiter / Moustache Man | |
| Boston Legal | Dr. Allen Konigsberg | |
| 2005-2006 | Reunion | Paul Phillips |
| 2005 | Las Vegas | Matt Monroe |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Ross Garner |
| Cold Case | Bill Huxley | |
| Numb3rs | Brendan McCrary | |
| 2007-2008 | The Batman | Superman / Clark Kent |
| 2007 | Medium | Dr. Thomas O'Bannon |
| Big Love | Polygamist Group Member | |
| Journeyman | Lane | |
| 2008 | Jericho | President Glen Tomarchio |
| CSI: Miami | Kevin Weaver | |
| Ben 10: Alien Force | Frank Tennyson | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Stan Mercer | |
| Ghost Whisperer | Roger Gardner | |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Stephen Baleman |
| CSI: NY | Alex Sheridan | |
| Castle | Howard Peterson | |
| The Cleaner | Perry | |
| Private Practice | Dr. Brian Reynolds | |
| 2010 | Nip/Tuck | Dr. Curtis Ryerson |
| The Mentalist | Dr. Cliff Edmunds | |
| Miami Medical | Frank | |
| NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service | Arthur Haskell | |
| 2011 | Suite 7 | Gil |
| Hot in Cleveland | Bill | |
| 2012-2018 | Scandal | Charlie |
| 2015 | Granite Flats | Scottie Andrews |
| 2017 | Web of Spies | Scottie Andrews |
| Grimm | Julian |
Video Games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Fainaru fantajî X-2 | Meyvn Nooj |
| 2005 | Kingdom Hearts II | Sephiroth |
| 2006 | Bleach Wii: Hakujin kirameku rondo | Ulquiorra Cifer |
| 2007 | Kuraishisu koa: Fainaru fantajî VII | Sephiroth |
| Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ | Sephiroth | |
| 2008 | Dishidia: Fainaru fantajî | Sephiroth |
| 2011 | Dishidia duodeshimu Fainaru fantajî | Sephiroth |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic | Master Volryder / Additional Voices | |
| 2013 | Injustice: Gods Among Us | Superman / Clark Kent |
| 2015 | Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. | Various |
| 2017 | Injustice 2 | Superman / Clark Kent |
| 2018 | Dishidia fainaru fantajî NT | Sephiroth |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Originally, George Newbern was planned to play the role of William Easton in Saw VI.
