Diedrich Bader

After a number of years in L.A., strapping and winningly grinning Diedrich Bader got a break when director Penelope Spheeris cast him as the heroic but dense and accident-prone biker hero "The Searcher" in an episode of the broad spoof show "Danger Theatre" (Fox 1993). Spheeris soon gave the actor even greater exposure by prevailing against producers who wanted a bigger name when she cast Bader as Jethro (and his sister Jethrine) in her feature version of the outlandish 1960s sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993). In 1995, Bader was cast as Oswald, one of the lead's charming but somewhat dim-witted friends, on the ABC sitcom "The Drew Carey Show" (ABC 1995-2004), remaining on the series through its final season despite several shifts in the show's premise and cast in later seasons. After becoming a familiar face on television, Bader landed roles in several projects, most notably the cult hit comedy "Office Space" (1999), "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), "Eurotrip" (2004) and, in perhaps his most laughably loopy role, as fitness guru Rex in the cult favorite "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004). Bader also developed a busy and lucrative side career as a voice actor, lending his distinctive tones to several animated series including "Phineas and Ferb" (Disney 2007-2015) as well as the feature films "Ice Age" (2002) and "The Country Bears" (2002). Bader did a comic turn as a stylist for bumbling FBI Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) in "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" (2005), the sequel to the unexpectedly successful 2000 comedy "Miss Congeniality." After working primarily in voice work for several years, including recurring roles in "The Penguins of Madagascar" (Nickelodeon/Nicktoons 2008- ) and "Ultimate Spider-Man" (Disney 2012- ), Bader returned to prime-time television in a leading role in the sitcom "American Housewife" (ABC 2016- ), co-starring as the amiable husband of series star Katy Mixon.