Diedrich Bader

Early life and education

Karl Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on Christmas Eve, 1966, the son of Gretta Bader (; 1931–2014), a sculptor, and William B. Bader (1931–2016), a foundation executive and political activist. His patrilineal great-grandfather was Edward L. Bader, who served as the mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is of German and Scottish descent.

When Bader was two years old, his family moved to Paris, but he returned to the U.S. to attend Groveton High School. He graduated from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended college at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Career

After a few guest roles on popular television series such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Diagnosis: Murder, and Cheers, Bader's first major role was in the 1993 series Danger Theatre, playing The Searcher. He moved into cinema acting for the 1993 film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, and returned to television, playing Oswald on The Drew Carey Show starting in 1995. He appeared in the 1999 film Office Space as Peter's neighbor Lawrence, and in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite as Rex, the owner of a Taekwondo dojang. He performs in the 2004 film Eurotrip as a thief. In 2010, Bader took the role of Charlie on the television series Outsourced.

As a voice actor, he has voiced various characters in animated features, television series and video games, such as Ice Age, The Simpsons, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, South Park and The Penguins of Madagascar. In 2012, he reprised his role as Rex in the animated TV series Napoleon Dynamite. He played the Russian Cosmonaut Yuri in Disney's Space Buddies. Bader has lent his voice to several different Batman cartoons, portraying both heroes and villains: Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, The Batman, and starring as the title character Bruce Wayne / Batman in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Harley Quinn. Bader also voices Guy Gardner in Green Lantern: The Animated Series.

His other voice credits include JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, Judah Mannowdog in BoJack Horseman, the android Zeta in The Zeta Project, and Fiskerton in The Secret Saturdays.

In 2016, Bader starred in the "It's the Obvious Choice" series of Time Warner Cable television commercials and starred as Greg Otto in ABC sitcom American Housewife from 2016 to 2021. From 2014 to 2019, Bader had a recurring role on HBO sitcom Veep. From 2016 to 2022, Bader has had a recurring role as Sam's best friend, Rich, on Better Things.

Personal life

Bader has been married to actress Dulcy Rogers since May 1997. They have two children.

Bader predominately lives in Hancock Park, Los Angeles. In 2017, he listed a townhouse he owns for rent.

Bader supported Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson during the 2016 United States presidential election. In 2020, he endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, after initially voting for Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. In 2024, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Filmography

Live-action

Film

Television

Web

Voice roles

Film

Television

Video games

References

References

1. "Diedrich Bader". Voice Chasers.
2. "Diedrich Bader biography profile".
3. "Teacher From Hawaii Is Miss America".
4. (October 12, 2016). "Actor Diedrich Bader continues to use skills learned at UNCSA". [[Winston-Salem Journal]].
5. "TimeWarnerCable".
6. "Diedrich Bader's Daughter Says He's a Great Role Model".
7. (February 2, 2012). "Diedrich Bader".
8. (November 2017). "Comic actor Diedrich Bader seeks a tenant for Spanish town home in Hancock Park".
9. (November 8, 2016). "Which Hollywood Stars are Voting for Third-Party Candidates?".
10. "I'm a democrat and i don't hate you. I voted for @ewarren and now I'll vote for @JoeBiden. Don't read any hate into that from me or any of my friends. I think @BernieSanders has done an amazing job bringing a progressive agenda into the national dialogue but he has dropped out.".
11. https://x.com/bader_diedrich/status/1815176073165914568
12. O'Neill, Shane. (March 3, 2023). "Diedrich Bader Voiced Young Sheldon's Batman (& He Had Experience to Back It Up)".
13. (October 29, 2021). "Tonight, The CW Asks "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now!"".
14. "Diedrich Bader (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
15. Petski, Denise. (July 22, 2022). "'Transformers: EarthSpark': Paramount+ Series Sets Voice Cast, Teaser Trailer — Comic-Con".
16. Sharf, Zack. (June 20, 2024). "A New Batman Arrives: Hamish Linklater to Play the Dark Knight on Prime Video's 'Batman: Caped Crusader' — Hear His Batman Voice Now".
17. Zalben, Alex. (2025-01-09). "Creature Commandos Voice Cast: Who's Who In Episode 7, Including King Shark?".
18. Milligan, Mercedes. (September 18, 2025). "Prime Video's 'Bat-Fam' Unmasks Voice Cast Heroes and Villains".
19. Legacy, Spencer. (February 24, 2023). "Justice League: Cosmic Chaos Gameplay Trailer Spotlights Voice Cast".