Harland Williams biography

Harland Williams

Date of Birth: November 14, 1962

This Toronto native and cousin to one of the musicians of the Barenaked Ladies started working as a forest ranger, where he fine-tuned his own brand of comedy. Attending Sheridan College in Oakville to study Media Arts, Williams dropped out to pursue acting.

His journey into the spotlight began on stage as a stand-up comedian. After spending some time on the comedy circuit, Williams made his first appearance on the wide screen in fellow Canadian Jim Carrey's film Dumb and Dumber (1994), playing a State Trooper. The popular film granted him enough exposure to find major roles on both film and television.

After the short-lived sitcom, Simon, in which Williams played the lead role, he landed a supporting role in Down Periscope (1996) playing the super-sonar expert E.T. Lovacelli, then took the lead role in the box office bomb, Rocket Man (1997). Following that embarrassing star debut, he returned to supporting roles in films like Wag The Dog (1997), Half Baked (1998), Dog Park (1998) and Superstar (1999).

He also spent time on small screen projects, such as hosting stand-up series like HBO Comedy Half-Hour and Premium Blend, as well as the telefilm Mr. Headmistress and the series You Lie Like a Dog.

At the turn of the century, work for Williams kept on coming in—films like The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Freddy Got Fingered (2001) and Sorority Boys (2002) along with television series Sammy, The Geena Davis Show and Gary & Mike, kept his work schedule on a never ending cycle.

Besides acting, Williams is also a talented artist. In his spare time over the years he has written and illustrated children's books, developed his own comic book characters, paints and has worked on creating an animated series. He also continues his stand-up work.

Filmography:

Route 66 (2011)
Wing Man (2009)
My Life in Ruins (2009)
Meet the Robinsons (2007) (voice)
Surf School (2006)
Employee of the Month (2006)
Hot Tamale (2006)
Robots (2005) (voice)
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
Lucky 13 (2005)
Kart Racer (2003)
Family Tree (2002)
Sorority Boys (2002)
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Lucky 13 (2000)
The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Big Money Hustlas (1999)
Superstar (1999)
Dog Park (1998)
There's Something About Mary (1998) (uncredited)
Half Baked (1998)
Wag The Dog (1997)
Rocket Man (1997)
Down Periscope (1996)
Dumb & Dumber (1994)