Maile Flanagan (/ˈmli/; born May 19, 1965)[1] is an American actress and comedian. She is best known as the voice of Naruto Uzumaki in the English dub of the Naruto franchise. Other prominent roles include voicing Piggley Winks in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (for which she received two nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and won once), and portraying Terry Perry in Lab Rats.

Maile Flanagan
Flanagan in 2024
Born (1965-05-19) May 19, 1965 (age 59)
Alma materBoston College (BA)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
Years active1998–present
Spouse
Lesa Hammett
(m. 2008)

Flanagan's live-action film work include appearances in Phone Booth (2002), The Number 23 (2007), Evan Almighty (2007), 500 Days of Summer (2009) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). She has also made guest appearances in several television series such as ER, Shameless, Bad Teacher, The Office and Grey's Anatomy. She appeared on the ABC sitcom Not Dead Yet in a recurring capacity. As of 2023, she is the voice of Matthew "Matt" Hornsby on the Adult Swim animated sitcom Royal Crackers.

Flanagan has numerous theater credits including working with writer/director Justin Tanner in his plays Oklahomo!, Wife Swappers, Pot Mom, and Zombie Attack!

Early life

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Flanagan was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father worked for the U.S. military intelligence. In 1969, her family was stationed in Bangkok, Thailand and when she was ten, they moved to Germany.[2]

She graduated from a Department of Defense (DOD) school Munich America High School (MAHS) in 1983. In 1987, Flanagan graduated from Boston College with a degree in political science concentrating in history and mathematics.[2][3]

Career

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After a brief stint in Washington, D.C., Flanagan moved to Minneapolis and worked in theater roles and did stand-up comedy. She was in the comedy troupe Every Mother's Nightmare with Wayne Wilderson, Tom McCarthy and Nancy Walls. In 1996, she moved to Los Angeles with the stage production of The Bad Seed, which won an LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Comedy Ensemble.[4]

Flanagan's first major voice role in animation was as the Piggley Winks in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks for which she was nominated for an Annie Award in 2005, the same year she was cast as the title character, Naruto Uzumaki in the English dub version of Naruto, she has since consistently voiced the kid, teen and adult incarnations of Naruto in all of its properties including numerous spin-offs and video game adaptations.[5][6] She also earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her performance in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks in 2006.[7][8][9]

 
Flanagan at the 2012 Phoenix Comic-Con

In 2009, Flanagan provided the voice of Mother Aardvark in the third installment of Ice Age film series.[10] Also in 2009, she appeared in Marc Webb's romantic comedy drama 500 Days of Summer and Justin Tanner's play Voice Lessons.[11][12][13] The following year, she lent her voice to Orangu-Tammy in the animated film Kung-Fu Magoo.[14]

From 2012, Flanagan starred as Terry Perry, principal of the Mission Creek High School in the Disney XD live-action comedy series Lab Rats, she was in the show for four seasons until it ended in 2016.[15][16] She reprised the role again in the 2016 spinoff of the series called Lab Rats: Elite Force.[17][18] She also had a recurring role as Connie in the third and fourth season of the Showtime comedy-drama TV series Shameless (2013–14).

In February 2023, Flanagan appeared as Tina in the ABC sitcom Not Dead Yet, based on Alexandra Potter's 2020 novel Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up.[3][19] She also provided the voice of Matt Hornsby in Royal Crackers, which ran on Adult Swim in April of that same year.[20][21]

Personal life

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Flanagan is openly a lesbian. She married Lesa Hammett in 2008.[22][23]

Filmography

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Live-action roles

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Television

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List of live-action acting performances on television and related media
Year Title Role Notes Source
1998 MADtv Chaz Bono Uncredited role; Episode #4.1
2001 Gideon's Crossing Nurse Daley 2 episodes: "The Crash" & "Freakshow"
2001 Citizen Baines Carmen Episode: "The Whole Thump-Thump-Thump"
2001 61* Housewife TV movie
2005 Hot Properties Woman Episode: "Killer Bodies"
2006 Lovespring International Ruth Hardwood Episode: "The Loser Club"
2006 Desperate Housewives Cashier Episode: "Bang"
2006 ER Elaine Martinelli Episode: "Tell Me No Secrets"
2006 Big Day Linda Episode: "Boobzilla"
2005–07 Grey's Anatomy Lab Tech 4 Episodes
2006–07 The Class Penny 2 episodes: "The Class Gives Thanks" & "The Class Goes Back to the Hospital"
2007 The Office Phyllis' sister Episode: "Phyllis' Wedding"
2008 Reno 911! Madam Carla 2 episodes: "Strong Sister" & "The Tanning Both Incident"
2008 Rules of Engagement Audrey's Co-worker 1 episode
2009 In the Motherhood Linda Episode: "In Sickness and in Health"
2010 Svetlana Client (Maile) Episode: "Gumption"
2011 Weeds Lady in Sauna Episode: "Bags"
2012–16 Lab Rats Terry Perry Recurring role; 44 episodes
2013 Last Man Standing Dr. Kathy Pullman Episode: "Attractive Architect"
2013–14 Shameless Connie Recurring role; 6 episodes
2014 Bad Teacher Linda 2 episodes
2015 Mike & Molly Darlene Episode: "Mudlick or Bust"
2015 Modern Family Immigration Officer Episode: "Patriot Games"
2016 Lab Rats: Elite Force Terry Perry Recurring role; 4 episodes [24]
2023-24 Not Dead Yet Tina Recurring role; 14 episodes

Film

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List of live-action acting performances in feature films
Year Title Role Notes Source
1998 Overnight Delivery Gas jockey
2002 Phone Booth Lana
2002 Now You Know Shelly
2003 The Station Agent Pappy's Waitress
2007 The Number 23 Charades friend
2007 Evan Almighty Mail Person
2008 Yes Man Janet, the Cake baker
2008 500 Days of Summer Co-worker Rhoda
2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon Acuretta Worker
2012 Wrong Pharmacist
2013 Teacher of the Year Hannah Manning

Voice roles

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Television

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List of voice performances in television
Year Title Role Notes Source
1998 Men in Black: The Series Old crone / Bully Episode: "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome"
1999 Oh Yeah! Cartoons Boy Episode: "Herb"
2000 Jackie Chan Adventures Maynard Episode: "Bullies"
2003 Astro Boy Matthew English dub
2003–06 Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks Young Piggley Winks / Fergal O'Hopper 52 episodes
2005–09 Naruto Naruto Uzumaki English dub [25]
2007–09 Back at the Barnyard Macy the Lamb 3 episodes
2009–19 Naruto: Shippuden Naruto Uzumaki English dub [26]
2015–17 Pig Goat Banana Cricket JR Barton 14 episodes
2017 Bunsen Is a Beast! Mikey Munroe Pilot
2018–2023 Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Naruto Uzumaki English dub [27]
2022 Tiger & Bunny Carlotta Lindell English Dub
2022 Bee and PuppyCat: Lazy in Space TempBot Episode: "Did You Remember"
2023–present Royal Crackers Matt Hornsby 16 episodes [28]

Film

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List of voice acting performances in animated film
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring Boy
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Aardvark Mom
2010 Kung-Fu Magoo Orangu-Tammy
2011 Rango Lucky
2014 Ava & Lala Lala

Video games

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List of voice performances in video games
Year Title Role Notes Source
2006 Naruto: Clash of Ninja Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2006 Naruto: Ninja Council Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2006 Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2006 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2007 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2007 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2007 Naruto: Rise of a Ninja Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: The Broken Bond Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2009 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2009 Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2009 Naruto Shippuden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2008 Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2010 Corpse Seed Honoka Kira English dub
2010 Final Fantasy XIII Cocoon Inhabitants English dub [29]
2010 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2010 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2010 Valkyria Chronicles II Alexis Hilden English dub
2011 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2012 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2012 Final Fantasy XIII-2 Rhett English dub
2013 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Naruto Uzumaki English dub, with Full Burst
2014 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution Naruto Uzumaki English dub
2016 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Naruto Uzumaki English dub, with Road to Boruto expansion
2017 Minecraft Story Mode Season 2 Porkchop

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2005 Annie Awards Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks Nominated
2006 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Won
2007 Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Maile Flanagan Rotten Tomatoes
  2. ^ a b Anger, Jax (November 24, 2014). "Voice of Naruto, Maile Flanagan speaks about her career as a famous actress". Western Herald. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Juul, Matt. "'Naruto' star Maile Flanagan talks Boston College improv roots and the Patriots anime club". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Hits and Misses in 'Maile Flanagan's'". Los Angeles Times. February 2, 1996. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "The most gut-wrenching challenge of Maile Flanagan's long acting career was playing a boisterous teen ninja coming face to face with his long-lost mother, just a week after the actress had lost her mom in real life". The Day. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Solomon, Charles (October 4, 2018). "Anime's Teen Boys and the Women Who Voice Them". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Early Daytime Emmys". CBS NEWS. April 24, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Repstad, Laura (April 23, 2006). "'Street' leads PBS to Emmy's high road". Variety. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "Maile Flanagan, Laurie Metcalf, French Stewart to Reprise Roles in Justin Tanner's Voice Lessons | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  10. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (June 30, 2009). "'Ice Age' warms up to dinosaurs in third installment". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  11. ^ "(500) Days of Summer | Film review". The Guardian. September 3, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  12. ^ Scott, A. O. (July 16, 2009). "Love at the Greeting Card Company: Best Wishes on Your Breakup". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Martinez, Julio (April 13, 2009). "Voice Lessons". Variety. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  14. ^ "Orangu-Tammy". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Brian Lowry (February 23, 2012). "Lab Rats". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  16. ^ Stephanie Osmanski (June 25, 2015). "Kelli Berglund Confirms Disney XD's Lab Rats: Bionic Island Is Ending". M Magazine. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  17. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 3, 2015). "Disney XD Greenlights 'Lab Rats' and 'Mighty Med' Spinoff Series". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 3, 2015). "Lab Rats & Mighty Med Spin-off Series to Succeed the Two Comedies on Disney XD". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  19. ^ White, Peter (February 14, 2022). "'Not Dead Yet' Comedy, Based On 'Confessions Of A Forty-Something F**k Up' From Casey Johnson, David Windsor & McG Lands Pilot Order At ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "Royal Crackers Interview: Jessica St. Clair, David Gborie, & Maile Flanagan". Yahoo Entertainment. April 1, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Royal Crackers Cast Talks Wildest Scenes, Season 2 and More". Comicbook.com. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  22. ^ Swartz, Shauna (May 16, 2006), "A Woman of Many Voices: Maile Flanagan", AfterEllen.com, archived from the original on October 27, 2007, retrieved October 27, 2007
  23. ^ "SO SHORT YOU WON'T LOSE YOUR BUZZ w/ actress and Emmy-winner Maile Flanagan". DennisAnyone.net. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  24. ^ "THE VOICE OF NARUTO, MAILE FLANAGAN, HAS JOINED THE REVOLUTION". Comic Con Revolution. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  25. ^ Guests. "Maile Flanagan – Undiscovered Comic Con". Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  26. ^ "Naruto Shippūden's Main English Dubbing Cast Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  27. ^ "'Naruto' Reveals First Look at 'Boruto' English Dub". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  28. ^ "'Royal Crackers' Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  29. ^ "Final Fantasy XIII (2010 Video Game)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
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