David Ury

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David Brian Ury (born September 30, 1973) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, YouTuber, and Japanese translation specialist. Ury was born and raised in Sonoma, California. He graduated from Sonoma Valley High School, where he acted in theatre productions. He earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and studied abroad in Japan, where he became fluent in Japanese. Ury is a descendant of German Jewish impressionist painter Lesser Ury. Since studying abroad in Tokyo, Ury and has worked as a translator in film, television, and manga and currently (As of May 2011) translates and writes English adaptations for manga. Ury moved to Los Angeles in August 2001 where he began performing stand-up comedy. Cartoonist Keith Knight, a neighbor of his, described Ury's acting career as "Spooge man" and "a cavalcade of reprobates, sleazeballs, derelicts, & weirdos." Ury has made several film and television appearances, including an episode of Tim Kring's Crossing Jordan and in Shoot 'Em Up. He also appeared in Heroes, Malcolm in the Middle, Life, Without a Trace, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Zeke and Luther, and The Librarians. In March 2015, Ury was cast for Rob Zombie's slasher film 31 as Schizo-Head. A character actor, Ury has died on screen in almost every role he has portrayed. Ury also has several YouTube channels/accounts/personalities and alter-egos, which include Karaoke Steve and Ken Tanaka, the fictional adopted twin brother of David Ury. Tanaka is described as an Ashkenazi Jewish man adopted as an infant by Japanese parents Hideo and Mari Tanaka, and raised in Shimane Prefecture of Japan; he returns to Los Angeles to find his birth parents Jonathan and Linda Smith.

Filmography

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2026
The Hawk
TV show Drifter
2025
Violent Ends
Movie Lou Byers
2025
A Blind Bargain
Movie Reggie
2025
Time of Death
Movie Meeks
2024
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage
TV show Barry
2024
Little Death
Movie Petey
2023
Do Not Watch
Movie
2022
Babylon
Movie Fan (Autograph)
2022
1-800-Hot-Nite
Movie Bill
2022
The Rookie: Feds
TV show Frank Patterson
2020
Faith Based
Movie Gerry
2020
Kajillionaire
Movie Minimart Cashier
2020
Woke
TV show Al Durian (aka Trench Coat)
2020
Outer Banks
TV show Scooter Grubbs
2020
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Movie Sleazy Breeder
2019
3 from Hell
Movie Travis O'Rourke