Once relegated to cult status, familiar only to those who remember the character's short-lived stint on FOX back in 2001, the Tick is once more hitting the screen in a high-profile new series. But who plays the Tick in Amazon's new superhero show? A blue-spandex wearing, one-liner cracking, insect-themed vigilante would undoubtedly be a challenge for any actor. Fortunately, in this day and age of ant men and squirrel girls and talking raccoons, a crime-fighting Tick somehow seems less weird than ever — and Amazon seems to have found someone who's more than up to the challenge.
The new version of The Tick stars British actor Peter Serafinowicz, whose name is a mouthful, but whose face viewers will undoubtedly recognize. While the 45-year-old is more well-known in his native country — where he even had his own self-titled sketch series, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, back in the mid-2000s — he's slowly starting to become a staple of American comedies and action films.
Serafinowicz actually got his start with one of the most notorious American blockbusters ever made; his first-ever film role was as the voice of Darth Maul in 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. (Yes, the Sith Lord did have lines… or a couple of them, at least.) On of his earliest flesh-and-blood appearances on the big screen was in another popular film most genre fans have probably seen: 2004's Shaun Of The Dead, in which he played insufferable roommate Pete.
More recently, Serafinowicz appeared in several episodes of Parks And Recreation, and he has lent his voice talents to a remarkable number of popular animated series like South Park, Archer, American Dad, Adventure Time, and Rick And Morty. And his feature film career has been booming lately as well: Over the past few years, he has had parts in Guardians Of The Galaxy, as the stuck-up Nova Corp officer who memorably got to refer to the heroes as "a bunch of a-holes;" Spy, as creepy Italian agent (or undercover British agent?) Aldo; Sing, as Big Daddy, the gorilla father of Taron Egerton's Johnny; and John Wick: Chapter 2, as the suave armorer known as The Sommelier.
Serafinowicz admittedly has big shoes to fill when it comes to the role of the Tick. Although the character originated as a comic book and a cartoon, perhaps the most iconic version of the antenna-ed superhero came in the live-action FOX series, which only ran for nine episodes, but left a lasting impression thanks to Patrick Warburton's delightfully hammy performance. (You may also know Warburton as the voice of Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove, Joe Swanson in Family Guy, and Lemony Snicket in Netflix's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.)
But if Serafinowicz has proved anything through his diverse film roles and his prolific voice work, it's that he's more than worthy of filling the square blue chin of the Tick's ridiculous outfit. So watch out, a-holes… there's a new hero in town.
